Jenkyn Beverley Smith, FLSW,

FRHistS The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

(born 27 September 1931), published as J. Beverley Smith, is a historian of

medieval Wales {{Commons category Period Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to t ...

, who was successively Sir John Williams Professor of Welsh History (1986–95), Research Professor of Welsh History (1995–99) and Emeritus Professor (since 1999) at Aberystwyth University.

Career

Born on 27 September 1931, Smith completed his

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

s at the

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

(later Aberystwyth University). After completing two years of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in 1956, Smith joined the Board of Celtic Studies at the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

as a researcher, before spending two years as the Assistant Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Records at the National Library of Wales from 1958 to 1960. He then returned to his ''alma mater'' as a lecturer. Promotions followed: in 1967 he became a senior lecturer, and in 1978 reader. His appointment as Sir John Williams Professor of Welsh History followed in 1986, and he remained in that post until 1995, when he was made Research Professor in Welsh History. After retiring four years later, he remained at Aberystwyth as an emeritus professor. Smith was also co-editor of the ''

Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies ''Studia Celtica'' is an annual journal published in Wales containing scholarly articles on linguistic topics, mainly in English but with some Welsh and German; it also contains book reviews and obituaries. The journal is published by the Univers ...

'' (1972–96; from 1994, the journal became the '' Studia Celtica'') and served its Chief Editor from 1996 to 2010."Smith Prof. (Jenkyn) Beverley"
''Who's Who'' (online edition, December 2017). Retrieved 4 May 2018. Smith has served on a number of public bodies; he was a member of the council of the National Library of Wales from 1974 to 1984, and also served on the Board of Celtic Studies at the University of Wales for 42 years from 1965 (as Chairman from 1985 to 1991). He was a Commissioner of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments for Wales from 1984 to 1999, the last eight years of which he was its chairman.

Honours

In 1967, Smith was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FRHistS), and in 2013 he was also elected a

Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales ( Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh natio ...

(FLSW)."J. Beverley Smith"
''Learned Society of Wales''. Retrieved 4 May 2013. He was the dedicatee of a

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 ...

edited by Ralph A. Griffiths and

Phillipp Schofield Phillipp Richard Schofield is a medieval historian and a professor in Aberystwyth University's Department of History and Welsh History. Career Schofield graduated from University College London in 1986, with a BA in ancient and medieval histo ...

: ''Wales and the Welsh in the Middle Ages: Essays Presented to J. Beverley Smith'' (University of Wales Press, 2011).

Selected publications

* (Co-edited with T. Jones Pierce) ''Medieval Welsh Society, Selected Essays by T. Jones Pierce'' (University of Wales Press, 1972). * ''Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Tywysog Cymru'' (University of Wales Press, 1986). * (Edited with Geraint Jenkins) Politics and Society in Wales 1840–1922: Essays in Honour of Ieuan Gwynedd Jones (University of Wales Press, 1988). * ''Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales'' (University of Wales Press, 1998; 2nd edition, 2014). * (Co-edited with Llinos Beverley Smith) ''History of Merioneth'', vol. II, ''The Middle Ages'' (Merioneth Historical and Record Society, 2001).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, J. Beverley 1931 births Living people Medievalists Alumni of Aberystwyth University Academics of Aberystwyth University Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Historians of Wales