Griffith Powell (1561 – 15 June or 28 June 1620) was a philosopher and Principal of

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 S ...

, from 1613 to 1620.

Life

Powell was the third of four sons of John ap Hywel of

Llansawel Llansawel is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, about ten miles north of Llandeilo. It covers an area of . The community is bordered by the communities of: Pencarreg; Cynwyl Gaeo; Talley; Llanfynydd; Llanfihangel Rhos-y-Corn ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

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 the south. It had a population in ...

. Powell matriculated at Jesus College in 1581, obtaining his BA in 1584, MA in 1589, and BCL in 1593. He was elected Fellow of the college in 1589. He effectively ran the college during the principalships of his two predecessors,

Francis Bevans Francis Bevans (1530 – 3 June 1602) was a Welsh lawyer who was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, from 1586 to 1602. Life Bevans was born in Carmarthen. He became a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford in 1573. He gained a B.C.L. in 1579, ...

and John Williams. Williams deprived him of his Fellowship, but it was restored on the Chancellor's orders. Powell wrote two volumes on Aristotelian philosophy, ''Analysis analyticorum posteriorum'' (1594) and ''De sophisticis elenchis'' (1598). He was awarded his DCL in 1599. During his time as Principal he "requested" various "worthy personages" to contribute to the construction of college buildings, in particular the chapel, hall, buttery and kitchen, and raised £838 12s 2d: £259 from merchants and gentry of London, £160 from citizens of Oxford, £341 from people in Wales and the borders, and £78 from seven members of the clergy in Wales ( Richard Parry, Bishop of St Asaph, giving £66 13s 2d of this sum).Baker, ''Jesus College'', 4 The hall still retains the panelling, three tables and two benches from the time of this work. His careful approach to college finances also made it possible to increase the numbers of resident fellows and scholars, and the popularity of the college with students from South Wales in particular increased during his time as Principal. He died in 1620 and was buried in the Church of St Michael at the Northgate near the College. He left his whole estate to the college; lands in

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were bought with the proceeds, and these remained in college ownership until 1966. The college chapel was completed within a year of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Griffith 1561 births 1620 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford Principals of Jesus College, Oxford Welsh philosophers People from Carmarthenshire 16th-century Welsh writers 17th-century Welsh writers 16th-century philosophers 17th-century philosophers