John Rhys
Encyclopedia
Sir John Rhys was a Welsh
scholar, fellow
of the British Academy
, celticist
and the first Professor
of Celtic
at Oxford University.
in Ceredigion
, to a lead
miner
and farmer
, Hugh Rees, and his wife. Rhys was educated at schools in Pantyffynnon
and Ponterwyd
before moving to the British School
, a recently opened institution at Penllwyn, in 1855. Here Rhys was enrolled as a pupil and teacher, and after leaving studied at Bangor Normal College
from 1860 to 1861. Upon leaving Bangor Normal College, Rhys gained employment as headmaster at Rhos-y-bol, Anglesey
. It was here that Rhys was introduced to Dr Charles Williams
, then the Principal of Jesus College
, Oxford University, in 1865. This meeting eventually led to Rhys being accepted into the college, where he studied literae humaniores
. In 1869, he was elected to a fellow
ship at Merton College.
Rhys also travelled and studied in Europe during this period, staying in Paris
, Heidelberg
, Leipzig
, and Göttingen
. He attended lectures by Georg Curtius
and August Leskien
whilst in Leipzig, and it was during this period that his interest in philology
and linguistics
developed. Rhys matriculated
from Leipzig in 1871, and it was around this time that he adopted the Welsh
spelling of his name. He returned to Wales
as a government
inspector
of schools, covering Flint
and Denbigh
, and he settled in Rhyl
. Rhys also began to write, with articles on the grammar of the Celtic language and articles on the glosses in the Luxembourg manuscript being printed, the latter in the Revue Celtique. In 1872 Rhys married Elspeth Hughes-Davies.
, later published as Lectures on Welsh Philology, which served to establish his reputation as a leading scholar of the Celtic language. This reputation saw him appointed as the first Professor of Celtic
at Oxford University in 1877. He was also made a Fellow
of Jesus College, Oxford
. Rhys was elected bursar
of the college in 1885, a position he held until 1895, when he succeeded Dr Hugo Harper
as principal.
Rhys also maintained his interest in improving schools. In 1881 he was appointed to Lord Aberdare
's departmental committee on Welsh education
, whilst in 1889 he served as secretary to a commission established by Sir John Bridge
. The commission was charged with examining tithe
agitation
in Wales. In 1889 Rhys was appointed secretary to the royal commission
on Sunday closing in Wales. He also served on two other royal commissions, in 1893 and in 1901, the former concerning Welsh land tenure
and the latter Irish
university education.
. Rhys was one of the founding Fellows of The British Academy
when it was given its Royal Charter
in 1902, and after his death the Academy established an annual lecture in his name, the Sir John Rhys Memorial Lecture. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography declares him to be "foremost among the scholars of his time" in his published fields, noting that "his pioneering studies provided a firm foundation for future Celtic scholarship and research for many decades."
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
scholar, fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
, celticist
Celtic Studies
Celtic studies is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to a Celtic people. This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history archaeology and history, the focus lying on the study of the various Celtic languages, living and extinct...
and the first Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
at Oxford University.
Early years and education
He was born John Rees at PonterwydPonterwyd
Ponterwyd is a village in Ceredigion, Wales. It lies in the Cambrian Mountains of Mid Wales, approximately 12 miles east of Aberystwyth on the A44 road.-Historical background:...
in Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
, to a lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
and farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
, Hugh Rees, and his wife. Rhys was educated at schools in Pantyffynnon
Pantyffynnon
Pantyffynnon is a small village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, located half a mile south-west of Ammanford, and a mile east of Tycroes. It lies between the rivers Loughor and Amman at the foot of Mynydd y Betws....
and Ponterwyd
Ponterwyd
Ponterwyd is a village in Ceredigion, Wales. It lies in the Cambrian Mountains of Mid Wales, approximately 12 miles east of Aberystwyth on the A44 road.-Historical background:...
before moving to the British School
British school
British school may refer to*schools established by the British and Foreign School Society*British School of Amsterdam*British School of Cólon in Portugal*British School at Athens*British School of Bahrain*British School Chandigarh...
, a recently opened institution at Penllwyn, in 1855. Here Rhys was enrolled as a pupil and teacher, and after leaving studied at Bangor Normal College
Bangor Normal College
The Normal College, Bangor was an independent teacher training college, founded in 1861 until 1996, when the College became part of University of Wales Bangor...
from 1860 to 1861. Upon leaving Bangor Normal College, Rhys gained employment as headmaster at Rhos-y-bol, 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...
. It was here that Rhys was introduced to Dr Charles Williams
Charles Williams (academic)
Charles Williams was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1857 to 1877.-Life:Williams studied at Jesus College from 1823 to 1827, holding a scholarship and gaining a First in Literae Humaniores. He was then ordained, and was a missionary Fellow of the college from 1829 to 1845...
, then the Principal of Jesus College
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...
