Maurice Jones (alias ''Meurig Prysor'') (21 June 1863 – 7 December 1957) was a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and university educator. Born at

Trawsfynydd Trawsfynydd (; Welsh language, Welsh for ) is a linear village in Gwynedd, Wales, near Llyn Trawsfynydd reservoir, and adjacent to the A470 road, A470 north of Bronaber and Dolgellau and 10 km (6 miles) south of Blaenau Ffestiniog. It als ...

Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a , a district and, as Merionethshire, a county. It is currently a committee area within the county Gwynedd. Kingdom (Meirion, with as a Welsh suffix of land, literally 'La ...

, he was the second of the seven children of the village shoemaker, William Jones and his wife Catherine He was educated at the local school, then, with scholarships, proceeded to

Friars School, Bangor is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and the second oldest extant school in Wales. History 1557 Establishment The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London. A friary had be ...

and

Christ College, Brecon Christ College, Brecon, is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the cathedral and market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It currently caters for pupils aged 4–18 years. History Christ College was founded by Roya ...

. After that he attended

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, where he gained a first class degree in

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

in 1886, an MA and BD in 1907 and a DD in 1914. After curacies in

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

and

Welshpool Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...

, he became a forces chaplain. From 1890 to 1916 he served as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

to the Forces in many parts of the world, including six years in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and time in South Africa during the Boer War. He continued to study wherever he was stationed; in 1914 he was awarded a DD for his book, ''St Paul the Orator.'' On his return to Britain, he was offered the

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

Rotherfield Peppard Rotherfield Peppard (often referred to simply as Peppard by locals) is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is centred west of Henley-on-Thames, north of Reading, Berkshire and southwest of Rotherfield Gr ...

(Jesus College being the

Patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of the benefice); he remained there until 1923 when he was appointed Principal of

St David's University College University of Wales, Lampeter () was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited degree awarding powers since 1852. It was a ...

, Lampeter. When he arrived, the college had less than 70 students, and he worked steadfastly to increase their number. Indeed, he has been described as acting as a one-man recruitment campaign. When he left in 1938, there were more than 200 students. Jones' involvement with higher education did not come to an end on his departure from Lampeter, for he was later external examiner for both

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

. He was also a Fellow of Jesus College. He was a member of the ''

Gorsedd Gorsedd Cymru (), or simply the Gorsedd (), is a society of Welsh-language poets, writers, musicians and others who have contributed to the Welsh language and to public life in Wales. Its aim is to honour such individuals and help develop and p ...

'' of Bards, with the

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 ...

of Meurig Prysor, and was treasurer of the ''Gorsedd'' from 1925 to 1938, when he was elected ''Gorsedd'' Bard. He was attendant

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...

from 1947 to 1957, and only narrowly missed election to become

archdruid Archdruid () is the title used by the presiding official of Gorsedd Cymru, the Gorsedd. The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, the award of the and the C ...

in 1955. In that same year, however, he was made a Fellow of the National

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 ...

. He was also chairman of ''Cymdeithas Ceredigion Cerdd'' (The music and poetry society of

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

) and Vice-President of the

Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (), often called simply the Cymmrodorion, is a London-based Wales, Welsh learned society, with membership open to all. It was first established in 1751 as a Social club, social, cultural, literary society, l ...

. He was a sparkling preacher in both Welsh and English. He died on 8 December 1957 in Addington,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, and is buried in the churchyard there.

Works

Source: *''St Paul the Orator'' (1910) *''The New Testament in the Twentieth Century'' (1914) *''St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians'' (1918) *''The Four Gospels'' (1921) *''St Paul’s Epistle to Colossians'' (1923)

References

1863 births 1957 deaths People educated at Christ College, Brecon People educated at Friars School, Bangor Academics of the University of Wales, Lampeter Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford World War I chaplains Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers Bards of the Gorsedd 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests 20th-century Welsh Anglican priests Deans of Monmouth Principals of St David's College People from Trawsfynydd {{UK-Anglican-clergy-stub