PEDROG
: Rev John Owen Williams (1853—1932)
JOHN OWEN WILLIAMS, or PEDROG to give him his
bardic name, was born in May 1853 in Madryn, near Pwllheli, the
youngest son of Owen and Martha Williams, both of whom were in
service locally. He had a tragic childhood. At the tender age of
two he was sent to stay with his father’s sister Jane Owen, in
Llanbedrog, when his elder brother contracted smallpox. A few
years later his mother died in childbirth. His father then decided
to go to sea as a ship’s steward but his first voyage seemingly
ended in a Melbourne hospital where he died. Pedrog’s memories of
both his parents were few and hazy.
His Aunt lived in a small cottage and scrapped together a living.
Pedrog went to the local church school and in his memoirs he
speaks well of the local vicar who regularly visited the school
and ran a sort of clothes club for the poor of the parish, and
Pedrog was undoubtedly one of these. His only mention of the
schoolmistress was of her readiness to use the cane and to teach
them the Catechism of the Church of England! His knowledge of
written Welsh came largely from the chapel and the Sunday school,
and he learnt more from friendly neighbours than in the classroom.
But he displayed an early musical talent and in his teens he was
asked for a short time to lead the singing in the Wesleyan chapel
at a time when the tonic-solfa was beginning to sweep the land.
He left school at the age of twelve and for some four years did
odd jobs around local farms and whatever other work he could find.
When 16 he went to work as an assistant gardener in Gelliwig Hall.
There he learnt good gardening practice, the Latin name of plants,
and came across the work of Eben Fardd and admired it greatly.
When he read such poetry ‘my heart leapt and I felt as if I was
holding an electric battery’. He had dallied with some early verse
composition but he took up the interest seriously under the
guidance of the head gardener who taught him the rudiments of the
Welsh strict alliterative meters (y cynganeddion) and he read a
primer on them assiduously. Every spare minute was devoted to
studying Gramadeg Tegai. His first published verses appeared in
Trysorfa’r Plant while he was at Gelliwig. It is interesting to
note that access to news about the outside world came largely from
the head gardener who read the Liverpool Mercury. During the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870 the sympathy of the gardeners lay with
Prussians. They did not want to see another Napoleon in Europe!
After the death of his Aunt, his employer at Gelliwig and the head
gardener felt he would benefit from a period at Dixon’s Nurseries
in Chester. Paid 12s a week for a 12 hour day, he enjoyed the
work. Like most young Welshmen in a strange English city he looked
for the nearest Welsh Wesleyan chapel and found it in Hamilton
Place. Later, when offered a position on Lord Vane-Tempest’s
estate, Plas Machynlleth, the seat of the Marquis of Londonderry,
he happily accepted; it was a chance to return to Wales and the
head gardener at Gelliwig had worked there. But he did not stay
long. The head gardener had a foul temper and his fellow lodger
was a drunken apprentice, an unpleasant duo. Within a few months
he returned to the Chester nurseries.
He declined two other positions in stately gardens. He felt he was
a prisoner to gardening and unable to satisfy his deepest longing
and instincts. He left Chester and headed for Liverpool to work
for Lewis Williams, a Wholesale Provisions merchant. As he said
‘the die has been cast, I am crossing my Rubicon’. His friends
thought he had thrown away a golden gardening future and the
nineteenth century had lost its Alan Titchmarsh! Within a few
months his work for Lewis Williams ended and after a spell in the
cotton trade he found permanent employment in William Williams’
warehouse in Button Street. He stayed there for ten years until he
became minister of Kensington congregational chapel in 1884, a
ministry which lasted for 46 years.
Like many new arrivals in Liverpool he had on him a letter of
introduction from his local chapel, in his case the Wesleyan
chapel in Chester, and with this he duly enlisted as a member in
Shaw Street. This was some way from his lodging in Rathbone Street
(just below the present Anglican Cathedral), so he moved his
membership to Seion, the Wesleyan chapel in nearby Chester Street.
For the next eight years this was his spiritual and intellectual
home. Here he could delight in the meetings of the very active
Literary & Divinity Society (Y Cymdeithas Lenyddol a Diwinyddol).
Nurturing his poetical talent and developing his public speaking
ability, he soon gave up attending night school. The hours were
uncongenial and his understanding of the lessons was somewhat
handicapped by his English comprehension and the thick Scottish
accent of the teacher. He became a familiar participant in chapel
literary meetings, winning awards for poetry in eisteddfodau and
getting some of his entries accepted by Welsh newspapers and
periodicals.
When 21, in 1875, to quote his words he ‘took the plunge’ and
married Rose Ellen Williams from Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant, who was
in service in Alexandria Drive. After the wedding ceremony at
Seion chapel it was straight back to the warehouse and no
‘honeymoon’. They made their first home in Madryn Street and then
in Dorrit Street and had five children. Some years later he was
persuaded to try his hand at preaching, given his fluent
contributions to the literary society, and preached his first
sermon at the Wesleyan Chapel in Garston. From 1878 he served as a
Wesleyan local preacher for a few years. Given his ability and
talent he was urged to become a full time minister. But his family
commitments did not allow him to fulfil the training as required
by the Wesleyan church. Encouraged by his friends he took a major
decision and joined the Congregationalists and became a member at
their Kensington chapel in 1881. Three years later he was ordained
as the minister at Kensington and served with distinction until he
retired in 1930.
Pedrog had many interests but his main passions were preaching,
poetry and the press. In pursuit of preaching he undertook, in
1895, a lengthy tour of the eastern states of America where Welsh
migrants had set up numerous chapels. He preached so often that he
lost his voice at one point. He sailed from the Pier Head on The
Teutonic. While not one of the princes of the Welsh pulpit he was
much in demand at preaching festivals in the north and south and
was never afraid to speak on the difficult issues of the day.
But his lasting fame came from his eisteddfod achievements. He
first came to prominence in 1887 by winning the chair (and £20) at
the Gwynedd Eisteddfod at Porthmadog with an ode on ‘Faith’ and in
1889 he won the gold medal at the Utica Eisteddfod. But greater
honours came at the National Eisteddfod. He won the chair at the
Swansea Eisteddfod in 1889 for his awdl on ‘Yr Haul’ (The Sun),
followed in 1895 by winning the chair in Llanelli with
‘Dedwyddwch’ (Contentment) and finally, and appropriately, he won
the chair at the Liverpool Eisteddfod in 1900 with ‘Y Bugail’ (The
Shepherd).
