ELLIS WYNNE was born in 1671 at Glasynys, near Harlech; his father,
Edward Wynne, came of the family of Glyn Cywarch (mentioned in the second
Vision), his mother, whose name is not known, was heiress of Glasynys.
It will be seen from the accompanying table that he was descended from
some of the best families in his native county, and through _Osborn
Wyddel_, from the Desmonds of Ireland. His birth-place, which still
stands, and is shown in the frontispiece hereto, is situate about a mile
and a half from the town of Harlech, in the beautiful Vale of Ardudwy.
The natural scenery amidst which he was brought up, cannot have failed to
leave a deep impression upon his mind; and in the Visions we come across
unmistakeable descriptions of scenes and places around his home.
Mountain and sea furnished him with many a graphic picture; the
precipitous heights and dark ravines of Hell, its caverns and its cliffs,
are all evidently drawn from nature. The neighbourhood is also rich in
romantic lore and historic associations; Harlech Castle, some twenty-five
years before his birth, had been the scene of many a fray between
Roundheads and Cavaliers, and of the last stand made by the Welsh for
King Charles. These events were fresh in the memory of his elders, whom
he had, no doubt, often heard speaking of those stirring times; members
of his own family had, perhaps, fought in the ranks of the rival parties;
his father’s grand-uncle, Col. John Jones, was one of those “who
erstwhile drank of royal blood.”
It is not known where he received his early education, and it has been
generally stated by his biographers that he was not known to have entered
either of the Universities; but, as the following notice proves, he at
least matriculated at Oxford:—
WYNNE, ELLIS, s. Edw. of Lasypeys, co. Merioneth, pleb. Jesus Coll.
matric. 1st March 1691–2, aged 21; rector of Llandanwg, 1705, & of
Llanfair-juxta-Harlech (both) co. Merioneth, 1711. (_Vide_ Foster’s
_Index Eccles_.)
Probably his stay at the University was brief, and that he left without
taking his degree, for I have been unable to find anything further
recorded of his academic career. {0a} The Rev. Edmund Prys, Vicar of
Clynnog-Fawr, in a prefatory _englyn_ to Ellis Wynne’s translation of the
“_Holy Living_” says that “in order to enrich his own, he had ventured
upon the study of three other tongues.” This fact, together with much
that appears in the Visions, justifies the conclusion that his scholarly
attainments were of no mean order. But how and where he spent the first
thirty years of his life, with the possible exception of a period at
Oxford, is quite unknown, the most probable surmise being that they were
spent in the enjoyment of a simple rural life, and in the pursuit of his
studies, of whatever nature they may have been.
According to Rowlands’s _Cambrian Bibliography_ his first venture into
the fields of literature was a small volume entitled, _Help i ddarllen yr
Yscrythur Gyssegr-Lân_ (“Aids to reading Holy Writ”), being a translation
of the _Whole Duty of Man_ “by E. W., a clergyman of the Church of
England,” published at Shrewsbury in 1700. But as Ellis Wynne was not
ordained until 1704, this work must be ascribed to some other author who,
both as to name and calling, answered to the description on the
title-page quoted above. But in 1701 an accredited work of his appeared,
namely, a translation into Welsh of Jeremy Taylor’s _Rules and Exercises
of Holy Living_, a 12mo. volume published in London. It was dedicated to
the Rev. Humphrey Humphreys, D.D., Bishop of Bangor, who was a native of
the same district of Merionethshire as Ellis Wynne, and, as is shown in
the genealogical table hereto, was connected by marriage with his family.
In 1702 {0b} he was married to Lowri Llwyd—_anglicè_, Laura Lloyd—of
Hafod-lwyfog, Beddgelert, and had issue by her, two daughters and three
sons; one of the daughters, Catherine, died young, and the second son,
Ellis, predeceased his father by two years. {0c} His eldest son, Gwilym,
became rector of Llanaber, near Barmouth, and inherited his ancestral
home; his youngest son, Edward, also entered the Church and became rector
of Dolbenmaen and Penmorfa, Carnarvonshire. Edward Wynne’s son was the
rector of Llanferres, Denbighshire, and his son again was the Rev. John
Wynne, of Llandrillo in Edeyrnion, who died only a few years ago.
