James Conway Davies (1891–1971) 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 peop ...

historian and palaeographer. Born in

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, Carmarth ...

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 ...

, he was educated at the

University College of Wales , 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 = ...

in Aberystwyth and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, and Emmanuel College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. While at Cambridge, he was Secretary of

Cambridge University Liberal Club Cambridge University Liberal Association (CULA) is the student branch of the Liberal Democrats for students at Cambridge University. It is the successor to the Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats, which in turn was formed from the merger of Cam ...

from 1915–16, and as the society wound down in 1916 for the remainder of World War I, he held on to the society's minutes and papers for the preceding 19 years. He was a lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London between 1916 and 1918, and briefly also taught at Aberystwyth during the same period. In 1917 he got a position as sixth form master and Head of Department of Civics at the

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle (By Learning, You Will Lead) , established = , closed = , type = Grammar SchoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Geoffrey Stanford , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , cha ...

. For a period Davies worked in government administration, as Secretary of the Government Hospitality Fund and other departments, from 1918 to 1929. He was also an editor at the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was ...

, before being appointed Consultant Archivist at the

Monmouthshire County Council Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) ( cy, Cyngor Sir Fynwy) is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The current unitary authority was created in 1996 a ...

, where he established the Monmouthshire County Record Office. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, from 1941 to 1945, he was an archivist at the National Library of Wales. After the war he taught palaeography and diplomatic at Cambridge. He also held honorary positions, such as honorary editor of the Historical Society of the Church in Wales, and honorary consulting archivist to the Church in Wales. Davies is today best known for his work on late

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

English administrative history, particularly the reign of Edward II. In his 1918 book ''The Baronial Opposition to Edward II: Its Character and Policy, a Study in Administrative History'', he argues that the administration of Edward II, though politically a failure, saw several important innovations in the field of royal administration, particularly through the influence of the king's

favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated s ...

Hugh Despenser the Younger Hugh le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despenser (c. 1287/1289 – 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the Younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the Elder Despenser), by his wife Isabella de Beaucham ...

, and his father

Hugh Despenser the elder Hugh le Despenser (1 March 126127 October 1326), sometimes referred to as "the Elder Despenser", was for a time the chief adviser to King Edward II of England. He was created a baron in 1295 and Earl of Winchester in 1322. One day after being ...

. The book came out shortly after

Thomas Frederick Tout Thomas Frederick Tout (28 September 1855 – 23 October 1929) was a British historian of the medieval period. He was one of the founders of the Historical Association in 1906. Early life Born in London, he was a pupil of St Olave's Grammar Sch ...

's ''The Place of the Reign of Edward II in English History'' (1914), which covered much of the same area. Davies also edited several works with medieval documents, much of this relating to Wales.

References

Publications

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, James Conway 1891 births 1971 deaths 20th-century Welsh historians Welsh palaeographers British medievalists