The Liverpool Daily Post for Friday, September 21 (the Eisteddfod
was much later in the year then), gave a description of the
ceremony.
“The ceremony of chairing the successful bard had been fixed for
half past one, and punctually to time the platform was prepared,
and the Gorsedd banner and the carved oak chair became conspicuous
objects. Under the presidency of Hwfa Mon and the generalship of
Eifionydd, the Recorder the members of the Gorsedd, robed, and in
some cases crowned, formed into a semi-circle facing the
auditorium. Corn Gwlad failed to put in an appearance”.
The adjudication, on behalf of the panel of three, was given by
Professor Morris Jones of Bangor (later Syr John Morris-Jones, the
great authority on Welsh grammar and upholder of Eisteddfod
standards). Twenty entries had been received, sixteen of which
were odes, and the other four were ‘mere doggerel unworthy of
notice’. It was agreed that the odes of Alun Mabon and ‘Hesiod’
were the two best. Alun Mabon’s ode was ‘brief, beautiful, and
full of sweetness and every line was on the subject; but it was
restricted in scope, and never lofty’. Hesiod’s had ‘the opposite
fault of being too lengthy, and besides contained many errors of
technique. It was, however, richer in thought, and reached a
higher level than any of the others’. One of the adjudicators
tended to favour Alun Mabon’s entry but Hesiod won on a majority
decision.
When the author’s name was called it was found to be Pedrog, whose
appearance evoked three loud cheers’. He was duly escorted to the
platform and invited to sit in the bardic chair. For many years it
has been on display in Liverpool’s town hall.
As befitting a triple chair winner he then became a frequent
adjudicator at the Eisteddfod. The final eisteddfod honour came in
1928, with the Eisteddfod again in Liverpool, when he was chosen
as Archdruid, succeeding Elfed. His literary output, however, was
not confined to eisteddfod competitions. He was a prolific
contributor to the Welsh press over many years, served as an
editor, wrote some popular hymns and was a popular lecturer noted
for his eloquence and humour. The University of Wales conferred on
him an honorary M.A. in 1917 and in 1927 he was chosen as
President of the Welsh Congregational Union. He received two much
needed national testimonials in 1917 and 1930. He died on July 9th
1932, aged 79 and was buried in West Derby Cemetery.
A poor but not unhappy childhood, able and self educated, blessed
with a good memory, one who put duty before self-interest,
humorous and companionable, humble but not subservient, kind and
obliging, he achieved much in his lifetime. Literary criticism has
probably been less kind to him. But he certainly deserves to be
remembered as one who rose above great adversity to record
commendable achievements.
A suitable epitaph on Pedrog was that of another stalwart of the
Eisteddfod, Wil Ifan, ‘Mawredd yn ymguddio dan fantell
gostyngeiddrwydd’—Greatness concealed under the cloak of humility.
Arthur Thomas.
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A glimpse of Pedrog the Hymn
Writer
(A short presentation delivered at the Pedrog Festival which was
held at Liverpool Town Hall on Saturday morning, 20 March 2010
before an audience drawn from Liverpool and north Wales. Mrs Beryl
Williams (Calderstones, Liverpool) presided at the session and Mrs
Rhiannon Liddell (Wavertree) led the singing of Pedrog’s hymn ‘O
fendigaid Geidwad’)
Like so many of the Welsh poets of Merseyside Revd J O Williams,
better known by his bardic names of Pedrog, was also a competent
hymn writer. We can claim a large number of excellent hymn
writers, from the nineteenth century we can mention the Calvinist
hymns of Peter Jones (Pedr Fardd), and William Rees (Gwilym
Hiraethog), the missionary hymns of John Roberts (Minimus) and to
the twentieth century we have four ordained ministers who left us
a legacy of hymns, the Baptist Peter Williams (‘Pedr Hir’) of
Bootle, the Welsh Independent minister Pedrog and his contemporary
in Grove Street, Revd David Adams (Hawen) as well as Reverend Dr J
G Moelwyn Hughes, the Birkenhead based Welsh Presbyterian divine.
Pedrog has left us with a number of hymns and I intend to
introduce three of his most important hymns.
The first Welsh hymn that I would like to introduce is usually
sung to the tune Tichfield. The title says it all, Yr Ymdrech
Ysbrydol, which is the Spiritual Struggle
Y mae’r ymdrech yn parhau
Y mae ngobaith bron llesgau;
Caled ydyw brwydro cyd
A’r ddrwg galon ac â’r byd;
Ti, fu gynt ar Galfari,
Gwrando, gwrando ar fy nghri
Hollalluog, fraich fy Nuw
Gadwo eiddil un yn fyw.
That is the first verse of the hymn of the theme of the life of a Christian
pilgrim. Pedrog knew from his own experience that it is not at all easy to be
a Christian in this world of ours ‘Caled ydyw brwydro cyd’ he admits.
It is so difficult. Those who believe in Jesus “come”. (erchomai) to him for
eternal life. Unbelief is manifested always in the refusal to submit, to
accept, and to receive life everlasting. Those who practice evil shrink from
the challenge and refuse to fight the ‘good fight with all our might’. Pedrog
informs us in no uncertain terms what we are up against: ‘Â’r ddrwg galon
ac â’r byd’ our hearts, that is our emotions which have been tainted by
original sin is described as ‘ddrwg galon’ while we have to witness
within a world (â’r byd) which ignores as often as it can the ‘values
of the Faith’. Then Pedrog who knows his Saviour confesses with Martha of old,
‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming to the
world.’ He turns to the Saviour of the world who suffered death on the Cross
of Calvary:
Ti fu, gynt ar Galfari
Gwrando, gwrando ar fy nghri’
He pleads (‘gwrando, gwrando’) on the Saviour to listen to his cry
‘ar fy nghri’. The arm of the Almighty God in Christ will keep the
struggling believer within the fold.
In the second verse he finds comfort among the cloud of witnesses who has
conquered through the Cross of Calvary. They also had experienced a spiritual
struggle while they walked on earth.
