William Williams (4 January 1875 – 13 January 1968), better known by 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 ...

of "Crwys", meaning "Cross", was a Welsh poet 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 ...

. He served as

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 ...

of the

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 ...

from 1939 to 1947. Like all other Archdruids, Crwys had himself won several major prizes at the National Eisteddfod. He was a three-time winner of the crown: at

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

in 1910, at

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

in 1911, and at

Corwen Corwen is a town and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. Historically, Corwen was part of the county of Merionethshire. Corwen stands on the banks of the River Dee beneath the Berwyn mountains. The town is situated west of Llang ...

in 1919. A cast bronze bust in honour of the poet is on display at Carmarthen Castle. Crwys's work tended to idealise life in rural Wales. His winning poem at the 1911 eisteddfod praised the "common people of Wales". English translations of his work appear in several anthologies.

Works

*''Ednyfed Fychan'' (1910). Inspired by the life of

Ednyfed Fychan Ednyfed Fychan ( 1170 – 1246), full name Ednyfed Fychan ap Cynwrig, was a Welsh warrior who became Seneschal to the Kingdom of Gwynedd in Northern Wales, serving Llywelyn the Great and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn. Ednyfed claimed descent fr ...

. *''Dysgub y Dail'' *''Melin Trefin'' *''Cerddi Crwys'' (1920) *''Cerddi Newydd Crwys'' (1924) *''A brief history of Rehoboth Congregational Church, Bryn-mawr, from 1643 to 1927'' (1927) *''Trydydd Cerddi Crwys'' (1935) *''Mynd a dod'' (1941) *''Cerddi Crwys, y pedwerydd llyfr'' (1944) *''Pedair Pennod'' (1950)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, William (Crwys) 1875 births 1968 deaths Crowned bards Welsh-language poets Welsh Eisteddfod archdruids