John Jones of Gellilyfdy facts for kids

John Jones of Gellilyfdy (born around 1578, died around 1658) was a very important Welsh person. He was a lawyer, a historian who studied old things (called an antiquary), a skilled writer (calligrapher), and a collector of old books. Most importantly, he was a scribe. This means he copied many old Welsh books by hand. Thanks to him, many important stories and facts from the past were saved. Without his hard work, these old Welsh language manuscripts might have been lost forever. He often signed his work as Siôn ap Wiliam ap Siôn. This was a common Welsh way to show who your father and grandfather were.

The Life of John Jones

John Jones came from a family of landowners in Wales. His family lived at Gellilyfdy, a place in Flintshire. He was the oldest of six brothers. John studied law, probably at Shrewsbury School. By 1609, he was working as a lawyer in a court called the Court of the Marches. This court was in Ludlow.

Even while working as a lawyer, John started copying old books. He found these books in the homes of other Welsh families. However, by 1611, he was in a debtor's prison in London. John spent much of his life in prison because of money problems. But he used this time wisely! He did most of his important copying work while he was in prison. He copied much less when he was free.

Time in Prison

In 1612, John was in Cardiff. There, he copied a very old book called the Book of Llandaff. By 1617, he was in the Fleet Prison in London. He was also held in prisons in Chester and Ludlow at different times.

When his father passed away in 1622, John inherited some land. But this led to many legal arguments. For the rest of his life, John faced lawsuits and money troubles. He was often in and out of prison. During the English Civil War, he was also put in prison for not paying taxes. He often wrote letters to important people asking for help.

Because of his experiences, John eventually stopped liking the legal profession. He even wrote about "The Judgments of good Kings on unjust Judges" from prison. John was recorded back at Gellilyfdy in 1654. But by November, he was back in the Fleet Prison.

Friends and Family

John Jones was friends with another historian named Robert Vaughan. It seems that Robert Vaughan received John's collection of old books after John died. This collection included a very important book called the White Book of Rhydderch. Some people say that John and Robert had an agreement. They said that whoever lived longer would get the other's library of books.

We do not know the exact date John Jones died. He was probably still alive in 1658. He likely died in the Fleet Prison early that year. John had married in 1651. Records show he had three daughters. His wife, Elizabeth, was still alive in 1662. She was living at Gellilyfdy at that time.

John Jones' Manuscripts

John Jones' father and grandfather were also collectors of old books. John made his first copy of a manuscript in 1598. He went on to create over one hundred more volumes. He copied many different kinds of works. He was interested in law, poetry, and history. He might have also copied books just to help pass the time in prison. When he had no new books to copy, he would sometimes recopy or rearrange the ones he already had.

A Skilled Calligrapher

John Jones was not just a copyist. He was also a very talented calligrapher. This means he had beautiful handwriting. He designed many of his own fancy capital letters and decorations. He also used designs from Italian books. Sadly, some of his most beautiful work cannot be seen clearly today. The ink he used had a lot of sulfur. Over time, this ink has damaged the paper it was written on.

Welsh Dictionary Work

In 1623, John Jones also started to create a Welsh or Welsh-Latin dictionary. This was a huge project! Later, a dictionary maker named William Owen Pughe said that John's Welsh vocabulary collection was "the most valuable" of its time. He said this because it was so complete.