Brodyr imi, fyrdd a mwy
Yn yr ymdrech buont hwy;
Ond yn wyneb pob rhyw loes,
Gorchfygasant trwy y Groes.
The pilgrim-believer is strengthened for he also will enjoy the fruits of the
victory of Jesus.
Minnau hefyd caf wrth raid
Eu Harweinydd hwy yn blaid;
Buddugoliaeth fydd fy nghân,
Gyda saint y nefoedd lân,
The victory of Easter is the final victory of the pilgrim-believer.
My second hymn from Pedrog’s collection is again on the theme of Peregrine
/ Pilgrim and unusually sung on the tune Stephanos. It has five verses, and in
this hymn, we have similar references and insights as we had in the first.
Gwael bererin wyf yn crwydro
Drwy anialwch maith;
Ac mewn hiraeth dwys am gyrraedd
Pen y daith.
He is in the grant tradition of the finest hymn writer in the Welsh language,
William Williams (1717-91) known simply by then name of his farmstead in
Carmarthenshire, Pantycelyn. This eighteenth century genius had influenced
Pedrog. TO the Liverpool based minister the pilgrim, in his spiritual
weakness, had wandered through the world and longs to reach his destination:
Llenni’r nos sydd yn ymgasglu,
Duo mae pob awr,
Ac mae’r wybren ddig yn tywallt
Storom fawr.
The pilgrim is in deep trouble. ‘Y Nos’, that is the night, is on the horizon.
With every hour the sky (‘wybren ddig’) seems to get darker. Soon the
huge storm (‘storom fawr’) will encompass him.
A oes llygad all fy nghanfod?
A oes glust a’m clyw?
A oes braich a all fy nghodi
O fyny’n fyw’
He asks three simple questions, namely, Is there an eye somewhere that can see
me? Is there an ear that can hear me? Is there an arm that can lift me up
alive? Pedrog finds an answer
Ust! Pa beth yw’r saint a glywaf?
“Byddaf gyda thi”!
Felys sain! Fe ddaw â nefoedd
Gyda hi.
What the note or voice that he hears? It is the promise of the Lordship of
Christ. Pedrog understands that Jesus who was the Messiah of Israel, he is
also the Son of God, who was exalted to God’s right had at the resurrection
“Gyda thi!” O! dyna ddigon,
Yn y dŵr a’r tân
Nes im gyrraedd i ogoniant
Salem lân.
‘Gyda thi’ which means ‘With thee’. That is the promise of the Gospels.
It is enough comfort, even in fire or water, for the pilgrim till he reaches
the glory of Salem, the city of God. This hymn of Pedrog has a charm all of
its own, and fits perfectly into the message of the New Testament.
We come to the most popular, well-known hymn of Reverend John Owen Williams,
the only hymn allowed into the best-selling hymnbook published under the title
Caneuon Ffydd in 2001 and which sold a staggering eighty thousand
copies within a few months of its appearance. The editors of this huge
collection of hymns altered the original hymn of the Liverpool Welsh minister.
In the first verse, third line, Pedrog had written ‘Dyro ddawn dy gariad’
(give me the virtue of love) while the editors inserted ‘crea ddelw’r
cariad’ (create the image of love). In the fifth line Pedrog was inspired
to write ‘Mi gawn dy gymundeb’ (we will have your fellowship) while the
editors have inserted ‘carwn dy gymuneb’ (we will love your
fellowship). Then in the third verse, the sixth line, Pedrog had written in my
opinion a beautiful line ‘Troir y glyn yn gân’ (will turn the valley
into song) while the editors had inserted a pedestrian line ‘Try y farn yn
gân’ (turn the judgement into song’. Without any doubt I prefer the
original.
The theme of the hymn is Pure in Heart, based on the words of Jesus in the
Beatitudes, based on Matthew 5:8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they
shall see God.’ This hymn first appeared in the hymnbook of the Welsh
Independent denomination. The hymnbook was called Y Caniedydd Cynulleidfaol
Newydd when it was published in 1921. The tune is Maesgwyn composed by
John Edwards, then based in Penrhiwceibr in the Cynon Valley, before he
emigrated to Canada. It is a fine hymn, words as well as tune:
‘O fendigaid Geidwad
Clyw f’egwan gri:
Dyro ddawn dy gariad
Yn fy enaid i.’
He pleads on his Blessed Saviour to listen to his miserable cry as he needs
his love in his soul
‘Mi gawn dy gymundeb
Nefol heb wahân
Gwelwn wedd dy wyneb,
Ond cael calon lân.’
Pedrog realises that he will experience the heavenly fellowship, and will see
Jesus face to face if he possesses a pure heart. Calon Lân is an
important concept in Welsh hymnody.
Timothy J Hughes has expressed it so well:
‘When we sing the hymn Calon Lân, as all of us have done since
childhood, we sing what we know to be true, that the simple values of the
heart matter more than the fancy things, more than gold. The message has
been central to our religious culture.’
He is absolutely right. Pedrog hymns fits into the ‘simple values of the
heart’, it is a message to all of us. Politicians have been in the news in
2009 and 2010 for their failure to understand the values of the heart. It is
true also of the sexual standards of some priests within the Roman Catholic
Church who have entirely forgotten the Beatitudes in their lust. We are
seriously in trouble (see Matthew 5: 27-30). The Pure in Heart is Pedrog at
his best The Greek adjective Katharos means both clean, as in “clean
linen shroud” (Matt 27:59), and pure, that is, unalloyed, as in ‘pure gold’
(Rev 21: 21) Pedrog has followed the interpretation of Revelation, and to him
the ‘pure in heart’ are those Christians, many he knew in his congregation,
whose devotion to God is completely sincere. We could add another word,
unalloyed. They are not double minded (James 1:8), they do not attempt to
serve both mammon and God (Matt 6:24). Pedrog himself was never paid a
handsome wage as a minister, he was on starvation wages in Kensington compared
with those who served Mammon. But he was contented and served his congregation
with diligence for 46 years in inner-city Liverpool. Such a fact accords with
the thesis enunciated by the Danish existentialist Søren Kierkegaard in his
book titled Purity of Heart is to will one thing.
