The Welsh Bible

A history of how the Bible came to be translated into Welsh and its remarkable influence on Welsh life and culture. In 1563 the Act for the Translation of the Scripture and the Divine Service into Welsh was passed by Parliament. It was ordered by Elizabeth I's government, largely because it became apparent that the Welsh could not be converted to the Protestant faith without the use of their native tongue. Fears of foreign Catholic invasion made it imperative that they should be converted wholesale to the new religion to avoid any threat to the security of the realm. The translation of the Scriptures into Welsh has traditionally been regarded as one of the major factors responsible for the preservation of the Welsh language. It was also fundamentally important for the successful introduction of Protestantism and the later growth of Nonconformity. The impact of the Welsh Bible was, however, even more far-reaching, heavily influencing Welsh culture, language and literature for generations. This book provides a survey of the significance of the Welsh translation of the Bible and its subsequent influence from the sixteenth century into the twentieth century.