John Gwenogvryn Evans (20 March 1852 – 25 March 1930) 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 peopl ...

palaeographic Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

expert and literary translator.

Early life

Evans was born at

Llanybydder Llanybydder (, sometimes formerly spelt ''Llanybyther'') is a market town and community straddling the River Teifi in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 1638, an increase from 1423 at the 2001 ...

in Carmarthenshire. He was apprenticed to a grocer, but returned to school, one of his teachers being

William Thomas (Gwilym Marles) William Thomas (1834 – 11 December 1879), better known by his bardic name of Gwilym Marles, was a Wales, Welsh minister and poet, and the great-uncle of Dylan Thomas. Dylan was given his middle name, "Marlais", in honour of William Thomas, ...

. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

and became a Unitarian minister, but gave up his pastorate because of ill-health.

Scholarly career

Evans subsequently began to take an interest in ancient Welsh

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced i ...

s, and set up his own

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

in Pwllheli to create facsimiles of major Welsh medieval manuscripts, such as the books of Aneirin and

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the ''Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the court ...

. In 1880 he moved to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he spent most of the rest of his life. He had been a speaker of Welsh in Carmarthenshire until the age of 19, and only now did he learn English. After the publication of the first volume in the ''Series of Old Welsh Texts'' in 1887, Evans was awarded the degree of MA

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

by the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. In May 1901 he received the degree

D.Litt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

honoris causa from the same university. From 1894 to 1920, Evans was employed by the Historical Manuscripts Commission, producing a major ''Report on Manuscripts in the Welsh Language''. In 1905 he facilitated the purchase of the Peniarth manuscript collection from Sir John Williams. Since 1909, this has been lodged in 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 ...

at Aberystwyth. He campaigned for a secure library for Wales. Valuable books were then in danger of destruction by fire, damp and vermin. His connection with Sir John Williams was important in the history of the establishment of the National Library. In 1915 he completed the publication of a two volume set of the works of the 6th-century Welsh poet Taliesin. The first volume, the ''Facsimile & text of the Book of Taliesin'', is a complete photographic facsimile of the original manuscript (c.1275–1325) with a scholarly introduction and notes. This was accompanied by ''Poems from the book of Taliesin'', being his own seven-year scholarly translation with notes. The latter book included and translated the mystical poems, as well as the historical/legendary poems. The initial reception of his Taliesin work suffered on several counts: the books were issued during the First World War; and in 1918 the Taliesin work was badly criticised in the Welsh journal '' Y Cymmrodor'', which thereafter damaged his standing in Wales. Evans replied to his critic at length, taking up the complete 1924 issue of ''Y Cymmrodor'' with his "Taliesin: or The Critic Cricitised".''Y Cymmrodor'', vol. 34 (1924).

Later life and death

Evans retired to Llanbedrog in Caernarfonshire, where he ran his own printing press as a hobby. He and his wife Edith are both buried there.

References

Welsh Biography Online

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, John Gwenogvryn 1852 births 1930 deaths Welsh palaeographers People associated with The National Archives (United Kingdom) Welsh Unitarians