In the second verse of this fine hymn the minister instructs us in the Faith.
He urges us to bend our stubborn will to the Will of God and to accept in
faith what he gives us in gifts. It is a privilege to carry the Cross, and to
praise his mercy. For in the end only one thing matters - ond cael calon
lân (to have a pure heart).
The final verse again is a verse of praise and hope and love, a real
combination of God’s mercy, goodness and compassion.
‘O fendigaid Geidwad
Ar fy nhaith trwy’r byd
Gwynned dy sancteiddrwydd
Ddyddiau f’oes i gyd.
Angau try’n dangnefedd
Troir y glyn yn gân
Nefoedd wen ddiddiwedd
Fydd i’r calon lân.’
This is the beatific vision promised to the pure in heart. Death will become
shalom. (‘Angau try’n dangnefedd’). The mountains and valleys will hear
everlasting praise. Heaven itself will welcome for ever the pure in heart. It
will be their pleasure to see God face to face (see 1 Cor 13:12).
Pedrog had tremendous amount of influence within Welsh religious circles in
Lancashire as he embodied Nonconformity in its golden age, a lovable
poet-preacher of stature who was looked upon as a saintly, genteel and kind
personality. He was himself the embodiment of the ‘pure in heart’ and in the
Welsh communities around Liverpool who had no ordained minsters, such as
Ashton-in Makerfield, Newtown-le-Willows, Skelmersdale, he was often called
upon to officiate at funerals and weddings. His humility and his attractive
personality were always referred to by his contemporaries and by those whom he
cared for in his ministry at Kensington Chapel, Liverpool. The Scripture tells
us that God dwells with the ‘lowly of spirit’ (see Psalm 51:17, also Isaiah
57: 15). As Douglas R A Hare of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary says:
“Poor in spirit”, thus refers neither to those who are poor for religious
reasons (the voluntarily poor) nor to those who are deficient with respect
to spirit (the dispirited) but rather to those poor who manifest the
attitude (the “spirit”) appropriate to their condition, namely humble
dependence on God’s grace.’
Pedrog personified Professor Hare’s explanation, he was indeed, a humble
parson dependent on God’s grace.
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EISTEDDFOD LERPWL 1900
Roedd yr eisteddfod y cyflawnodd Pedrog ei gamp ynddi yn hollol wahanol i
Eisteddfod fodern. I ddechrau, doedd yna ddim rheol Gymraeg a hyd yn oed rhai
o’r cystadlaethau yn Saesneg. Roedd y rhan fwyaf o’r darnau gosod ar gyfer y
cystadlaethau cerddorol yn Saesneg; roedd hyn, wrth gwrs, yn denu corau o
Loegr, ac yn aml iawn, nhw oedd yn ennill. Gellid ysgrifennu yn Saesneg hyd yn
oed ar gyfer rhai o’r cystadlaethau rhyddiaith; yn wir roedd y traethawd
buddugol ar ‘Democratic Institiutions’ wedi’i ysgrifennu yn Saesneg. Yn
rhyfeddach byth i eisteddfodwyr heddiw, un o’r darnau gosod ar gyfer
cystadleuaeth adrodd oedd ‘Speech of King Henry, from Sahakespeare’s King
Henry, Act IV scene iii’. Dydy’r rhestr testunau ddim yn egluro pa King Henry,
ond gan fod yr unig araith gan frenin yn y dramau i’r brenhinoedd Henry yn
digwydd yn act 4 golygfa 3 o Henry V rwy’n cymryd mai at honno y cyfeirir. Dwn
i ddim sut y byddai cynulleidfa fodern yn ymateb i’r llinell: ‘And gentlemen
of England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here’.
Roedd y Cyfansoddiadau a’r Beirniadaethau a gyhoeddwyd ddiwedd yr
wythnos yn ddwyieithog hefyd a’r teitl Saesneg oedd Transactions of the
National Eisteddfod of Wales, Liverpool 1900. Ceir ynddo fraslun o
ddigwyddiadau’r wythnos yn ogystal â’r cyfansoddiadau a’r beirniadaethau.
Fe sylwir bod yr ansoddair ‘brenhinol’ yn absennol o’r teitl, er bod y gair
‘brenhinol’ yn cael ei gynnwys ar bamffledyn ges i hyd iddo yn hysbysebu un o
gyngherddau’r Eisteddfod. Ond er gwaethaf hyn roedd rhestr y swyddogion yn
darllen fel Burke’s Peerage. Y Llywydd neu’r President, chwedl
nhwythau, oedd The Most Hon. The Marquis of Bute; yr Is lywyddion oedd His
Grace the Duke of Westiminster, The Most Hon. the Marquis of Anglesey, the Rt.
Hon. the Earl of Denbigh a nifer eraill o bobl efo teitlau tebyg. Y llywydd
lleol oedd y Gwir Anrhydeddus Louis Cohen, Arglwydd Faer Lerpwl.
Roedd Eisteddfod 1900 dipyn cwtocach nag eisteddfodau heddiw. Doedd hi ddim yn
dechrau o ddifrif tan y Dydd Mawrth ac yn gorffen ar y dydd Sadwrn ond
cynhaliwyd yr hyn a gofnodir fel an inaugural meeting ar y Nos Lun.
Cynhaliwyd hwnnw yn siambr y Cyngor yn Neuadd y Dref lle y traddodwyd darlith
ar y testun: ‘The defects of Technical Education in Wales’ gan Harry Reichel,
Prifathro Coleg Prifysgol Bangor 1884-1927. Ar ôl y ddarlith rhoddwyd yr hyn a
ddisgrifir fel at home gan yr Arglwydd Faer – ac i ddyfynu o’r
Transactions ‘it was attended by the general committee and other prominent
officials of the Eisteddfod together with their lady friends’. Mae hyn yn
awgrymu nad oedd yna ferched ymhlith y swyddogion. Fe gofnodir yn y
Transactions ‘The gathering was one of the brightest and most successful
of the social events that have ever taken place in connection with the
Eiteddfod and it was the thoughtfulness and generosity of the Lord and Lady
Mayoress that enabled the Eisteddfod to be inaugurated with such éclat.’
