The longing and the legacy: liturgy and life in the hymns of William Williams of Pantycelyn

‘The four hundred or so hymns produced [by William Williams of Pantycelyn in the decade between 1762 and 1772, when he was at the height of his powers] have a significance in modern Welsh literature second only to the translation of the Bible.’ Thus said the late Dr Kathryn Jenkins, a former President of the Welsh Hymn Society and a former Executive Committee member of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland, who died suddenly and far too prematurely in 2009 aged 47. That is quite a claim given the commanding role the Welsh translation of the Bible played in Welsh cultural life during the centuries between the end of the reign of Elizabeth I and the beginning of that of Elizabeth II; but it is a claim which I believe is wholly justified and one which I hope to convince you of its veracity before the end of this lecture.