Daniel Huws (born 1932) is the world's leading authority of the last hundred years on Welsh manuscripts, with contributions that are held to represent a significant advance on those of John Gwenogvryn Evans. He is noted in particular for his studies of individual manuscripts, and these, alongside portraits of significant

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

collectors, made up his work ''Medieval Welsh Manuscripts'', now recognised as the key academic text of this dimension of Wales' written history and culture. As of 2015, his work focuses on the history of Welsh manuscripts continuing up to 1800. His work has also included other projects on Wales, including ''The Poets of the Princes'', ''The Poets of the Gentry'', ''Prose Texts from Manuscripts'', and ''The Poems of

Dafydd ap Gwilym Dafydd ap Gwilym ( 1315/1320 – 1350/1370) is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Life R. Geraint Gruffydd suggests 1315- 1350 as the poet's dates; others place him a little ...

''. He has written on

Welsh music The Music of Wales ( Welsh: ''Cerddoriaeth Cymru''), particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".Davies (2008), pg 579. This is a modern stereotype b ...

, as well as publishing three volumes of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

with Secker and Warburg and Faber and Faber. A university friend and associate of

Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...

, he has written a memoir of the poet. He was awarded the Derek Allen Prize by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

in 2006.

Life

Huws was raised in London and

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, and attended a school in

Llangefni Llangefni (meaning "church on the River Cefni", ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded Llangefni's population as 5,116 people, ma ...

before studying Archaeology and Anthropology at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He worked at the National Library of Wales between 1961 and 1992, and is also a member of the Welsh Academy. As a student, Huws became a close friend of

, and his 2010 ''Memories of Ted Hughes 1952–1963'' chronicles his experiences of the poet at an early age, his circle at Cambridge, the development of his relationship with

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, '' Th ...

, and their later life in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Huws and his wife unsuccessfully campaigned to prevent the closure of the Catholic church in the centre of Aberystwyth. His sister worked as an artist in Paris.

Academic works

* *''Peniarth 28: darluniau o Lyfr Cyfraith Hywel Dda / Illustrations from a Welsh lawbook'', Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1988. *''Llyfr Aneirin: a facsimile'', Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1989. * *''Cardiff MSS: Summary Catalogue of the Manuscripts'', Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1994. *''Five Ancient Books of Wales'', H. M. Chadwick Memorial Lectures 6, Cambridge: Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge, 1995. *''Medieval Welsh Manuscripts'', Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2000. * *''Edrica Huws Patchworks / Clytweithiau Edrica Huws'' (co-editor) (Manaman, 2007) * *

Poetry

*''Noth'', Secker, 1972. *''The Quarry'', Faber, 1999.

Memoirs

*''Memories of Ted Hughes, 1952–63'', Five Leaves, 2010.

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huws, Daniel Welsh writers Living people Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge 1932 births