Dim rhyfedd i’r Arglwydd Faer gael ei dderbyn y bore canlynol i’r Orsedd a
gynhaliwyd yn Whitely Gardens, yn Everton, gan yr archdderwydd Hwfa Môn. Yr
enw barddol a ddewiswyd ar gyfer Louis Cohen oedd Cohenydd. Mae’n debyg mai
May Cohen oedd enw ei wraig, oherwydd yr enw a roddwyd iddi hi oedd Mai
Cohenydd. Traddododd yr Argwlydd Faer araith yn seremoni’r Orsedd ac un arall
yn y pafiliwn, a godwyd yn North Haymarket, yn ddiweddarach y bore hwnnw.
Traddodwyd araith hir arall yn y sesiwn hwnnw hefyd gan yr Arglwydd Mostyn. Yn
wir ceid araith ym mhob sesiwn o’r Eisteddfod, fore, p’nawn a hwyr, a
chofnodwyd nhw i gyd yn y Transactions.
Dyma felly oedd cefndir yr eisteddfod yr enillodd Pedrog ei gadair ynddi.
Testun yr awdl oedd ‘Y Bugail’ a dyma a ddywed y Cofnodion amdani:
The shepherd was recognised as an ideal subject for the chair ode, the most
eloquent testimony to this being the fact that it attracted no less than 20
competitors. The chair was a beautifully designed piece of oak furniture,
valued at £15, to which was added a money prize of £25.
Ac mae’r gadair honno yn cael ei chadw yn Neuadd y Dref, yma yn Lerpwl.
Y beirniaid oedd:
(i)Yr Athro (yn ddiweddarach Syr) John Morris-Jones,
(ii)Tafolog, sef Richard Davies, mab ffarm a dreuliodd ei blentyndod yng Nghwm
Tafolog, ger Cemais, Sir Drefaldwyn. Dechreuodd ymddiddori mewn barddoniaeth
ym 1850 ar ôl ennill amryw o wobrau mewn eisteddfodau lleol. Ysgrifennodd swm
enfawr o farddoniaeth yn ystod ei oes, awdlau meithion ar destunau fel ‘
Tywyllwch ,’ ‘ Prydferthwch ,’ ‘ Rhagluniaeth ,’ ‘ Hunanaberth ,’ ‘ Awen ,’ a
phryddestau ar ‘Ymweliad y Doethion â Bethlehem ,’ ‘ Gwirionedd ,’ ‘
Tangnefedd ,’ ‘ Yr Iachawdwriaeth ,’ a ‘Tragwyddoldeb’.
(iii) Berw, sef y Parch. R.A. Williams o Bentre Berw, Sir Fôn. Offeiriad yn
eglwys Loegr oedd o a bu’n gwasanaethu am gyfnod yn Waunfawr. Enillodd y
gadair yn eisteddfod Llundain 1887 ar awdl i’r Frenhines Fictoria.
Syr John draddododd y feirniadaeth. Ond doedd y tri ddim yn gytun. Roedd Syr
John a Berw eisiau gobrwyo awdl Pedrog ond Tafolog yn ffafrio awdl un â’r ffug
enw ‘Alun Mabon’ - ffug enw addas iawn ar gyfer awdl ar y testun ‘Y Bugail’.
Awdur yr awdl honno oedd Eliseus Williams, sy’n fwy adnabyddus o dan ei enw
barddol Eifion Wyn. Yr eironi yw bod Eifion Wyn wedi parhau yn boblogaidd fel
bardd ar hyd y blynyddoed ac ‘Y Bugail’ yw ei gyfansoddiad mwyaf adnabyddus yn
y mesurau caeth, ond ychydig iawn o bobl sydd wedi clywed sôn am Pedrog, heb
sôn am ddarllen ei waith. Mae’n amheus gennyf a oedd neb, heblaw y diweddar
Athro Hywel Teifi Edwards efallai, wedi darllen ‘Y Bugail’ ers ei
hymddangosiad yn y Transactions tan heddiw. Yr hyn oedd gan Syr John yn
erbyn awdl Eifion Wyn oedd iddo gyfyngu ei hun yn ormodol i ystyr lythrennol
ei destun, ond, meddai Syr John, ‘Mae ei awdl yn fwy cyfyng na hynny – mae
wedi cyfyngu ei hun i draethu am fywyd bugail yng Nghymru.’
Ffug enw Pedrog ar gyfer y gystadleuaeth oedd ‘Hesiod’, bardd Groeg o’r 8fed
ganrif cc. Cyfeiriai ato ei hun fel ffarmwr o Boetia, ond dwn i ddim ai
ffarmwr o fugail oedd o ai peidio; yn sicr does dim bugeilgerddi o’i eiddo
wedi goroesi, er iddo ysgrifennu ar dechnegau ffarmio. Roedd o wedi tanio
dychymyg Pedrog, mae’n amlwg, ac mae’n cynnwys englyn iddo yn ei awdl:
Hesiod gynt, yn ystig oedd, - a’i ddefaid
Hyd ddifyr fynyddoedd;
Yno i galon gai olud
Bröydd hud, a bardd ydoedd.
Dyma ddywedodd Syr John am awdl Pedrog: ‘Os yw awdl Alun Mabon yn
fer y mae awdl Hesiod yn rhy faith’. Pum can llinell oedd yn y
naill ond 1700 o linellau yn y llall, yn ymestyn dros 37 o
dudalennau. Pan ystyrir mai 1300 llinell oedd holl gynnyrch
Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr, mae’n anhygol fod un gerdd yn cynnwys
cymaint o linellau. Dim rhyfedd fod yna ‘gamgopïo a diofalwch’
ynddi weithiau. Meddai Syr John: ‘Mae’r arddull weithiau’n drwsgl
ac afrwydd ac mewn mannau hyd yn oed yn ddrwg; ond yn ei fannau
gorau y mae rhyw nerth a mawrhydi’n perthyn i’r bardd hwn na
pherthyn i’r un o’i gyd-ymgeiswyr.’
