St David’s Day: lecture about Mary Jones

How many people who read this blog would have heard of Mary Jones? She is quite famous in Wales, but that only says so much. I had heard of her since a Welsh class in which her story popped up. 

On the 1st of March it's Saint David's Day, and for that reason, on that day there was an online lecture about her and her significance. In Welsh. And I decided to attend. It was chaired by a bloke from Philosophy and Religion that I had seen around at meetings of the Bangor branch of the National College of Wales. And the lady who did the talk was from the Bible society. And that gives you an idea of the significance of Mary Jones.

The story of this lady is that she was very religious, but also very poor. She had learned to read and write, and really wanted to have a Bible. But that wasn't so easy! For someone who is poor they are quite expensive, and there aren’t many around written in Welsh.

She just saved for six years, and then, at 15, went for a walk to the nearest shop that might sell them. She was too poor for shoes, and it was 26 miles. Quite a hike! And what happened when she got there is not entirely clear, but it seems that the most likely course of events was that the shop actually sold out in Welsh language Bibles. But not to panic; there was a delivery due, and she seems to have managed to get home with her Bible a few days later. Maybe even several Bibles, to share around.

Why is this relevant? The shopkeeper seems to have been very moved by her actions, and decided that Welsh language Bibles should be cheaply available to all. And he founded a society to make that possible. And when he was at it anyway, he branched out to include the rest of the world as well.

And now? The Welsh have largely lost their religion. Those who have been here will have noticed the huge number of chapel buildings dotted around, many of which now derelict, or turned into outdoor shops or cafés or any other secular use someone had for them.

I suppose, in a way, the story still stands. I can see parallels with Greta Thunberg. If you are 15 and really stubborn, you can do things other people think are weird and not worth the bother, but before you know it you inspire either a few influential, or lots of less influential people, and are at the beginning of a big change. I can imagine why the Welsh have not forgotten her! And maybe now a few more people have heard of her…