Rees Davies
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Rees Davies CBE
(August 6, 1938 - May 16, 2005), was a noted Welsh
historian.
He was born in Merionethshire
, and educated at Bala
grammar school
. He was bilingual in Welsh and English. He received a First
in his degree from University College, London, where he later returned as a lecturer. He undertook a postgraduate study of the Duchy of Lancaster’s Welsh lordships in the later Middle Ages at Merton College
in Oxford
under the supervision of K. B. McFarlane
.
In 1975 he was appointed Professor of History, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. His 1987 book Conquest, Coexistence and Change: Wales 1063-1415 won him the Wolfson Literary Award for History. In 1992 he became President of the Royal Historical Society
.
In 1995 he was appointed the Chichele Professor of Medieval History
at the University of Oxford and made a fellow of All Souls College. From 1995 to 2005 he served as Chairman of Ancient Monuments Board for Wales. Davies was appointed a Knight Bachelor
for services to history in the Queen's New Years Honours List in January 2005.
He is best known for his reinvigoration of Welsh medieval scholarship and as a pioneer in the study of 'British History', rejecting earlier anglo-centric treatments of the medieval histories of Britain and Ireland.
In 1966 he married Carys Lloyd Wynne, with whom he had one son and one daughter. Professor Sir Rees Davies died of cancer in Oxford aged 66.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(August 6, 1938 - May 16, 2005), was a noted Welsh
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...
historian.
He was born in Merionethshire
Merionethshire
Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
, and educated at Bala
Bala, Gwynedd
Bala is a market town and community in Gwynedd, Wales, and formerly an urban district of the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies at the north end of Bala Lake , 17 miles north-east of Dolgellau, with a population of 1,980...
grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
. He was bilingual in Welsh and English. He received a First
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
in his degree from University College, London, where he later returned as a lecturer. He undertook a postgraduate study of the Duchy of Lancaster’s Welsh lordships in the later Middle Ages at Merton College
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
in Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
under the supervision of K. B. McFarlane
K. B. McFarlane
Kenneth Bruce McFarlane was one of the 20th century's most influential historians of late medieval England. He was born on 18 October 1903 and was the only child of A. McFarlane, OBE. His father was a civil servant in the Admiralty and the young McFarlane's childhood was an unhappy one. This may...
.
In 1975 he was appointed Professor of History, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. His 1987 book Conquest, Coexistence and Change: Wales 1063-1415 won him the Wolfson Literary Award for History. In 1992 he became President of the Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
.
In 1995 he was appointed the Chichele Professor of Medieval History
Chichele Professor of Medieval History
The position of Chichele Professor of Medieval History is one of the statutory Chichele Professorships established at All Souls College, Oxford. This position was originally established in 1862 for the Chichele Professor of Modern History.-Professors:...
at the University of Oxford and made a fellow of All Souls College. From 1995 to 2005 he served as Chairman of Ancient Monuments Board for Wales. Davies was appointed a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for services to history in the Queen's New Years Honours List in January 2005.
He is best known for his reinvigoration of Welsh medieval scholarship and as a pioneer in the study of 'British History', rejecting earlier anglo-centric treatments of the medieval histories of Britain and Ireland.
In 1966 he married Carys Lloyd Wynne, with whom he had one son and one daughter. Professor Sir Rees Davies died of cancer in Oxford aged 66.
Works
- The Age of Conquest: Wales, 1063-1415 (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000)
- The British Isles, 1100-1500: Comparisons, Contrasts, and Connections (Edinburgh: J. Donald Publishers, 1988)
- Conquest, Coexistence, and Change: Wales, 1063-1415 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987)
- Domination and Conquest: The Experience of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, 1100-1300 (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990)
- The First English Empire: Power and Identities in the British Isles: 1093-1343 (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000)
- From Medieval to Modern Wales: Historical Essays In Honour of Kenneth O. Morgan and Ralph A. Griffiths., edited with Geraint H. Jenkins, (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2004)
- Lordship and Society in the March of Wales, 1282-1400 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978)
- The Revolt of Owain Glyn Dwr (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1995)
- Welsh Society and Nationhood: Historical Essays Presented to Glanmor Williams (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1984)
External links
- A tribute to Rees Davies [dead link]