Robert "Silyn" Roberts (28 March

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Bapaume – Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

– 15 August

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

clergyman, writer, teacher and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

History

Roberts, a

Calvinistic Methodist The Presbyterian Church of Wales (), also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity based in Wales. The Calvinistic Methodist movement has its origins in the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival ...

minister, was a noted Welsh-language poet, the winner of the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

at the 1902

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

with his poem "Trystan ac Esyllt". Born in Bryn Llidiart,

Llanllyfni Llanllyfni () is a village and a community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, Wales. It is in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Caernarfonshire. The community consists of the villages of Drws-y-coed, Nantlle, Nasareth, Nebo, Gwynedd ...

, Caernarfonshire, he had worked as a slate quarryman before attending the

University College of North Wales, Bangor Bangor University () is a public research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 became one of the founding institutions of the federal ...

, and Bala Theological College. From 1901 until 1912 he was a Calvinistic Methodist minister, firstly in

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, London, and then in

Tanygrisiau Tanygrisiau is a village and area within Blaenau Ffestiniog in the upper end of the Vale of Ffestiniog in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales (). It can be found along the southern side of the Moelwyn mountain range and dates to around 1750 ...

, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Merionethshire. While living in London in the early 1900s Roberts met and befriended

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

. A

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and a close associate of the academic and politician W. J. Gruffydd, Roberts represented the Labour Party on Merioneth County Council. In collaboration with Thomas Jones, he campaigned for

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

opportunities, and founded a branch of the Workers Educational Association in North Wales. He also supported the campaign against tuberculosis in Wales.

Works

Poetry

*''Telynegion'' (1900) *''Trystan ac Esyllt a Chaniadau Eraill'' (1904)

Fiction

*''Llio Plas y Nos'' (1945) (first published in serial form in 1906)

Non-fiction

*''Y Blaid Lafur Anibynnol, ei Hanes a'i Hamcan'' (1908)

Translations

*''Gwyntoedd Croesion'' (translation of ''Cross Currents'' by J. O. Francis; Educational Pub. Co., 1924) *''Bugail Geifr Lorraine'' (translation of ''Le chevrier de Lorraine'' by Émile Souvestre; Hughes a'i Fab, 1925)

Sources

1871 births 1930 deaths Crowned bards Welsh poets Welsh Calvinist and Reformed Christians Alumni of Bangor University People from Llanllyfni 20th-century Welsh Methodist ministers 21st-century Welsh Methodist ministers {{Wales-writer-stub