Welsh Journals

Sir Rees Davies (1938-2005) by Emrys Jones, PhD, DSc, DUniv, FBA, FRGS When I handed over the Presidency of the Cymmrodorion to Rees Davies, three years ago, it was with the relief and satisfaction of knowing that the Society had so distinguished a leader, and that a progressive and fruitful future was assured. Sadly the link has been broken, and the loss is grievous. Rees saw the Presidency as an honour. In fact he was honouring the Society by his acceptance. His health was frail, his commitments immense, yet he played a full part in the Society's activities with enthusiasm, charm and wit, and we have good reason to remember his presence and guidance, as well as the con- stant support of his wife Carys. Rees was a Merioneth man, the product of the village school at Cynwyd and of the County School at Bala, nurtured in the Welsh inheritance in his out- standing student career at University College London. The fusion of the two cultures continued in pursuing post-graduate studies in Oxford and by teach- ing at Swansea and UCL (1963-76) before being appointed to a Chair of History at Aberystwyth and finally to the Chichele Chair of Medieval History at Oxford (1995-2004) and a Fellowship at All Souls College. Rees had a mas- terly command of both languages, one of his books being awarded the Wolfson Literary Prize for History in 1987. When living in London he and Carys made an important contribution to the development of the Welsh School there, and the years at Aberystwyth meant much to them both as it enabled them to establish a Welsh upbringing for their children. Rees's eminence was based on his study of Welsh medieval history. His first major work was on the Marcher Lords; the second was a masterly account of Wales from the Norman conquest to the early fifteenth century; the third an analysis of the Revolt of Owain Glyn Dwr. There emerged, too, a wider inter- est in the sense of identity in Celtic lands and how this related to England, touched upon in his talk to the Society, 'On being Welsh', published in the Transactions for 2003, and dealt with in a volume of essays on The First English Empire, which was awarded the British Academy Book Prize for 2001. This corpus of work reflects the thinking of one of the most outstanding scholars Wales has produced in recent times. His achievements won acclaim in Britain and an international reputation. And throughout all this he found time to chair the National Curriculum Committee for History in Wales and the Ancient Monuments Board for Wales. Rees's dedication and enormous capac- ity for work brought him many accolades. He did not pursue prizes; he pur- sued excellence, and the prizes followed honorary degrees, fellowships, book awards, a Fellowship of the British Academy (1987), followed by the