Ann Griffiths*

Ann Griffiths (1776—1805) is a hymnist of rural Wales whose poetic achievement is treasured by those who speak the Welsh language. She grew up in a family who faithfully attended their parish church and, like their neighbours, enjoyed traditional noson lawen evenings of singing with the harp and dancing.

In the mid-1790s, she embraced the spiritual renewal of the Methodist revival that was sweeping through Wales. This is when she began composing her hymns and poems, only a few of which she actually wrote down.

She recited them to her friend Ruth Hughes, who also committed them to memory. After Ann Griffiths died, it was Ruth’s husband, John Hughes, who published them. John was a teacher and preacher who had corresponded extensively with Ann as a spiritual mentor.

In the Dictionary of Welsh Biography, Gomer Morgan Roberts describes her verse as “characterized by a wealth of scriptural allusion, by deep religious and mystical feeling, and by bold metaphors.”

The following poem, translated into English by George Richard Gould Pughe, is from a collection called, The Hymns of Ann Griffiths, of Dolwar Fechan, which was published in 1900. It is available online through Project Gutenberg.

Hymn VI

“But God is faithful” 1 Cor. x, 18.

“Cofia, Arglwydd, dy ddyweddi,”

Lord, remember, we implore Thee,
----And defend from every foe
Thy poor spouse that bends before Thee
----Palpitating as a doe:
Be Thou unto her a Pillar
----To direct her in the night,—
To illuminate and fill her
----With the lustre of Thy Light.

Life is far more strange than fiction,—
----But its immortality
In defiance of affliction
----Magnifies its mystery.
When the winnowing commences,
----Lord, enable us to stand
Purified from past offences
----At the last on Thy Right Hand.

O that, as a cloud ascending
----Upwards to the skies above,
We may rise, and with unending
----Rapture realise Thy Love!
Three in One, The Same as ever,
----God proclaims His Name to be
Alpha and Omega, never
----Failing in fidelity.

*This is the second Kingdom Poets post about Ann Griffiths: first post.

Entry written by D.S. Martin. He is the author of five poetry collections including Angelicus (2021, Cascade) ― a book of poems written from the point-of-view of angels. His books are available through Wipf & Stock.

Ann Griffiths

Ann Griffiths (1776—1805) is a Welsh hymnwriter who, as a young woman, was deeply influenced by the Methodist Revival. There are no pictures of her, but this effigy (from the Ann Griffiths Memorial Chapel at Dolanog) is based on descriptions of her. According to E. Wyn James of Cardiff University, “Ann’s hymns have long been regarded as one of the highlights of Welsh literature, and since the mid-nineteenth century she herself has become a prominent icon in Welsh-speaking Wales.”

This is particularly remarkable considering that Griffiths received little education and lived in the same remote farmhouse “Dolwar Fach” her entire life. Only 70 stanzas of her verse survive, mostly due to the efforts of her spiritual mentor John Hughes, and his wife Ruth who had been a maidservant at Dolwar Fach and a close friend of Ann’s.

Known as Ann Thomas for most of her life, she had only been married ten months — following the birth and death of her only child, a daughter — when Ann passed away.

The following translation by Rowan Williams, though beautiful in its own right, does not seek to maintain the complex musicality of the original Welch. It takes an image from Song of Songs (attributed to Solomon) and turns it around — seeing Jesus as the Rose of Sharon from the perspective of the bride.

I Saw Him Standing

Under the dark trees, there he stands,
there he stands; shall he not draw my eyes?
I thought I knew a little
how he compels, beyond all things, but now
he stands there in the shadows. It will be
Oh, such a daybreak, such bright morning,
when I shall wake to see him
as he is.

He is called Rose of Sharon, for his skin
is clear, his skin is flushed with blood,
his body lovely and exact; how he compels
beyond ten thousand rivals. There he stands,
my friend, the friend of guilt and helplessness,
to steer my hollow body
over the sea.

The earth is full of masks and fetishes,
what is there here for me? are these like him?
Keep company with him and you will know:
no kin, no likeness to those empty eyes.
He is a stranger to them all, great Jesus.
What is there here for me? I know
what I have longed for. Him to hold
me always.

This is the first Kingdom Poets post about Ann Griffiths: second post.

Entry written by D.S. Martin. His latest poetry collection is Ampersand (2018, Cascade). His books are available through Amazon, and Wipf & Stock, including the anthologies The Turning Aside, and Adam, Eve, & the Riders of the Apocalypse.