The following year (1703), he published the present work—his _magnum
opus_—which has secured him a place among the greatest names in Welsh
Literature. It will be noticed that on the title-page to the first
edition the words “_Y Rhann Gyntaf_” (“The First Part”) appear; the
explanation given of this is that Ellis Wynne did actually write a second
part, entitled, _The Vision of Heaven_, but that on hearing that he was
charged with plagiarism in respect of his other Visions, he threw the
manuscript into the fire, and so destroyed what, judging from the title,
might have proved a greater success than the first part, as affording
scope for lighter and more pleasing flights of the imagination.
It is said by his biographers that he was induced to abandon the pursuit
of the law, to which he was educated, and to take holy orders, by Bishop
Humphreys, who had recognised in his translation of the _Holy Living_
marked ability and piety, and that he was ordained deacon and priest the
same day by the Bishop, at Bangor, in 1701, and presented on the
following day to the living of Llanfair-juxta-Harlech and subsequently to
Llandanwg.
All these statements appear to be incorrect. To deal with them
categorically: I find no record at the Diocesan Registry of his having
been ordained at Bangor at all; the following entry in the parish
register of Llanfair shows that he was not in holy orders in July, 1704:
“_Gulielmus filius Elizaei Wynne generosi de Lâs ynys et uxoris suis
baptizatus fuit quindecimo die Julii_, _1704_.—_W. Wynne Rr._, _O.
Edwards_, _Rector_.” His first living was Llandanwg, and not Llanfair,
to which he was collated on January 1st, 1705. Moreover, the above-named
Owen Edwards was the rector of Llanfair until his death which took place
in 1711. {0d} From that date on to 1734, the entries in the register at
Llanfair church are all in Ellis Wynne’s handwriting; these facts prove
conclusively that it was in 1711 he became rector of the latter parish.
In 1710 he edited a new and revised edition of the Book of Common Prayer,
at the request of his patron, the Bishop of Hereford (Dr. Humphreys) and
the four Welsh bishops,—a clear proof of the confidence reposed in him by
the dignitaries of his church as a man of learning and undoubted piety.
He himself published nothing more, but _A Short Commentary on the
Catechism_ and a few hymns and carols were written by him and published
posthumously by his son, Edward, being included in a volume of his own,
entitled _Prif Addysc y Cristion_, issued in 1755.
The latter part of his life is as completely obscure as the earlier; he
lapsed again into the silence from which he had only just emerged with
such signal success, and confined his efforts as a Christian worker
within the narrow limits of his own native parts, exercising,
doubtlessly, an influence for good upon his immediate neighbourhood
through force of character and noble personality, as upon his
fellow-countrymen at large by means of his published works. His wife
died in 1720, and his son, Ellis, in 1732; two years later he himself
died and was buried under the communion table in Llanfair church, on the
17th day of July, 1734. {0e} There is no marble or “perennial brass” to
mark the last resting-place of the Bard, nor was there, until recent
years, any memorial of him in either of his parish churches, when the
late Rev. John Wynne set up a fine stained-glass window at Llanfair
church in memory of his illustrious ancestor.
Ellis Wynne appeared at a time when his country had sore need of him,
when the appointed teachers of the nation were steeped in apathy and
corruption, when ignorance and immorality overspread the land—the darkest
hour before the dawn. He was one of the early precursors of the
Methodist revival in Wales, a voice crying in the wilderness, calling
upon his countrymen to repent. He neither feared nor favored any man or
class, but delivered his message in unfaltering tone, and performed his
alloted task honestly and faithfully. How deeply our country is indebted
to him who did her such eminent service in the days of adversity and
gloom will never be known. And now, in the time of prosperity, Wales
still remembers her benefactor, and will always keep honored the name of
Ellis Wynne, the SLEEPING BARD.