Ann Griffiths (née Thomas, 1776-1805), a tenant farmer's daughter from mid-Wales, died following childbirth aged 29, leaving behind a handful of stanzas in the Welsh language, which were preserved and published by her mentor, the Calvinistic Methodist minister, John Hughes of Pontrobert, and his wife, Ruth, who had been maid at Ann Griffith's farm and was a close confidante. Ann's poems are an expression of her fervent evangelical Christian faith, and reflect her incisive intellect and thorough scriptural knowledge. She is the most prominent female hymn-writer in Welsh. Her work is regarded as a highlight of Welsh literature, and her longest poem was decribed by the dramatist and literary critic, Saunders Lewis, as 'one of the majestic songs in the religious poetry of Europe'. A translation of one of her hymns was included in the service of enthronement of Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury in February 2003.
External links
