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David Powel (1549/52 – 1598) was a
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
clergyman and historian who published the first printed history of Wales in 1584.


Life

Powel was born in
Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
and commenced his studies at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
when he was 16, sometime between 1566 and 1568. Whilst his initial college membership is not known, it is known that he moved to Jesus College when it was founded in 1571. He obtained his
B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
degree on 3 March 1573 and is thought to have been the college's first graduate. He obtained his
M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
on 6 July 1576. Before Powel graduated, he had been named as
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
of
Ruabon Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church ...
, Denbighshire and rector of
Llanfyllin Llanfyllin ( – ) is a market town, community and electoral ward in a sparsely populated area in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Llanfyllin's community population in 2011 was 1,532, of whom 34.1% could speak Welsh. Llanfyllin means ''church or ...
,
Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...
. He became vicar of
Meifod Meifod, formerly also written Meivod (), is a small village, community and electoral ward 7 miles north-west of Welshpool in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, on the A495 road and located in the valley of the River Vyrnwy. The River Banwy has a ...
in place of his Llanfyllin position in 1579, and was also the holder of two
prebend A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of t ...
s at St Asaph Cathedral. After further study, he obtained degrees of B.Th. on 19 February 1583 and D.Th. on 11 April 1583. He was then private chaplain to
Sir Henry Sidney Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received ...
, president of the Council in the marches of Wales, from about 1584 to 1586. He died in 1598 in Ruabon, where he was buried. One of his sons was Gabriel Powell, also a clergyman, and a strident anti-
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.


Works

Powel made a significant contribution to developing and preserving Welsh culture and to the growth of
Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
in Wales. He was a supporter of William Morgan's efforts to translate the Bible into Welsh. He kept the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...
informed about illegal books circulating amongst Roman Catholics in Wales. He was a respected scholar and was associated with geographers such as
John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, teacher, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, a ...
and
Richard Hakluyt Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America'' (1582) and ''The Pri ...
. In 1573, Powel took over the task of preparing for publication an English translation (by
Humphrey Llwyd Humphrey Llwyd (also spelled Lhuyd) (1527–1568) was a Welsh cartographer, author, antiquary and Member of Parliament. He was a leading member of the Renaissance period in Wales along with other such men as Thomas Salisbury and William ...
) of some medieval Welsh chronicles, upon which John Dee had been working before leaving England. Powel expanded Llwyd's work in its scope and detail, with the help of
Lord Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...
providing access to some further documents, making his own contributions clear by typographical distinctions. The resulting publication in 1584, ''The Historie of Cambria, now called Wales'', was the first printed history of Wales. The work remained an important source for medieval Welsh history for several centuries thereafter. It was widely read and shared among Wales' most important early modern scholars, who often commented on their copies depending on their view on Welsh history and contemporary politics. It also popularised the legend that Prince Madoc had discovered America in about 1170, a tale used to justify English encroachments on the territory of
Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' imperial era between 15th and 19th centuries. To the e ...
(for example in Hakluyt's ''Discourse on Western Planting''). Another of his popular stories related to the circumstances of the future King
Edward II of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
being created Prince of Wales at Caernarfon. Powel also published a volume with editions of Ponticus Virunnius's ''Historia Britannica'', and
Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taugh ...
's '' Itinerarium Cambriae'' ('Journey through Wales', 1191) and '' Descriptio Cambriae'' ('Description of Wales', 1194), but omitted Gerald's negative comments about the Welsh. The volume was dedicated to Sidney. He is also said (by the later lexicographer John Davies) to have worked on an unpublished Welsh dictionary.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powel, David 16th-century Welsh historians 16th-century Welsh Anglican priests Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People from Denbighshire 16th-century births 1598 deaths