Welsh History

Lesson 5: A New Identity

In this lesson you will learn how the coming of Methodism completely reshaped the Welsh character, how the landscape and culture was then transformed by the industrial revolution, how adverse conditions led to a great revolt, and how a new identity emerged for the Welsh people.

Recommended reading: Struggle pp. 73-106; Wales A to Y relevant entries; Intro to Lit. pp 64-65.

The Age of Methodism

The 18th Century in Wales can be called "the century of Methodism." Methodism greatly aided the people of Wales in their ever-lasting struggle to retain their spirituality, their language and their sense of independence. A new preaching zeal, with its emphasis on individual salvation and especially on "the word," brought home the need for literacy and education and thus the demand for more printed works. The number of books printed in Welsh increased rapidly in the fifty years after the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.

In 1674, a charitable organization was set up in London by Thomas Gouge to establish English schools in Wales and to publish books in Welsh. Over 500 books were published. Many of these were translations of mainly Protestant tracts that encouraged private worship and prayers. Along with the six major editions of the Bible that appeared during the same period, they had the unpredicted effect of ensuring the survival of the Welsh language in an age where more than one scholar was predicting its rapid demise.

It has been estimated that perhaps as many as one third or more of the population of Wales could read their scriptures by the time of churchman Griffith Jones' death in 1761.

Evening classes were set up for the laborers, farm workers and those who worked in the trades, and the "circulating schools" as they were called, have been regarded as one of the few great success stories in the long history of Wales. 18th century Wales was thus made one of the most literate countries in Europe.

Hywel Harris was converted to the Methodist cause in 1735. He worked closely with other religious enthusiasts such as Daniel Rowland, William Williams, Peter Williams (who produced a very popular version of the Bible), and John Wesley, the English evangelist.

Another influential convert was Thomas Charles in 1784, who set up the successful Sunday School movement in North Wales.

Harris’ leadership of the Methodist Revival in Wales was shared by Daniel Rowland, who had converted in 1737. His enthusiasm, along with that of his colleagues, attracted thousands of converts. The overwhelming success of the Methodist Revival in Wales, especially its espousal of the Welsh language, created a flood-tide of energy.

The new movement provided the excitement and fervor that the established church had been lacking for so long. In addition, Methodism was responsible for producing two names that are outstanding in the cultural history of Wales: William Williams and Ann Griffiths.

William Williams (Pantycelyn) is the most important hymn writer that Wales has ever produced. In only ten years Williams produced the great classical body of Welsh hymnody, a collection of over 130 hymns. His best-known is one that has remained a standard, sung throughout Wales, Cwm Rhondda, sung to the words “Guide me, oh, thou great Jehovah."

Other great hymn writers of the period included David Charles, whose brother Thomas founded the Welsh Sunday School movement. Of all his contemporaries, however, only one was able to match William Williams in the sheer intensity and power of his writing, and that was Ann Griffiths. Though she died giving birth to a child before her thirtieth birthday, the hymns she produced on her spiritual pilgrimage makes her not only one of the great poets of her native Wales, but also of Europe.

The earnestness of the new religion greatly shaped the Welsh character for the next two centuries. Sin and evil were emphasized at the expense of delight in a natural spontaneity and love of life in all its forms.

Yet there were some remarkable individuals and some striking events that, in many ways, acted as a counterbalance to the religious atmosphere created by the Methodist Revival.

Other great changes that were about to take place in Wales not only included an impressive literary renaissance, but also the coming of a giant industrial revolution. Both were to make permanent imprints upon the life of a nation that somehow continued to cling stubbornly to its separate identity within the British Isles.

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