Thomas Wiliems facts for kids

Thomas Wiliems (born around 1545 or 1546 in Ardda'r Mynaich, Arllechwedd, Wales; died before August 13, 1623) was a Welsh expert who studied old things and wrote about them. He is best known for creating a huge Latin-Welsh dictionary.

His Life Story

Early Life and Education

Thomas Wiliems grew up in a place called Trefriw in Caernarfonshire. His mother was Catherine, and his father was Wiliam ap Tomos ap Gronwy. It's thought that Thomas went to school run by the important Wynn family, just like William Morgan, who later translated the Bible into Welsh.

During Thomas's time, there was a big interest in learning, known as the Renaissance. This really shaped his life. He went to Brasenose College at Oxford for a while. We don't have many clear records of his time there, and it seems he didn't finish with a degree.

Career and Beliefs

Instead of getting a degree, Thomas Wiliems became an Anglican priest. He worked as a curate in Trefriw from about 1573. People often called him Syr Thomas Wiliems, which was a common title for priests in Wales back then.

Later, Thomas changed his religion and became a Catholic. Because of this, he couldn't easily get his work printed. This might be why he focused on writing and copying things by hand. He also worked as a doctor, using his vast knowledge from books, as formal qualifications weren't always needed then.

Thomas Wiliems passed away before August 13, 1623. His uncle, Sir John Wynn of Gwydir Castle, then took ownership of Thomas's dictionary manuscript.

His Important Work

The Big Dictionary

Thomas Wiliems is most famous for his Latin-Welsh dictionary. He wrote it all by hand between 1604 and 1607. To create it, he used a method like keeping a special notebook where he collected words and ideas. He also added Welsh words to an existing Latin-English dictionary by Thomas Thomas.

His dictionary was called Thesaurus Linguæ Latinæ et Cambrobritannicæ, which means 'Treasury of the Latin and Welsh Language'. In the introduction, Thomas said he spent 30 years gathering material. He wanted to help the Welsh language, which he felt was being used less and less by people at the time.

Even though his friend John Edwards tried to help, the dictionary wasn't published during Thomas's lifetime. Thomas left the manuscript to Sir John Wynn, who then gave it to John Davies of Mallwyd. Sir John asked John Davies to publish it and give credit to Thomas Wiliems. John Davies was already working on his own Welsh-Latin dictionary. In 1632, he published a shorter version of Thomas Wiliems's dictionary as part of his own big book.

Other Writings

Thomas Wiliems also worked on other projects. It's believed he put together a large book about plants, called a 'Herbal', in Latin, Welsh, and English. This book is now lost, but parts might still exist in other copies.

He also seemed to translate a religious book into Welsh. And he collected many Welsh proverbs, which are wise sayings.

Copying Old Books

Because of his family connections, Thomas Wiliems knew people who owned very old and important Welsh manuscripts. He started copying these valuable books when he was just 21 years old. His copying work included:

• Many old family histories and family trees.
• Historical stories like Brut y Brenhinedd (Chronicle of the Kings) and Historia Dared. He even copied parts of the famous White Book of Rhydderch that are now lost.
• A Latin version of the old Welsh Laws.
• Books about grammar and how words are formed, including parts of Gruffydd Robert's grammar and other poetry guides. He also copied selections of Welsh poetry from the late Middle Ages.