Mae’r awdl yn dechrau drwy ymholi ynhylch egwyddor bugeiliaeth a
dod i’r canlyniad mai gofal y deallus am yr anneallus ydyw. Yna
mae’n son am ofal Duw am ei fydoedd ac enwa enghreifftiau eraill
o’r un egwyddor nes dod at y bugail ei hun a’i ofal am ei braidd
gyda chymorth ei gi. Mewn ychydig o gwpledi cywydd, sydd ddim
ymysg y rhai mwyaf disglair yn yr awdl, dywed:
Bugail; - ni nyddid ini
Gan neb ei gân heb ei gi;
Hwn, erioed, sydd fel yn rhan
Ohono ef ei hun.
Yna ceir darlun o’r bugail yn chwilio am ei braidd yng nghanol
storm o eira
ac yn achub rhai a ‘ddisgynodd is y gaenen’:
Yn fyw dan eu hanfad do
‘Roedd ei annwyl braidd yno!
Ac â’i nerthol gynorthwy
O’u bedd oer achubodd hwy.
Yna daw’r haf ac y mae’n creu darlun o’r bugail yn ei fwthyn tlawd;
disgrifia ei brofiadau a’i bleser ym myd natur fel y cychwyn allan
gyda’r wawr.
O gresyn i’r wawr groesi - y gorwel
Heb i garwyr tlysni
Yma weled, a moli
Awdur hael ei cheinder hi.
Yna mae’n traethu am yr hen fugeiliaid beiblaidd –Abel, a Moses a
Dafydd a hen broffwydi Israel. Crybwylla broffwyd a gaed o Gymru
oedd wedi graddio ‘o goleg y bugeiliaid’. Gan ei fod yn cyfeirio
fan hyn at Lansannan a Hiraethog mae’n amlwg ei fod yn cyfeirio at
Gwilym Hiraethog – un arall a fu’n weinidog gyda’r Annibynwyr yn
Lerpwl, yn ogystal â bod yn fardd ac yn newyddiadurwr. Fe
anrhydeddwyd Gwilym Hiraethog drwy osod ei enw yn destun yr awdl
yn Eisteddfod Lerpwl ym 1884, flwyddyn ar ôl ei farwolaeth. Dyfed
enillodd y gadair honno. Yna try Pedrog yn ôl at fugeiliaid
Bethlehem a symud ymlaen at y Bugail Da yn galw’r cenhedloedd ato.
Clywch fel y mae’n ceisio cynganeddu rhestr hir o enwau’r
cenhedloed
Mae’n galw y Mongoliaid, - ei nodau
A edwyn Tartariaid;
A byw yw ei swyn heb baid
Yn awyr y Chineaid.
Hylon eilw anwyliaid, - yn lluoedd,
Trwy’r gorllewin telaid;
Yn rhin i lawer enaid – hwnt i’r don
Mae’r acenion ar Americaniaid.
Ei hiaith wypu Ethiopiaid, - troi o’r nen
Hon ni phair cynhen yr Affricaniaid.
Muda gwsg Madagasgar, - yn awyr
Barneo mae’n seingar;
Trwy awelon Australia’r – seinia hi,
“Daeth yr addewid i eitha’r ddaear.”
Iesu swyna’r Caucasiaid, - i’w ddedwydd
Ddiadell daw Persiaid;
A gorwibiog Arabiaid; - ac mae’r don
Gan Iuddewon (sic) a duon Hindwiaid.
Dim rhyfedd i Syr John ddweud, ‘Dylai bardd cystal â hwn wybod nad
barddoniaeth ydyw cynganeddu rhyw rhestr o enwau dieithr’. Ond i
ddiweddu ei feirniadaeth mae’n dweud: ‘Wedi rhoi holl feiau’r awdl
hon yn ei herbyn yn y glorian, nid oes amheuaeth yn fy meddwl i
nad yw’n drymach o ddigon na’r un arall yn y gystadleuaeth’. Pam
roedd Syr John yn credu bod ‘trymder’ yn rhinwedd, dwn i ddim.
Efallai ei fod yn golygu bod yr awdl yn fwy ‘sylweddol’ nag eiddo
ei gyd-gystadleuwyr. Dyma’r adroddiad ar y cadeirio a geir yn y
Cofnodion:
The winner was, as is generally the case, discovered to be sitting
in the middle of the audience. The tall gentlemanly figure of the
Rev. J. O. Williams (Pedrog) was instantly recognised, and as he
made his way to the platform he met with a most cordial reception.
The ceremony observed in installing the successful bard was, in
almost every particular, the exact replica of the crowning
ceremony, but additional effect was given to it by the singing of
‘See the Conquering Hero comes’.
Roedd popeth a ddigwyddodd ar ôl hyn braidd yn fflat. Fel y dywed
y Transactions am y cyfarfod cyntaf yn y pafiliwn y bore
wedyn:‘The attendance was small and subdued as if the exciting
events of the previous 3 days had for the moment dulled the keen
edge of even the most enthusiastic.’ Ond roedd y pafiliwn yn llawn
erbyn cystadleuaeth y corau meibion yn y prynhawn. Cafwyd 2
gyngerdd ar ôl hynny – un ar y Nos Wener a’r llall ar y Sadwrn. A
dyna ddiwedd Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Lerpwl 1900, lle y cyflawnodd
Pedrog ei gamp fawr.
Pat Williams
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LIVERPOOL EISTEDDFOD
1900
The subject of this brief talk has been advertised as Ei
gamp yn Eisteddfod Lerpwl 1900 – ‘His achievement in the Liverpool Eisteddfod
1900’. This of course refers to the achievement of Rev. J. O. Williams (better
known by his bardic name Pedrog), in winning the chair at the National
Eisteddfod of Wales held in Liverpool in 1900. The chair is always awarded as
a prize at a special ceremony for an awdl ‘ode’, written in a selection of the
24 strict metres which had been formulated in the medieval bardic schools. The
earliest record of a competition in which a chair was awarded as a prize,
although it was not called an eisteddfod, dates back to 1176.
The 1900 Eisteddfod was very different from a modern Eisteddfod. Since the
1950’s there has been in place an all Welsh rule which means that everything
which is spoken or sung from the platform or written in the book of
Compositions and Adjudications has to be in Welsh alone. However in 1900, it
was very much a bilingual affair. The test pieces for the music competitions
were almost entirely in English. Even some of the essays for the prose
compositions could be written in English. And stranger still to modern
eisteddfod goers, the test piece for one of the recitations was the ‘Speech of
King Henry, from Shakespeare’s King Henry, Act IV scene iii’. It didn’t state
in the list of competitions which king Henry, but since the only speech made
by a king in any act 4 scene 3 of the King Henry plays, occurs in Henry V, I
have come to the conclusion that that was the intended play. However I don’t
quite know how a modern eisteddfodic audience would react to the lines: ‘and
gentlemen of England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not
here’.