, Oxford University, in 1865. This meeting eventually led to Rhys being accepted into the college, where he studied literae humaniores
Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores is the name given to an undergraduate course focused on Classics at Oxford and some other universities.The Latin name means literally "more humane letters", but is perhaps better rendered as "Advanced Studies", since humaniores has the sense of "more refined" or "more learned",...
. In 1869, he was elected to a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
ship at Merton College.
Rhys also travelled and studied in Europe during this period, staying in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, and Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
. He attended lectures by Georg Curtius
Georg Curtius
Georg Curtius was a German philologist.-Biography:After an education at Bonn and Berlin, he was for three years a schoolmaster in Dresden, until he returned to Berlin University as privatdocent...
and August Leskien
August Leskien
August Leskien was a German linguist active in the field of comparative linguistics, particularly relating to the Baltic and Slavic languages.-Biography:...
whilst in Leipzig, and it was during this period that his interest in philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
and linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
developed. Rhys 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...
from Leipzig in 1871, and it was around this time that he adopted the Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
spelling of his name. He returned to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
as a government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
of schools, covering Flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and Denbigh
Denbigh
Denbigh is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Before 1888, it was the county town of Denbighshire. Denbigh lies 8 miles to the north west of Ruthin and to the south of St Asaph. It is about 13 miles from the seaside resort of Rhyl. The town grew around the glove-making industry...
, and he settled in Rhyl
Rhyl
Rhyl is a seaside resort town and community situated on the north east coast of Wales, in the county of Denbighshire , at the mouth of the River Clwyd . To the west is the suburb of Kinmel Bay, with the resort of Towyn further west, Prestatyn to the east and Rhuddlan to the south...
. Rhys also began to write, with articles on the grammar of the Celtic language and articles on the glosses in the Luxembourg manuscript being printed, the latter in the Revue Celtique. In 1872 Rhys married Elspeth Hughes-Davies.
Career
In 1874 Rhys delivered a series of lectures in AberystwythAberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
, later published as Lectures on Welsh Philology, which served to establish his reputation as a leading scholar of the Celtic language. This reputation saw him appointed as the first Professor of Celtic
Jesus Professor of Celtic
The Jesus Professorship of Celtic is a professorship in Celtic studies at the University of Oxford within the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages. The holder is also a Professorial Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. The chair was established in 1876, and the first professor was Sir John Rhys...
at Oxford University in 1877. He was also made a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of 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...
. Rhys was elected bursar
Bursar
A bursar is a senior professional financial administrator in a school or university.Billing of student tuition accounts are the responsibility of the Office of the Bursar. This involves sending bills and making payment plans with the ultimate goal of getting the student accounts paid off...
of the college in 1885, a position he held until 1895, when he succeeded Dr Hugo Harper
Hugo Harper
Hugo Daniel Harper was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1877 to 1895.Harper was educated at Christ's Hospital and won a scholarship to Jesus College in 1840. He obtained a second in classical moderations, followed by a First in Mathematics in 1844. He was a Fellow of Jesus College between...
as principal.
Rhys also maintained his interest in improving schools. In 1881 he was appointed to Lord Aberdare
Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare
Henry Austin Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare GCB, PC, FRS was a British Liberal Party politician, who served in government most notably as Home Secretary and as Lord President of the Council....
's departmental committee on Welsh education
Education in Wales
Education in Wales differs in certain respects from education elsewhere in the United Kingdom. For example, a significant number of students all over Wales are educated either wholly or largely through the medium of Welsh: in 2008/09, 22 per cent of classes in maintained primary schools used Welsh...
, whilst in 1889 he served as secretary to a commission established by Sir John Bridge
John Bridge
Lieutenant Commander John Bridge GC, GM & bar was a British bomb disposal expert of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War...
. The commission was charged with examining tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
agitation
Agitator
An agitator is a person who actively supports some ideology or movement with speeches and especially actions. The Agitators were a political movement as well as elected representatives of soldiers, including the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell, during the English Civil War. They were also known...
in Wales. In 1889 Rhys was appointed secretary to the royal commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
on Sunday closing in Wales. He also served on two other royal commissions, in 1893 and in 1901, the former concerning Welsh land tenure
Land tenure
Land tenure is the name given, particularly in common law systems, to the legal regime in which land is owned by an individual, who is said to "hold" the land . The sovereign monarch, known as The Crown, held land in its own right. All private owners are either its tenants or sub-tenants...
and the latter Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
university education.
Awards
Rhys gained his knighthood in 1907, and in 1911 was appointed to the Privy CouncilPrivy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
. Rhys was one of the founding Fellows of The British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
when it was given its Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in 1902, and after his death the Academy established an annual lecture in his name, the Sir John Rhys Memorial Lecture. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography declares him to be "foremost among the scholars of his time" in his published fields, noting that "his pioneering studies provided a firm foundation for future Celtic scholarship and research for many decades."