Charles Edwards (writer)
Encyclopedia
Charles Edwards was a Welsh Puritan
cleric and writer, whose works made him a major figure in the literary history of Welsh Puritanism.
, Denbighshire
, north Wales. He was elected to a Bible clerkship at All Souls College, Oxford
in 1644, but it is unknown where he went to school. After being removed from the clerkship in 1648 by the Puritan visitors (who had taken charge of the university during the English Commonwealth), he was given a scholarship at Jesus College, Oxford
later the same year and received his Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1649. In his memoirs, An Afflicted Man's Testimony Concerning his Troubles (1691), he said that he had been promised a Fellowship but that this was denied because of his views on the rule of Oliver Cromwell
. He left Oxford and, whatever his views might have been, he then became a preacher in Wales under the auspices of the approvers of the Act for the Better Propagation of the Gospel, and was given the sinecure
living of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant
in 1653. In 1657, he became assistant to the Commissioners for ejection of ministers in north Wales. He lost his living in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant after the Restoration, even though he swore allegiance to Charles II
.
He separated from his wife in 1666 and moved firstly to Oxford and then to London, where he published the works that made him a major figure in the literary history of Welsh Puritanism. In 1672, he was licensed as a general preacher in Oswestry
, Shropshire
but returned to London in 1675, where he helped to print Welsh religious books, both reprints of earlier translations and new editions of more recent works by leading writers, and also the 1677–78 edition of the Welsh Bible. He returned to Wales and started farming, with his memoirs being published in 1691. Nothing further is recorded of him after 1 July 1691, the last date in the memoirs. His death date and place, and burial site, are unknown.
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
cleric and writer, whose works made him a major figure in the literary history of Welsh Puritanism.
Life
Edwards was born in about 1628 in LlansilinLlansilin
Llansilin is a village and local government community in Powys, Wales, about 6 miles west of Oswestry. The community, which includes Llansilin village, a large rural area and the hamlets of Molfre and Rhiwlas as well as the remote parish of Llangadwaladr, had a population of 648 at the 2001...
, Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
, north Wales. He was elected to a Bible clerkship at All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
in 1644, but it is unknown where he went to school. After being removed from the clerkship in 1648 by the Puritan visitors (who had taken charge of the university during the English Commonwealth), he was given a scholarship at Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
later the same year and received his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1649. In his memoirs, An Afflicted Man's Testimony Concerning his Troubles (1691), he said that he had been promised a Fellowship but that this was denied because of his views on the rule of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
. He left Oxford and, whatever his views might have been, he then became a preacher in Wales under the auspices of the approvers of the Act for the Better Propagation of the Gospel, and was given the sinecure
Sinecure
A sinecure means an office that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service...
living of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant
Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant
Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant is a village in Powys, mid Wales. Population 1,470 , Welsh-speaking 65% .The village is best known as the former parish of William Morgan, then a vicar who first translated the Bible into Welsh and later rose to become a Bishop at Llandaff Cathedral and St...
in 1653. In 1657, he became assistant to the Commissioners for ejection of ministers in north Wales. He lost his living in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant after the Restoration, even though he swore allegiance to Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
.
He separated from his wife in 1666 and moved firstly to Oxford and then to London, where he published the works that made him a major figure in the literary history of Welsh Puritanism. In 1672, he was licensed as a general preacher in Oswestry
Oswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
but returned to London in 1675, where he helped to print Welsh religious books, both reprints of earlier translations and new editions of more recent works by leading writers, and also the 1677–78 edition of the Welsh Bible. He returned to Wales and started farming, with his memoirs being published in 1691. Nothing further is recorded of him after 1 July 1691, the last date in the memoirs. His death date and place, and burial site, are unknown.
Works
His works include the following:- (1667, 2nd edition 1671) – described as a part-abridgement of Foxe's Book of MartyrsFoxe's Book of MartyrsThe Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, more accurately Acts and Monuments, is an account from a Protestant point of view of Christian church history and martyrology...
with further material taken from the Bible and other English writers. - (1677, the 3rd and expanded edition; described as "a classic of Welsh prose")
- ("An Echo of the Sons of Thunder") (1671), comprising Richard Davies's epistle ("to all the Welsh people") and Morris KyffinMorris KyffinMorris Kyffin was a Welsh author and soldier, brother of the poet Edward Kyffin. He was also a friend of John Dee.His best known works are the poem The Blessedness of Britayne and Deffyniad Ffydd Eglwys Lloegr ....
's (a translation of Apologia pro ecclesia Anglicana by Bishop John JewelJohn JewelJohn Jewel was an English bishop of Salisbury.-Life:He was the son of John Jewel of Buden, Devon, was educated under his uncle John Bellamy, rector of Hampton, and other private tutors until his matriculation at Merton College, Oxford, in July 1535.There he was taught by John Parkhurst,...
) - (1676), on the close connection between Hebrew and Welsh
- Fatherly instructions: being select pieces of the writings of the primitive Christian teachers, translated into English, with an appendix, entituled Gildas Minimus (1686), the appendix containing some of his own sermons