James Jenkins (died 1710) was a Cornish scholar who left some verses giving moral advice on child raising and marriage in the

Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a List of revived languages, revived language, having become Extinct language, extinct as a livin ...

. In his day he was considered a learned scholar of the

. Little of his work has survived.

Life

James Jenkins resided in the

Manor of Alverton The Manor of Alverton was a former manorial estate located in the hundred of Penwith, west Cornwall, England, UK. History The first historical details of the manor were recorded in the Domesday book which stated that before the Norman conquest ...

, near Penzance.

Edward Lhuyd Edward Lhuyd FRS (; occasionally written Llwyd in line with modern Welsh orthography, 1660 – 30 June 1709) was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also named in a Latinate form as Eduardus Luidius. Life ...

(1660–1709), the Celtic philologist, spent four months in 1700 in Cornwall learning Cornish as the basis for his planned Cornish-English vocabulary. His main informants included James Jenkins,

John Keigwin John Keigwin (1641–1716) was a Cornish antiquary, born at Mousehole, Cornwall. He was a leading member of a group of antiquaries in west Penwith: this group also included John and Thomas Boson, William Gwavas, Thomas Tonkin, William Borlase, ...

, the Reverend Henry Ustick and

Nicholas Boson Nicholas Boson (1624–1708) was a writer in, and preserver of, the Cornish language. He was born in Newlyn to a landowning and merchant family involved in the pilchard fisheries. Nicholas's mother had prevented their neighbours and servants spe ...

. Lhuyd published a phonetically spelled transcript of Jenkins' verses. James Jenkins died in 1710. Although little of his work has survived, during his lifetime Jenkins was considered one of the most learned of writers in Cornish. In 1712

John Boson John Boson was a cabinet maker and carver whose work is associated with that of William Kent. It is said that if he had not died at such a relatively young age then his place would have been assured in the history of furniture making in the Unit ...

wrote an ''Elegy for James Jenkins'', attached to a letter to

William Gwavas William Gwavas (1676–1741) was an English barrister and writer in the Cornish language. Life The eldest son of William Gwavas, by Eliza, daughter of Sir Thomas Arundell of Tolverne, near Truro, he was born at Huntingfield Hall, Suffolk, 6 ...

, and an ''Epitaph for James Jenkins'', which William Gwavas rewrote. The elegy was titled ''En levra coth po vo Tour Babel gwres''.

Work

Jenkins wrote his verses of moral advice around 1700. In total there are about three dozen lines. They may be two separate poems, but

Henry Jenner Henry Jenner (8 August 1848 – 8 May 1934) was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival. Jenner was born at St Columb Major on 8 August 1848. He was th ...

considered that they formed a long poem, or "irregular ode", of five stanzas. The Gwavas manuscript has a complete copy, and this has been printed with a translation by Pryce and Davies Gilbert. A note in the Price edition says Tonkin had it from Lhuyd, who had it from Gwavas, who made the translation. The song is in idiomatic late Cornish, and the spelling is erratic. The song starts with ''Ma leeas gwreage, lacka vel zeage,'' and is a series of moral platitudes on marriage and child raising. It has five stanzas of five or six lines each. The first part, or the first poem, consists of nine short rhymed couplets. They compare between good and bad wives, and thoughtful and thoughtless children. The second part, or second poem, is written in longer couplets. It advises a wise man on how to treat a good wife, and advises him to build a solid house. The first part may be translated,

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, James Date of birth unknown 1710 deaths People from Penzance Cornish-language writers Poets from Cornwall