Daniel Huws FLSW (born 1932) is the world's leading authority of the last hundred years on Welsh

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

, with contributions that are held to represent a significant advance on those of

John Gwenogvryn Evans John Gwenogvryn Evans (20 March 1852 – 25 March 1930) was a Welsh palaeographic Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic discipline of historical writing systems. It ...

. He is noted in particular for his studies of individual manuscripts, and these, alongside portraits of significant

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

collectors, made up his work ''Medieval Welsh Manuscripts'', now recognised as the key academic text of this dimension of Wales' written history and culture. As of 2015, his work focuses on the history of Welsh manuscripts continuing up to 1800. His work has also included other projects on Wales, including ''The Poets of the Princes'', ''The Poets of the Gentry'', ''Prose Texts from Manuscripts'', and ''The Poems of

Dafydd ap Gwilym Dafydd ap Gwilym ( 1315/1320 – 1350/1370) is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and among the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Dafydd’s poetry also offers a unique window into the transcultural movement of cultural pract ...

''. He has written on

Welsh music The music of Wales, particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".Davies (2008), pg 579. This is a modern stereotype based on 19th century conceptions o ...

, as well as publishing three volumes of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

with Secker and Warburg and Faber and Faber. A university friend and associate of

Ted Hughes Edward James Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He wa ...

, he has written a memoir of the poet. He was awarded the Derek Allen Prize by the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

in 2006. He was elected a

Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales () is a national academy, learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh nation. The Learned ...

in 2011.

Life

Huws was raised in London and

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, and attended a school in

Llangefni ; ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales. At the 2011 census, Llangefni's population was 5,116, making it the second-largest town in the county and the largest on the island. The community includes the village of Rhosmeirch. Location The ...

, going onto

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the ...

, before studying Archaeology and Anthropology at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

. He worked at the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in 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 books and periodicals, and the l ...

between 1961 and 1992, and is also a member of the

Welsh Academy Literature Wales, formerly named the Academi, is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers, existing to promote Welsh-language literature, Welsh-language and Welsh literature in English, English-language literature i ...

. As a student, Huws became a close friend of

, and his 2010 ''Memories of Ted Hughes 1952–1963'' chronicles his experiences of the poet at an early age, his circle at Cambridge, the development of his relationship with

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...

, and their later life in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Huws and his wife unsuccessfully campaigned to prevent the closure of the Catholic church in the centre of Aberystwyth. His sister worked as an artist in Paris.

Academic works

* *''Peniarth 28: darluniau o Lyfr Cyfraith Hywel Dda / Illustrations from a Welsh lawbook'', Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1988. *''Llyfr Aneirin: a facsimile'', Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1989. * *''Cardiff MSS: Summary Catalogue of the Manuscripts'', Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1994. *''Five Ancient Books of Wales'', H. M. Chadwick Memorial Lectures 6, Cambridge: Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge, 1995. *''Medieval Welsh Manuscripts'', Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2000. * *''Edrica Huws Patchworks / Clytweithiau Edrica Huws'' (co-editor) (Manaman, 2007) * *

Poetry

*''Noth'', Secker, 1972. *''The Quarry'', Faber, 1999.

Memoirs

*''Memories of Ted Hughes, 1952–63'', Five Leaves, 2010.

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huws, Daniel Welsh writers Living people Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge 1932 births Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales