Williams, Glanmor 1920-2005

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WILLIAMS, Glanmor 1920-2005

PERSONAL: Born May 5, 1920, in Dowlais, Glamorganshire, Wales; died, March 2, 2005, in Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales; son of Daniel and Ceinwen (Evans) Williams; married Margaret Fay Davies, April 6, 1946; children: Margaret Nest, Jonathan Huw. Education: University College of Wales, B.A., 1940, M.A., 1947, D.Litt., 1963. Religion: Baptist. Hobbies and other interests: Music, cameras.

CAREER: University College of Swansea, University of Wales, Swansea, lecturer in history, senior lecturer, 1951–57, professor and head of department of history, 1957–82. Chairman, Ancient Monuments Board (Wales), 1983–95. Justice of the Peace. British Broadcasting Corp., national governor for Wales. Chairman and member of the board of several cultural organizations, including the British Library Board, Broadcasting Council for Wales, and the Board of Celtic Studies.

MEMBER: British Academy (fellow), Royal Historical Society (fellow), Historic Buildings Council for Wales (chairman, 1983–95).

AWARDS, HONORS: Named Knight of the British Empire, 1995, in honor of services to the history, culture, and heritage of Wales.

WRITINGS:

Samuel Roberts Llanbrynmair, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 1950.

Yr Esgob Richard Davies, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 1953.

The Welsh Church from Conquest to Reformation, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 1962, revised edition, 1976.

Owen Glendower, Oxford University Press (London, England), 1966.

(Editor) Merthyr Politics, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 1966.

Welsh Reformation Essays, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 1967.

Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru o'r concwest hy at y diwygiad Protestannaidd, Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru (Cardiff, Wales), 1968.

Reformation Views of Church History, John Knox Press (Richmond, VA), 1970.

A Prospect of Paradise?, BBC Wales (Cardiff, Wales), 1976.

General and Common Sort of People, 1540–1640, University of Exeter (Exeter, England), 1977.

Religion, Language and Nationality in Wales: Historical Essays by Glanmor Williams, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 1979.

(Compiler, contributor) Welsh Society and Nationhood: Historical Essays Presented to Glanmor Williams, edited by R.R. Davies, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 1984.

Henry Tudor and Wales, Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru (Cardiff, Wales), 1985.

Recovery, Reorientation, and Reformation: Wales, c. 1415–1642, Clarendon (New York, NY), 1987.

(Editor, with Robert Owen Jones) The Celts and the Renaissance: Tradition and Innovation: Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Celtic Studies, 187, Held at Swansea, 19-24 July 1987, University of Wales (Cardiff, Wales), 1990.

Swansea: An Illustrated History, C. Davies (Swansea, Wales), 1990.

The Welsh and Their Religion: Historical Essays, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 1991.

Owain Glynd'wr, University of Wales (Cardiff, Wales), 1993.

(Editor, with Ieuan Gwynedd Jones) Social Policy, Crime and Punishment: Essays in Memory of Jane Morgan, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 1994.

Wales and the Reformation, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 1997.

Cymru a'r gorffennol: Cor o leisiau, Gomer (Llandysul, Cerdigion), 2000.

Glanmor Williams: A Life (memoir), University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 2002.

Editor, Glamorgan County History and Welsh History Review. Contributor to history journals.

SIDELIGHTS: Glanmor Williams was acclaimed for his work as a historian. His contributions to the understanding of the Tudor Church, as well as his social histories, have had "profound" influence on public life in his native Wales, according to Dai Smith in a Times Literary Supplement review of Williams's memoir Glanmor Williams: A Life. Williams was born in the industrial community of Dowlais, to a working-class family with nonconformist religious beliefs. Though he went on to a brilliant academic career and eventually was knighted for his contributions to society, Williams always kept in touch with his humble roots. With "humour and charm," he recounts his early days in A Life, stated Smith, and as his life story unfolds, he repeatedly "underlines the vitality of that distinctive community which had nurtured him." Williams gave service to many of the cultural institutions of Wales, but in Smith's opinion, his greatest service to country has been simply his faithfulness to the Welsh identity.

Wales and the Reformation was a product of almost fifty years of research by Williams. His book covers the entire course of the Protestant Reformation in Wales, beginning with two chapters on the Church before Reformation began, nine on the years of the Reformation, and concluding with chapters on the Welsh Bible and the state of the Church. At the time of the Reformation, many people in Wales were practicing a form of Christianity that had strong links to superstition. Clergy were for the most part unlearned men and there were no translations into Welsh of the major religious texts. According to Penry Williams, a contributor to the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, "the great strength of this book lies in its excellent discussion of the campaign to achieve translations into Welsh" of the Bible and prayer books. Williams concluded: "This book appropriately crowns the scholarly career of Sir Glanmor Williams. English, Scottish and Irish historians, as well as Welsh, should be grateful to him."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Williams, Glanmor, Glanmor Williams: A Life, University of Wales Press (Cardiff, Wales), 2002.

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, June, 1976, review of Glamorgan Country History, Volume 4, p. 580; October, 1989, review of Recovery, Reorientation, and Reformation, p. 1091.

Antiquaries Journal, winter, 1976, review of Glamorgan Country History, Volume 4, p. 114.

British Book News, July, 1985, review of Harri Tudor A Chymru, p. 441; September, 1987, review of Recovery, Reorientation, and Reformation, p. 603.

Choice, April, 1998, review of Recovery, Reorientation and Refromation, p. 1299; review of Wales and the Reformation, p. 1440.

Church History, March, 1972, review of Reformation Views of Church History, p. 123.

English Historical Review, July, 1969, review of Welsh Reformation Essays, p. 611; July, 1977, review of Glamorgan County History, Volume 4, p. 608; October, 1982, review of Religion, Language and Nationality in Wales, p. 874; January, 1989, review of Recovery, Reorientation, and Reformation, p. 123; February, 1994, Steven G. Ellis, review of The Celts and the Renaissance: Tradition and Innovation, p. 161.

History Today, February, 1987, review of Merthyr Politics, p. 51; review of Religion, Language and Nationality in Wales, p. 52; October, 1997, review of Wales and the Reformation, p. 55.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History, July, 1999, Penry Williams, review of Wales and the Reformation, p. 590.

Times Literary Supplement, November 23, 1979, review of Religion, Language and Nationality in Wales, p. 30; March 18, 1988, review of Recovery, Reorientation and Reformation, p. 309; January 31, 1992, review of The Welsh and Their Religion, p. 15.

University Press Book News, December, 1991, review of The Welsh and Their Religion, p. 7.