Robert Gwin (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1591) was a Welsh

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest and author.

Life

Gwin was from the

diocese of Bangor The Diocese of Bangor is a Diocese#Church of England and Anglican Communion, diocese of the Church in Wales in North West Wales. The diocese covers Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and the western part of Montgomeryshire. His ...

in Wales, and received his education at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

, where he was admitted to the degree of B.A. on 9 July 1568. In 1573 he went to the

English College at Douay The English College ( French: ''College des Grands Anglais'') was a Catholic seminary in Douai, France (also previously spelled Douay, and in English Doway), associated with the University of Douai. It was established in 1568, and was suppressed ...

and studied

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 ...

. He was ordained priest in 1575, and sent back to Wales on the mission on 16 January 1575-6, having just before that date taken the degree of B.D. in the university of Douay. He lived chiefly in Wales, and was much esteemed for his talent in preaching. A document in the archives of the

English College at Rome The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English College ...

says that he ‘tam scriptis quam laboribus maximum in afflictissimam patriam auxilium contulit’. By an instrument dated 24 May 1578 Pope

Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

granted him a licence to bless portable altars, etc., because at that time there were in England only two

Catholic bishops In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy orders in the Catholic Church, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teachin ...

, both of whom were in prison, namely, the Irish

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

Richard Creagh Richard Creagh (; 1523 Limerick City – December 1586, Tower of London) was an Irish Roman Catholic clergyman who was the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Along with the other Irish Catho ...

and Thomas Watson, the

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

. Gwin, who appears to still have been alive in 1591, wrote several religious works in the

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 ...

, according to

Antonio Possevino Antonio Possevino (; 10 July 1533 – 26 February 1611) was a Jesuit protagonist of Counter Reformation as a papal diplomat and a Jesuit controversialist, polemicist, encyclopedist, and bibliographer. He was the first Jesuit to visit Muscovy ...

, who gives no titles. He also translated from

Elizabethan English Early Modern English (sometimes abbreviated EModEFor example, or EMnE) or Early New English (ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum (England), Interregnum and Stuart Restor ...

into

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh (, ) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh (). Literature and history Middle Welsh is ...

''A Christian Directory or Exercise guiding men to eternal Salvation'', commonly called ''The Resolution'', written by

Robert Persons Robert Persons (24 June 1546 – 15 April 1610), later known as Robert Parsons, was an English Jesuit priest. He was a major figure in establishing the 16th-century "English Mission" of the Society of Jesus. Early life Robert Person ...

, the Jesuit. Gwyn may have written Y Drych Cristianogawl, the first book to be printed in Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwin, Robert Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 16th-century Welsh Roman Catholic priests Clergy from Bangor, Gwynedd Writers from Bangor, Gwynedd Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Welsh religious writers Translators to Welsh 16th-century Welsh writers 16th-century Welsh male writers Welsh Catholic poets