David Powel (1549/52 – 1598) was a Welsh

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

clergyman and historian who published the first printed history of Wales in 1584.

Life

Powel was born in Denbighshire and commenced his studies at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

when he was 16, sometime between 1566 and 1568. Whilst his initial college membership is not known, it is known that he moved to Jesus College when it was founded in 1571. He obtained his B.A. degree on 3 March 1573 and is thought to have been the college's first graduate. He obtained his M.A. on 6 July 1576. Before Powel graduated, he had been named as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Ruabon, Denbighshire and rector of Llanfyllin,

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

. He became vicar of Meifod in place of his Llanfyllin position in 1579, and was also the holder of two

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

s at St Asaph Cathedral. After further study, he obtained degrees of B.Th. on 19 February 1583 and D.Th. on 11 April 1583. He was then private chaplain to Sir Henry Sidney, president of the Council in the marches of Wales, from about 1584 to 1586. He died in 1598 in Ruabon, where he was buried. One of his sons was Gabriel Powell, also a clergyman, and a strident anti-

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Works

Powel made a significant contribution to developing and preserving Welsh culture and to the growth of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

in Wales. He was a supporter of William Morgan's efforts to translate the Bible into Welsh. He kept the Privy Council informed about illegal books circulating amongst Roman Catholics in Wales. He was a respected scholar and was associated with geographers such as John Dee and

Richard Hakluyt Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the British colonization of the Americas, English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discov ...

. In 1573, Powel took over the task of preparing for publication an English translation (by Humphrey Llwyd) of some medieval Welsh chronicles, upon which John Dee had been working before leaving England. Powel expanded Llwyd's work in its scope and detail, with the help of Lord Burghley providing access to some further documents, making his own contributions clear by typographical distinctions. The resulting publication in 1584, ''The Historie of Cambria, now called Wales'', was the first printed history of Wales. The work remained an important source for medieval Welsh history for several centuries thereafter. It was widely read and shared among Wales' most important early modern scholars, who often commented on their copies depending on their view on Welsh history and contemporary politics. It also popularised the legend that Prince Madoc had discovered America in about 1170, a tale used to justify English encroachments on the territory of Spanish America (for example in Hakluyt's ''Discourse on Western Planting''). Another of his popular stories related to the circumstances of the future King

Edward II of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

being created Prince of Wales at Caernarfon. Powel also published a volume with editions of Ponticus Virunnius's ''Historia Britannica'', and Gerald of Wales's '' Itinerarium Cambriae'' ('Journey through Wales', 1191) and '' Descriptio Cambriae'' ('Description of Wales', 1194), but omitted Gerald's negative comments about the Welsh. The volume was dedicated to Sidney. He is also said (by the later lexicographer John Davies) to have worked on an unpublished Welsh dictionary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powel, David 16th-century Welsh historians 16th-century Welsh Anglican priests Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People from Denbighshire 16th-century births 1598 deaths