The Cyfansodiadau Buddugol Eisteddfod Lerpwl 1900 was also given a
title in English, Transactions of the National Eisteddfod of Wales,
Liverpool 1900. This recorded not only the adjudications and competitions
but it also described in detail what had happened in every session.
You may have noticed that this publication lacked the title ‘royal’ – although
the epithet ‘royal’ was included in a flyer that I found advertising one of
the eisteddfod concerts. But even if the title ‘royal’ was omitted, the list
of Eisteddfod officials reads like Burke’s Peerage The President was The Most
Hon The Marquis of Bute; the vice-presidents: His Grace the Duke of
Westminster, The Most Hon the Marquis of Anglesey, the Rt Hon the Earl of
Denbigh and a string of other such titled people. The president of the local
committee was the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, the Rt. Hon Louis Cohen. Nowadays
all the officials would be Welsh people.
The modern Eisteddfod extends from Saturday to Saturday the first week in
August. The 1900 Eisteddfod, which was held in September didn’t start
officially until the Tuesday but there was, what is described as an inaugural
meeting, on the previous Monday evening. This was held here in the council
chamber at the Town Hall, where the audience heard a lecture on ‘The Defects
of Technical Education in Wales’ by Harry Reichel Principal of the University
College of North Wales, Bangor, 1884-1927. After the lecture there was an ‘at
home’ given by the Lord Mayor and (I quote from the transactions) ‘it was
attended by the General committee and other prominent officials of the
Eisteddfod together with their lady friends’. Clearly there were no women on
the committee. The transactions continue: ‘The gathering was one of the
brightest and most successful of the social events that have ever taken place
in connection with the Eisteddfod and through the generosity of the Lord and
Lady Mayoress enabled the Eisteddfod to be inaugurated with such éclat.’
It is little wonder that when the Eisteddfod opened the next day in Whitley
Gardens in Everton with an assembly of Gorsedd y Beirdd, ‘the Bardic
circle’, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress were inaugurated as members by the
then archdruid, the Rev Rowland Williams, better known by his bardic name Hwfa
Môn, a name which he took from his birth place Rhostrehwfa in Anglesey or Môn.
Louis Cohen took as his bardic name (or rather had it chosen for him by one of
the Welsh speaking officials) the name ‘Cohenydd’. His wife must have been
called May Cohen, because her bardic name was Mai Cohenydd.
At the first meeting in the Pavilion which had been erected in North
Haymarket, (I couldn’t find North Haymarket on the map, but if they mean Old
Haymarket, that would have been behind St George’s Hall, in what is now St
John’s Gardens) the president was introduced under his bardic name Cohenydd
and he gave a lengthy address. That was followed by a second address by Lord
Mostyn. The audience must have been greatly relieved when they eventually got
on to the choral competition. The transactions report in detail every single
speech that was made in every session – morning afternoon and evening – but
don’t worry I’m not going to bore you with those.
So that was the background against which Pedrog won his chair
The subject of the winning poem was ‘Y Bugail’ – The Shepherd. The
Transactions record, ‘The shepherd was recognised as an ideal subject for
the chair ode, the most eloquent testimony to this, being the fact that it
attracted no less (sic) than 20 competitors. The chair was a beautifully
designed piece of oak furniture, valued at £15, to which was added a money
prize of £25.’ And of course the chair he won is here in the Town Hall
The adjudicators were
(i) Prof. John Morris Jones, who held the chair of Welsh at the University
college of North Wales, Bangor.
(ii) Richard Davies (Tafolog) who took his bardic name from Cwm Tafolog, near
Cemais, Montgomeryshire, where he spent his childhood on his father’s farm.
His interest in poetry dates from about 1850, when he won several prizes at
local eisteddfodau. He composed a large number of long-winded odes on rather
dreary philosophical topics.
(iii) the Rev. R.A. Williams. (Berw) from Pentre Berw in Anglesey and a priest
in the established church . He had won the chair in the London National
Eisteddfod 1887 for an Ode to Queen Victoria.
The adjudication was delivered by Professor John Morris-Jones, but there was
disagreement among the three. Sir John (as he was subsequently known) and the
Rev. R.A. Williams (Berw) judged Pedrog’s ode to be the best but Richard
Davies (Tafolog) preferred the composition of another competitor, who had
submitted his entry under the nom de plume Alun Mabon. Alun Mabon was a
very suitable, albeit predictable, nom-de plume to have been chosen for
a poem entitled ‘Y Bugail’, as Alun Mabon was the main character in a pastoral
poem by a Manchester Welsh poet John Ceiriog Hughes, parts of which are
well-known even today. It was subsequently revealed that ‘Alun Mabon’ was none
other than Eliseus Williams (better known by his bardic name Eifion Wyn) and
the irony is that Eifion Wyn is well known as a poet even today and his ode ‘Y
Bugail’ is the best known of his poems in the strict metres, whereas Pedrog is
virtually unknown and I doubt if anyone has read his winning ode since it was
published in the Transactions until now.
Sir John’s main criticism of Eifion Wyn’s Ode was that he had confined himself
to a far too literal interpretation of the theme, a theme which he had
narrowed even further by describing the life of a shepherd in Wales.
Pedrog’s Ode on the other hand, extended the scope of his subject and treated
it metaphorically as well as literally. His ode was considerably longer than
Eifion Wyn’s – 1700 lines in fact extending over 37 pages of print. Even
Eifion Wyn’s poem of 500 lines is long by today’s standards. Nowadays the poet
is restricted to writing a maximum of 300 lines but most write fewer than
that. Pedrog’s nom de plume for the competition was ‘Hesiod’, a Greek
poet from the 8th century B.C., who refers to himself as a farmer from Boeotia.
