Morris Williams (Nicander)
Ganed Morris Williams ym 1809 yng Nghaernarfon, a'i fagu yn Llangybi. Prentisiwyd ef fel llifiwr, ond gwelwyd fod ganddo ddawn fel bardd, ac anfonwyd ef i Ysgol Ramadeg y Brenin yng Nghaer. Yn 1830 aeth i Goleg Iesu, Rhydychen, a oedd yn draddodiadol yn recriwtio myfyrwyr o Gymru. Yn 1835 graddiodd mewn llenyddiaeth. Yn 1840, priododd Williams ag Ann Jones o Ddinbych, a ganwyd wyth o blant iddynt.
Ordeiniwyd Williams i'r Eglwys Anglicanaidd ym 1835 a threuliodd ei weinidogaeth gyfan yng ngogledd Cymru. O 1836 bu'n gurad yn Nhreffynnon, o 1840 ym Mangor, o 1845 yn Llanllechid ger Bangor, ac o 1847 yn Amlwch ar Ynys Môn. Yn 1859 daeth yn rheithor Llanrhuddlad, Ynys Môn, lle gwasanaethodd am 15 mlynedd hyd ei farwolaeth yno ym 1874, yn 64 oed.
Bardd ac Ysgolhaig
Cymerodd Morris Williams yr enw barddol Nicander, ac roedd yn feirniad Eisteddfodol. Enillodd y gadair yn Eisteddfod Aberffraw ym 1849 ac yn yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol gyntaf yn Aberdâr ym 1961.
Roedd Nicander yn un o bedwar comisiynydd a baratôdd y fersiwn diwygiedig o'r Llyfr Gweddi, a gyhoeddwyd ym 1841. Cafodd Nicander ei ysbrydoli gan The Christian Year John Keble i ysgrifennu Y Flwyddyn Eglwysig a gyhoeddwyd yn 1843. Yn 1854 cafodd ei benodi'n olygydd argraffiad Rhydychen o'r Beibl Cymraeg.
Y Psallwyr 1851
Roedd Nicander eisiau gwneud canu'r salmau yn fwy poblogaidd, ac roedd eisiau amrywiaeth ehangach o fetrau nag a ddaeth gyda salmau Edmwnd Prys. I gyflawni hyn cyfieithodd Lyfr y Salmau yn uniongyrchol o'r Hebraeg i'r Gymraeg, a defnyddiodd amrywiaeth o fetrau. Cyhoeddwyd Y Psallwyr, neu Psalmau Dafydd gan H. Hughes yn Llundain ym 1850. Fe'i cyflwynodd i Farcwis Lansdowne. Yn 1851 ailgyhoeddwyd ei Salmau gan y Gymdeithas er Hyrwyddo Gwybodaeth Gristnogol (SPCK), gyda chymeradwyaeth Esgobion Cymru ac Archesgob Caergaint.
Yr Argraffiad Digidol
Cafodd Salmau Nicander eu digideiddio i Gymdeithas y Beibl gyda chymorth MissionAssist yn 2021. Cafodd y prosiect hwn ei gwblhau fel rhan o Brosiect Digideiddio Ysgrythurau Cymraeg. Mae rhifau'r adnodau, oedd ddim yn y gwreiddiol, wedi eu hychwanegu i'r fersiwn digidol. Mantais hyn yw fod y fersiynau digidol yn chwiliadwy, a gellir cymharu gwahanol gyfieithiadau.
English:
Morris Williams (Nicander)
Morris Williams was born in 1809 in Caernarfon, and grew up in Llangybi. His was apprenticed as a sawyer, but his talent in poetry was spotted, and he was sent to King's Grammar School in Chester. In 1830 he went to Jesus College, Oxford, which traditionally recruited students from Wales. In 1835 he graduated in literature. In 1840, Williams married Ann Jones of Denbigh, and they had eight children.
Williams was ordained into the Anglican Church in 1835 and served his whole ministry in north Wales. From 1836 he was a curate in Holywell, from 1840 at Bangor, from 1845 at Llanllechid near Bangor, and from 1847 at Amlwch on Anglesey. In 1859 he became rector of Llanrhuddlad, Anglesey, where he served for 15 years until his death there in 1874, aged 64.
Poet and Scholar
Morris Williams adopted the bardic name Nicander, and was an Eisteddfodic judge. He won the chair at the Eisteddfod in Aberffraw in 1849, and at the first National Eisteddfod in Aberdare in 1861.
Nicander was one of four commissioners who prepared the revision of the Welsh Prayer Book, which was published in 1841. Nicander was inspired by John Keble's The Christian Year to write Y Flwyddyn Eglwysig which was published in 1843. In 1854 he was appointed as editor on the Oxford edition of the Welsh Bible.
Y Psallwyr 1851
Nicander wanted to make psalm singing more popular, and wanted a wider variety of metres than came with Edmwnd Prys's psalms. To achieve this he translated the Book of Psalms directly from Hebrew into Welsh, and used a variety of metres. Y Psallwyr, neu Psalmau Dafydd (The Psalter, or the Psalms of David) was published by H. Hughes in London in 1850. He dedicated it to the Marquis of Lansdowne. In 1851 his psalter was republished by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), with the commendation of the Welsh Bishops and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Digital Edition
Nicander's psalms were digitised for the Bible Society with the help of MissionAssist in 2021. This project was completed as part of the Welsh Scriptures Digitisation Project. Verse numbers, which were not part of the original, have been added to the digital version. A great advantage to these digital versions is that they are searchable and different translations can be compared side by side.
