Life

Wynne was the youngest son of Robert Wynne (a canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 of Bangor Cathedral

Bangor Cathedral

Bangor Cathedral is an ancient place of Christian worship situated in Bangor, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol....

 and rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of Llanddeiniolen and Llaniestyn

Llaniestyn

Llaniestyn is a village and former civil parish in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The parish was abolished in 1934, and divided between Tudweiliog and Botwnnog....

) and his wife Catherine Madryn, heiress of Llannerch Fawr. William Wynne's eldest brother was Robert Wynne

Robert Wynne (cleric)

-Life:Wynne, from Llanvaur, Caernarvonshire, was the eldest son of Robert Wynne and his wife Catherine Madryn, heiress of Llannerch Fawr). The youngest son of that marriage was William Wynne. Robert Wynne was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, as his father and brother had been...

. William Wynne was born before 12 November 1671 and educated at Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

 (like his father and elder brother). He matriculated

Matriculation

Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...

 in March 1688 and took his Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1691. He became a Fellow of the college in 1692, and held this position until his death in 1704. After ordination, he became rector of Llanfachraeth

Llanfachraeth

Llanfachraeth is a village in Anglesey, in north-west Wales....

, Anglesey

Anglesey

Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...

, but appears not to have resided there. Whilst at Oxford, he was part of the circle of Edward Lhuyd

Edward Lhuyd

Edward Lhuyd was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also known by the Latinized form of his name, Eduardus Luidius....

, the Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. Wynne's publications included a History of Wales (1697), which was essentially a new version of David Powel

David Powel

David Powel was a Welsh Church of England clergyman and historian who published the first printed history of Wales in 1584.-Life:...

's 1584 work The Historie of Cambria, now called Wales. Wynne's version, which was reprinted in 1702 (unchanged), 1774 and 1812 (with changes each time), and in 1832 (with topographical notes), was the starting point in English on medieval Welsh history for nearly two hundred years.