Griffith Williams (1769–1838) was a

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

poet. He chose Gutyn Peris as his

Bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh language, Welsh term bardd ('poet') originally referred to the Welsh poets of the M ...

Life

He was born as the only son of William Williams and his wife Catherine, daughter of Morgan Griffith, at Hafod Oleu in the parish of Llanbeblig,

Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

, on 2 February 1769. Not long after his birth the family moved to Llwyn Celyn,

Llanberis Llanberis () is a village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activity, outdoor ac ...

. His father died soon afterwards, and when he had been at school for only a year, he was forced to seek employment as a farm hand. After serving in various farms in

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, he found work in 1790 at the Penrhyn Quarry, and for the next thirty years worked as a quarryman, holding foreman positions as he grew older. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Ellis Jones, on 21 June 1794, and after a few years moved to her home at Braich Talog,

Llandygai Llandygai (, ; ; also Llandegai) is a small village and Community (Wales), community on the A5 road (Great Britain), A5 road between Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor and Talybont, Bangor, Talybont in Gwynedd, Wales. It affords a view of the nearby Car ...

, where he spent the rest of his life. Griffith Williams died on 18 September 1838 and was buried at Llandygai.

Works

As ''Gutyn Peris'' he won his first triumph as a bard in 1803, when the

Gwyneddigion Society The Gwyneddigion Society () was a London-based Welsh literary and cultural society. The original society was founded in 1770 and wound up in 1843. It was briefly revived in 1978. Its proceedings were conducted through the medium of Welsh. Histo ...

awarded him their medal for his ode to the memory of Goronwy Owen. In 1808 he composed for Lady Penrhyn a Welsh elegy on her husband

Richard Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn Richard Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn (1737 – 21 January 1808) was a British politician who represented Petersfield and Liverpool in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1790. He was the owner of Penrhyn Castle, an estate on the ou ...

. Two years later he won prizes at the

St Asaph St Asaph (; "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...

eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

for an

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

on the royal jubilee and another in memory of Queen Elizabeth. Some of his poems were printed by Dafydd Ddu Eryri in ''Corph y Gainc'' (1810), and in 1816 he self-published a volume of Welsh verse entitled ''Ffrwyth Awen''. In 1811 he again won a prize, for an ode entitled ''Agriculture''. For the remainder of his life he was less successful: his ode on ''Belshazzar's Feast'' was second at

Denbigh Denbigh ( ; ) is a market town and a community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. It was the original county town of the Denbighshire (historic), historic county of Denbighshire created in 1536. Denbigh's Welsh name () translates to ...

in 1828, although it was printed with the winner's in the ''Transactions'' of the eisteddfod (Chester, 1830). At

Beaumaris Beaumaris (; ) is a town and community (Wales), community on the Anglesey, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey fro ...

in 1832 he took second place in the competition for the best ode on the ''Wreck of the Rothesay Castle''. According to J. E. LLoyd's assessment, "His knowledge of the Welsh metres was thorough, but he had few of the gifts of a poet."

References

References from the DNB: *There is a full memoir, with a portrait, in the Gwladgarwr for 1839. *Letters which passed between the poet and his brother bards will be found in Adgof uwch Anghof, Penygroes, 1883. {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Griffith 1769 births 1838 deaths People from Llanberis Welsh-language poets People from Llandygai