# Peter Williams — Lavengro character guide

> Peter Williams in Lavengro by George Borrow.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Peter, the good Peter Williams, the good Peter

**First appearance:** 0004-i

## Snapshot

A Welsh preacher who finds the wandering Lavengro beneath his oak and probes him with quiet, unsettling questions about poison, enemies, and forgiveness.

## Who they are

Peter Williams is a Welsh preacher whose family Lavengro encounters on the road, and who questions the young man closely about the poisoned cake, the Egyptian sorceress, and whether he bears malice against his enemy. He is drawn to Lavengro yet shadowed by some private grief or guilt, flinching when his wife praises his exhortation and muttering that he has forgotten what he is. His grave, searching presence turns a roadside accident into a meditation on faith and conscience, anchoring the book's middle stretch in genuine spiritual tension.

## In the story

### [LXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lxxii)

The preacher who saves the narrator, preaches a sermon, and discusses Welsh history and language.

### [The Sabbath Day with Peter and Winifred](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lxxiii)

A great Welsh preacher who is deeply troubled, crying out in Welsh about 'the sin against the Holy Ghost' during the night.

### [LXXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lxxiv)

Peter is melancholy but becomes more cheerful during conversation; he is deeply troubled when reminded of his past sin (Pechod Ysprydd Glan).

### [The Unpardonable Sin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lxxv)

Narrates his childhood story of committing the sin against the Holy Ghost and the lasting despair it caused.

### [Chapter LXXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lxxvii)

Concludes his narrative of sin and preaching; tormented by the sin against the Holy Ghost.

### [LXXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lxxviii)

Shows marked improvement in mood and outlook after the narrator's words; preaches a powerful sermon on the Sabbath.

### [LXXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lxxix)

Urges the narrator to join him in Wales, recounts his encounter with a diabolical stranger, and delivers a sermon on the soul, heaven, and hell.

### [The Border Crossing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/lxxx)

Urges Lavengro to enter Wales and learn Welsh; gives Lavengro his Welsh Bible.

### [A Word for Lavengro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/i-a-word-for-lavengro)

A Welsh farmer whose childhood blasphemy haunts him, illustrating divine providence.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/characters/peter_williams
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/characters