Evans, son of Evan and Hannah Evans, was born at Capel Sant Silyn, Gwernogle, Carmarthenshire.[1] His birthplace was not far from the Cothi River, from which he later took his bardic name, Tomos Glyn Cothi. He seems to have had little early education, but by following his craft as a weaver, he frequented the fairs of Glamorgan, selling his cloth. In this way, he came into contact with the poets of Glamorgan and their bardic traditions. He was at the gorsedd of Mynydd y Garth in the midsummer of 1797.[1] He also had access to books, and Theophilus Lindsey assisted by sending him English books from 1792 until 1796.[1]
Religious affiliationsedit
Evans lived in an area which was predominantly Calvinist, but as early as 1786 he began to preach having embraced the doctrines of Unitarianism.[1] He was nicknamed "Priestley Bach" (Little Priestley) due to his enthusiasm for the doctrines set forth by Joseph Priestley.[1][2] In order to worship with friends of like sentiments with himself, he used to walk to Alltyblaca, twelve miles away. When he grew up, he began to preach in his father's house, a part of which he got licensed for the purpose. In time, a chapel was built. He was personally much respected, but his liberalism made him suspected by government.
Imprisoned for a songedit
He spoke warmly and wrote largely.[citation needed] In 1797, he was at a social meeting and sang by request a Welsh song, "On Liberty". On the information of a spy belonging to his own congregation, he was apprehended, tried, and sentenced by Judge Lloyd to be imprisoned for two years and to stand in the pillory. He was charged with singing an English song, the fourth stanza of which ran thus:
And when upon the British shore The thundering guns of France shall roar, Vile George shall trembling stand, Or flee his native land With terror and appal, Dance Carmagnol, dance Carmagnol.
He always denied having sung this song. During his imprisonment, he was met with great sympathy.
Hen-Dy-Cwrddedit
In 1811, he became the minister of the Old Meeting House, Aberdare,[1] where he remained until his death on 29 January 1833.[3] He was interred at the northern pine-end of the chapel.[2] The chapel, which was rebuilt in 1862, has a monument to Evans in the lobby.[3]
Writingsedit
His first publication was probably a translation of Priestley'sTriumph of Truth, being an Account of the Trial of Elwall for publishing a book in Defense of the Unity of God, 1793. Altogether, he published more than twenty works, most of them theological. In 1795, he issued No. 1 of a quarterly magazine, The Miscellaneous Repository, which had to be discontinued with No. 3 for lack of sufficient support. In 1809, he published an English-Welsh dictionary, compiled while in prison.[1][2] In 1811, he published a hymn-book of a hundred hymns, all original. A second edition appeared in 1822.
Bibliographyedit
Evans, Thomas; Richards, Thomas (1804). An English and Welch vocabulary, or, An easy guide to the antient British language. Merthyr Tydfil. hdl:10107/4799128 – via National Library of Wales.
Evans, Thomas (1809). An English-Welsh dictionary. Merthyr Tydfil. hdl:10107/4860636 – via National Library of Wales.
thomas, evans, tomos, glyn, cothi, other, poets, this, name, thomas, evans, disambiguation, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precis. For other poets of this name see Thomas Evans disambiguation This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations December 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Thomas Evans Tomos Glyn Cothi 20 June 1764 29 January 1833 was a Welsh poet Unitarian and political activist 1 Contents 1 Early life and work 2 Religious affiliations 3 Imprisoned for a song 4 Hen Dy Cwrdd 5 Writings 5 1 Bibliography 6 References 6 1 SourcesEarly life and work editEvans son of Evan and Hannah Evans was born at Capel Sant Silyn Gwernogle Carmarthenshire 1 His birthplace was not far from the Cothi River from which he later took his bardic name Tomos Glyn Cothi He seems to have had little early education but by following his craft as a weaver he frequented the fairs of Glamorgan selling his cloth In this way he came into contact with the poets of Glamorgan and their bardic traditions He was at the gorsedd of Mynydd y Garth in the midsummer of 1797 1 He also had access to books and Theophilus Lindsey assisted by sending him English books from 1792 until 1796 1 Religious affiliations editEvans lived in an area which was predominantly Calvinist but as early as 1786 he began to preach having embraced the doctrines of Unitarianism 1 He was nicknamed Priestley Bach Little Priestley due to his enthusiasm for the doctrines set forth by Joseph Priestley 1 2 In order to worship with friends of like sentiments with himself he used to walk to Alltyblaca twelve miles away When he grew up he began to preach in his father s house a part of which he got licensed for the purpose In time a chapel was built He was personally much respected but his liberalism made him suspected by government Imprisoned for a song editHe spoke warmly and wrote largely citation needed In 1797 he was at a social meeting and sang by request a Welsh song On Liberty On the information of a spy belonging to his own congregation he was apprehended tried and sentenced by Judge Lloyd to be imprisoned for two years and to stand in the pillory He was charged with singing an English song the fourth stanza of which ran thus And when upon the British shore The thundering guns of France shall roar Vile George shall trembling stand Or flee his native land With terror and appal Dance Carmagnol dance Carmagnol He always denied having sung this song During his imprisonment he was met with great sympathy Hen Dy Cwrdd editIn 1811 he became the minister of the Old Meeting House Aberdare 1 where he remained until his death on 29 January 1833 3 He was interred at the northern pine end of the chapel 2 The chapel which was rebuilt in 1862 has a monument to Evans in the lobby 3 Writings editHis first publication was probably a translation of Priestley s Triumph of Truth being an Account of the Trial of Elwall for publishing a book in Defense of the Unity of God 1793 Altogether he published more than twenty works most of them theological In 1795 he issued No 1 of a quarterly magazine The Miscellaneous Repository which had to be discontinued with No 3 for lack of sufficient support In 1809 he published an English Welsh dictionary compiled while in prison 1 2 In 1811 he published a hymn book of a hundred hymns all original A second edition appeared in 1822 Bibliography edit Evans Thomas Richards Thomas 1804 An English and Welch vocabulary or An easy guide to the antient British language Merthyr Tydfil hdl 10107 4799128 via National Library of Wales Evans Thomas 1809 An English Welsh dictionary Merthyr Tydfil hdl 10107 4860636 via National Library of Wales References edit a b c d e f g h Owen 1959 a b c Hen Dŷ Cwrdd Trecynon Addoldai Cymru Welsh Religious Buildings Trust Retrieved 21 June 2023 a b Cadw amp 10876 Sources edit Cadw Hen Dy Cwrdd Chapel 10876 National Historic Assets of Wales Retrieved 21 June 2023 Owen John Dyfnallt 1959 Evans Thomas Tomos Glyn Cothi Dictionary of Welsh Biography National Library of Wales Retrieved 10 June 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Evans Tomos Glyn Cothi amp oldid 1166918310, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