Whether he was a sheep farmer or not, I don’t know, and he hasn’t written any
pastoral poems, (at least none have survived), but he has written on farming
techniques and economic thought. Pedrog was clearly attracted to him and he
mentions him in the body of the poem. In one of his better englynion (a
four lined stanza in strict alliterative metre) he describes Hesiod busying
himself with his sheep among the mountains situated in a magical district from
where his soul is enriched.
Hesiod gynt, yn ystig oedd, - a’i ddefaid
Hyd ddifyr fynyddoedd;
Yno i galon gai olud
Bröydd hud, a bardd ydoedd.
(Hesiod of yore was diligent – with his sheep / in the
pleasant mountains; / there his heart was filled with the wealth / of magical
regions, and he was a poet.)
However even Sir John considered Pedrog’s ode to be too long and this, he
said, resulted in carelessness and scribal errors. He said that the style was
occasionally clumsy and unpolished and at times downright bad, but at his best
he displayed a certain majesty and power which the others lacked.
The ode begins with a discussion about the principles of pastoral care and
reaches the conclusion that what is meant by pastoral care is the dependence
of the weak on the strong. He then moves on to describe God’s care for the
universe and gives many other examples of sun care, before coming to the
subject proper. In Sir John’s opinion he could easily have abbreviated this
tedious introduction. Pedrog then turns to the Shepherd himself and even gives
his dog a very honourable mention in what I can only describe as a less than
memorable stanza:
Bugail; - ni nyddid ini
Gan neb ei gân heb ei gi;
Hwn, erioed, sydd fel yn rhan
Ohono ef ei hun.
(Shepherd; no-one composed for us / a poem to him
without (including) his dog);
he, always, is almost a part / of himself.)
He continues with a graphic description of the hardships of winter and the
shepherd rescuing his flock after a snow storm
Fry safodd! fe welodd wawr
Anadl ar eira gwynwawr;
Pa fywyd dan oerllyd nen
Ddisgynodd is y gaenen?
Yn fyw dan eu hanfad do
‘Roedd ei annwyl braidd yno!
Ac â’i nerthol gynorthwy
O’u bedd oer achubodd hwy.
(He stood aloft! he saw the breath of dawn / on the
early morning white snow;/ what life under the cold heaven / had fallen
beneath the layer (of snow)? His beloved flock was there! / And with his
strong help / he rescued them from there icy grave.)
He can write acceptable lines on occasions, even though the translation
does not do them justice. Summer follows and he paints a picture of the
shepherd in his lowly cottage and describes his experiences and his enjoyment
of the world of nature as he sets out at dawn. All this he expounds in another
reasonably good englyn:
O gresyn i’r wawr groesi - y gorwel,
Heb i garwyr tlysni
Yma weled, a moli
Awdur hael ei cheinder hi.
(What a pity that the dawn crosses the horizon / without
lovers of beauty/ seeing, and praising / the bounteous creator of her
splendour.)
Then he turns his attention to the biblical shepherds–Abel, Moses, David and
the prophets of Israel. He moves on to mention a prophet from Wales who had
graduated from coleg y bugeiliaid ‘the college of shepherds’. Since
this coleg was located in Llansannan and the district of Hiraethog, it
was obviously a reference to a fellow congregational minister and man of
letters William Rees, otherwise known as Gwilym Hiraethog. Pedrog then returns
to the shepherds of Bethlehem and leads up to the Good Shepherd calling the
nations to his fold. He then proceeds to present in strict metre verse what I
can only describe as a roll-call of the nations involved. Below is a selection
of these stanzas:
Mae’n galw y Mongoliaid, - ei nodau
A edwyn Tartariaid;
A byw yw ei swyn heb baid
Yn awyr y Chineaid.
Hylon eilw anwyliaid, - yn lluoedd,
Trwy’r gorllewin telaid;
Yn rhin i lawer enaid – hwnt i’r don
Mae’r acenion ar Americaniaid.
Iesu swyna’r Caucasiaid, - i’w ddedwydd
Ddiadell daw Persiaid;
A gorwibiog Arabiaid; - ac mae’r dôn
Gan Iuddewon a duon Hindwiaid.
(He calls the Mongols, - his sounds / are known to the
Tartars; / and his charm is unceasingly alive / in the air of China.
Cheerfully he calls loved ones – in droves / , through the beautiful west; /
balm to many a soul are the American accents.
Jesus charms the Caucasians, to his happy / flock come the Persians;/ and the
nomadic Arabians; and the Jews and black Hindus hear his call.)
It is little wonder that Sir John said that a poet as good as this should know
better than to versify a list of foreign names. Nevertheless he was prepared
to award him the prize. He said ‘in spite of its many faults, having weighed
them in the balance, this ode is more substantial than any other in the
competition.’ I’m surprised it passed the test of Sir John because some of the
stanzas are ludicrously bad, particularly when he describes the feelings of a
ewe for its lamb
Y ddafad addfwyn, hyfwyn
A eddyf hedd efo’i hŵyn;
Dynered, yn ei orhoen
Yw ‘ma-ma’ ’r chwareugar oen.
(The gentle, genial sheep enjoys peace with her lambs; /
how tender, in her joy / is the ‘ma-ma’ of her playful lamb.)
It certainly would not have been considered worthy of the chair in a modern
Eisteddfod. It is very encouraging that the literary renaissance of the
twentieth century has continued to produce poets of a very high calibre
indeed, poets who can compare favourably with the best English poets writing
today.
The Transactions give a graphic account of the ceremony:
The winner was, as is generally the case, discovered to be sitting in the
middle of the audience. The tall gentlemanly figure of the Rev. J. O. Williams
(Pedrog) was instantly recognised, and as he made his way to the platform he
met with a most cordial reception. The ceremony observed in installing the
successful bard was, in almost every particular, the exact replica of the
crowning ceremony, but additional effect was given to it by the singing of
‘See the Conquering Hero comes’.
Everything that followed this was an anti-climax. The
Transactions report that at the first meeting on Friday morning: ‘The
attendance was small and subdued as if the exciting events of the previous 3
days had for the moment dulled the keen edge of even the most enthusiastic.’
However the pavilion filled up again for the choral competition in the
afternoon and for the final two concerts, which concluded the Liverpool
National Eisteddfod of 1900, when Pedrog won such acclaim.
Pat Williams
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