Maria Jane Williams

In 1826–7 she made a collection of the fairy tales of the Vale of Neath, which was published in the supplemental volume of Crofton Croker's ‘Irish Fairy Legends’ and subsequently reprinted in an abridged form in the ‘Fairy Mythology’ of Thomas Keightley who had suggested that she should make the collection.^[2]

The fourth eisteddfod at Abergavenny in October 1837 was under the patronage of Lady Llanover, who later became her friend.^[3][2] At this event she was awarded the prize for the best collection of unpublished Welsh music. It was published in 1844 under the title of ‘The Ancient National Airs of Gwent and Morgannwg’. Despite later criticisms this book remains an important contribution to the knowledge of traditional Welsh music.^[4] The book contains 43 songs with Welsh words and accompaniments for the harp or piano.^[5] and also provides notes on the songs and a list of persons for whom copies of the work had been printed, which evidenced how well patronised Welsh folk song was during this period.^[5] The book has since been re-issued by the Welsh Folk Song Society with a contemporary introduction and notes by Daniel Huws.^[5] Through this collection she rescued many songs, the best known being Y Deryn Pur (The Gentle Dove) and Y Ferch o'r Sger (The Maid of Sker).^[2] In October 1838, at the ensuing Eisteddfod, she won a prize for the best arrangement of any Welsh air for four voices^[2]

Lucy Broadwood, an ex-president and mentor of the Folk Song Society, and one of the earliest collectors of Celtic folk songs, in a scathing attack on the folklorists of the day, claimed that during the period 1800 to 1850, in Wales, as in the rest of Britain, ‘a mass of "traditional" and so-called "Druidical" songs was published which does not bear critical investigation.’ She claimed, however, that Maria Jane Williams was one of only two people in Britain at this time who were the exception to this rule.^[5] Maria Jane Williams claimed that: ‘The songs were given as...obtained,...in their wild and original state; no embellishments of the melody have been attempted, and the accompanying words are those sung to the airs.’^[6]

Maria Jane Williams also assisted John Parry to produce the ‘Welsh Harper’ and John Thomas consulted her before publishing his two volumes of Welsh airs.^[3]