Henry Lewis

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(21 August 1889 – 14 January 1968) was Professor of Welsh Language and Literature at the University College of Swansea from 1921 to 1954.

Life and career

Lewis was born in

Ynystawe Ynystawe (also ''Ynysdawe'' in Welsh; ) is a village in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, and in the electoral ward of Morriston. It is north of the M4 motorway junction 45 between Ynysforgan and Clydach in the Swansea Valley. The Welsh n ...

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

in south Wales on 21 August 1889. He was educated at the county school in

Ystalyfera Ystalyfera is a former industrial village and community (Wales), community in the upper Swansea Valley, on the River Tawe, about northeast of Swansea. It is an ward (politics), electoral ward and a community (Wales), community in the unitary a ...

before obtaining a degree in Welsh at

University College, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. He then moved to

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

and studied with Sir John Rhys. After teaching in Ystalyfera and

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

county schools, he served as a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V ...

and a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated ...

during the First World War. After the war, he was an assistant lecturer in the Welsh department at Cardiff before being appointed Professor of Welsh Language and Literature at

University College, Swansea Swansea University ( cy, Prifysgol Abertawe) is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. ...

in 1921. He held this position until his retirement in 1954, when he was awarded the

. He died on 14 January 1968.

Work

Lewis has been described as "standing in the front rank of scholars" who tackled the lack of essential texts for newly established courses in Welsh language and literature. His work included translations of old texts, editing and commenting upon the work of medieval poets such as

Iolo Goch Iolo Goch (c. 1320 – c. 1398) (meaning ''Iolo the Red'' in English) was a medieval Welsh bard who composed poems addressed to Owain Glyndŵr, among others. Lineage Iolo was the son of Ithel Goch ap Cynwrig ap Iorwerth Ddu ap Cynwrig Ddew ...

and work on renaissance prose. He also worked on comparative Celtic studies, writing a grammar of Middle Cornish and of Middle Breton. He was a member of the editorial committee of the University of Wales Welsh Dictionary and of ''Y Caniedydd'', the hymnal of Welsh Independents. He also worked on translating government reports and served on various public bodies including the

Welsh Joint Education Committee , native name = , native_name_lang = , logo = WJEC CBAC logo.svg , image = WJEC Cardiff 1.JPG , caption = Headquarters of the WJEC , formation = 1948 , full_name = W ...

and the council of

Coleg Harlech Coleg Harlech was a residential adult education college for mature students in Harlech, Gwynedd, later on part of Adult Learning Wales - Addysg Oedolion Cymru. History It was Wales' only long-term, mature-student residential education colleg ...

(later becoming chairman). He was a vice-president of the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...

and of the

Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion ( cy, Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion), often called simply the Cymmrodorion, is a London-based Welsh learned society, with membership open to all. It was first established in 1751 as a social, cultural ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Henry 1889 births 1968 deaths Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Academics of Cardiff University Academics of Swansea University Welsh scholars and academics Celtic studies scholars Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Welch Fusiliers officers Welsh Guards soldiers British Army personnel of World War I