Sir Robert Rees Davies, (6 August 1938 – 16 May 2005) was a Welsh historian.

Biography

Davies was born in

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

, and educated at

Bala Grammar School Ysgol y Berwyn is a high-school situated in the town of Bala, in Gwynedd, north Wales. According to the 2013 Estyn report, 79% of pupils are from Welsh-speaking homes. In 2017, 80% of pupils achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C. In Septembe ...

. He was bilingual in Welsh and English.Obituary in ''The Independent'' 23 May 2005, Accessed 11 May 2014
/ref> He received a

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

in his degree from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

in 1959, later returning there as a lecturer in 1963. In 1959 he undertook a two-year postgraduate study of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

's Welsh lordships in the later Middle Ages at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

under the supervision of K. B. McFarlane. In 1966, he married Carys Lloyd Wynne, with whom he had one son and one daughter. In 1975, he was appointed Professor of History,

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

. His 1987 book ''Conquest, Coexistence and Change: Wales 1063–1415'' won him the Wolfson Literary Award for History. In 1992 he became President of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), 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 H ...

. In 1995, he was appointed the Chichele Professor of Medieval History at the University of Oxford and made a fellow of

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

. From 1995 to 2005 he served as Chairman of the

Ancient Monuments Board English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, li ...

for Wales. Davies was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

for services to history in the Queen's

2005 New Year Honours New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; ...

. He is best known for his reinvigoration of Welsh medieval scholarship and as a pioneer in the study of British history, rejecting earlier Anglo-centric treatments of the medieval histories of Britain and Ireland. Professor Sir Rees Davies died of cancer in Oxford, aged 66.

Works

*1978 ''Lordship and Society in the March of Wales, 1282–1400'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press) *1984 ''Welsh Society and Nationhood: Historical Essays Presented to

Glanmor Williams Sir Glanmor Williams (5 May 1920 – 24 February 2005) was a Welsh historian. Sir Glanmor was born in Dowlais, into a working-class family, and was educated at Cyfarthfa Grammar School in Merthyr Tydfil. He studied at Aberystwyth alongsi ...

'', jointly edited (Cardiff: University of Wales Press ) *1987 ''Conquest, Coexistence, and Change: Wales, 1063–1415'', part of the

Oxford History of Wales The ''Oxford History of Wales'' is a history series on the history of Wales, written by leading historians for each period. One of the volumes in the series ''Conquest, Coexistence and Change: Wales 1063–1416'' was joint winner of the Wolf ...

(Oxford: Clarendon Press) *1987 ''Wales: the Age Of Conquest, 1063–1415'' *1988 ''The British Isles, 1100–1500: Comparisons, Contrasts, and Connections'' (Edinburgh: J. Donald Publishers) *1990 ''Domination and Conquest: the Experience of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, 1100–1300'' (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press) *1995 ''The Revolt of Owain Glyn Dŵr'' (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press ) *2000 ''The Age of Conquest: Wales, 1063–1415'' (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press) *2000 ''The First English Empire: Power and Identities in the British Isles: 1093–1343'' (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press) *2002 ''Owain Glyn Dwr: trwy ras Duw, Tywysog Cymru'' (Talybont, Ceredigion: Y Lolfa, in Welsh) **English translation by Gerald Morgan: ''Owain Glyndwr: Prince of Wales'' (Talybont, Ceredigion: Y Lolfa, 2009) *2004 ''From Medieval to Modern Wales: Historical Essays in Honour of

Kenneth O. Morgan Kenneth Owen Morgan, Baron Morgan, (born 16 May 1934) is a Welsh historian and author, known especially for his writings on modern British history and politics and on Welsh history. He is a regular reviewer and broadcaster on radio and telev ...

and Ralph A. Griffiths'', edited with Geraint H. Jenkins, (Cardiff: University of Wales Press) *2009 ''Lords and Lordship in the British Isles in the Late Middle Ages'', edited by Brendan Smith, (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

References

Obituary in the ''Guardian'' 26 May 2005

Obituary in ''History Today'', Volume 55 Issue 9
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Rees 1938 births 2005 deaths Davies, Robert Rees 20th-century Welsh historians Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Presidents of the Royal Historical Society Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor British medievalists Chichele Professors of Medieval History 21st-century Welsh historians Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Wolfson History Prize winners