Geraint Huw Jenkins, FBA, FLSW (24 January 1946 – 7 January 2025) was a historian and academic who specialised in the history of Wales. He was Professor of Welsh History at the

Aberystwyth University 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 ...

(then University College of Wales, Aberystwyth) from 1990 to 1993, when he became Director of the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. In 2009, he retired from academia and was appointed Professor Emeritus of Welsh History at the University of Wales.

Life and career

Born on 24 January 1946, Jenkins attended

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

and then completed his undergraduate studies at the University College of Wales, Swansea, in 1967. He proceeded to carry out his doctoral studies at

Swansea University Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...

, also then within the University of Wales, under the direction of

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 ...

; his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

was awarded in 1974. Jenkins lectured at Aberystwyth from 1968; he was promoted to senior lecturer in 1981 and reader in 1988, before being appointed Professor of Welsh History in 1990. In 1993, he was appointed Director of the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, serving until 2008; in 2009, he was appointed Emeritus Professor at the University of Wales. He served on the Board of Celtic Studies at the University of Wales from 1985, and chaired the board from 1993 to 2007."Jenkins, Prof. Geraint Huw "
''Who's Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 4 May 2018."Professor Geraint Jenkins"
''British Academy''. Retrieved 4 May 2018. Jenkins was particularly noted for his contribution to the study of

Iolo Morganwg Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10March 174718December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia''. R ...

and his work in collating and editing the papers of the latter to enable the publication of ''A Rattleskull Genius: The Many Faces of Iolo Morganwg (Iolo Morganwg and the Romantic Tradition in Wales'' (2006). The book has been described as "a scholarly feast", but a reviewer also warned that "...it must run some risk of satiating the appetite it is designed to whet." Jenkins died on 7 January 2025, aged 78.

Honours

Jenkins was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

in 2002, and was among the founding fellows of the

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

on its inception in 2010. He received a

doctor of letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

degree from the University of Wales in 1994.

Selected publications

* ''The Foundations of Modern Wales: Wales 1642–1780'', 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 University Press, 1987 & rev. edn 1993). * (Editor) ''A Social History of the Welsh Language'', 11 vols. (University of Wales Press, 1997–2000). * (Editor) ''The Correspondence of Iolo Morganwg 1770–1826'', 3 vols. (University of Wales Press, 2007). * ''A Concise History of Wales'' (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * Cewri’r Bêl-droed yng Nghymru, 1977; Literature, Religion and Society in Wales 1660–1730, 1978 * Thomas Jones yr Almanaciwr, 1980 * Hanes Cymru yn Cyfnod Modern Cynnar, 1983, rev. edn 1988 (Welsh Arts Council Prize, 1989) * (ed jtly) Politics and Society in Wales 1840–1922, 1988 * Llunio Cymru Fodern, 1989 * The Making of Modern Wales, 1989 * Cymru Ddoe a Heddiw, 1990 * Wales Yesterday and Today, 1990 * Cadw Tŷ mewn Cwmwl Tystion, 1990 (Welsh Arts Council Prize, 1991) * Protestant Dissenters in Wales 1639–1689, 1992 * The Illustrated History of the University of Wales, 1993 * (ed jtly) Merêd: Casgliad o’i Ysgrifau, 1995 * (ed) Y Gymraeg yn ei Disgleirdeb, 1997 * (ed) The Welsh Language before the Industrial Revolution, 1997 * (ed jtly) Cardiganshire in Modern Times, 1998 * (ed) Iaith Carreg fy Aelwyd, 1998 * (ed) Language and Community in the Nineteenth Century, 1998 * (ed) Gwnewch Bopeth yn Gymraeg, 1999 * Doc Tom: Thomas Richards, 1999 * ''Welsh and its Social Domains 1801–1911'', 2000 * ''Eu Hiaith a Gadwant?'' (edited jointly with Mari Williams), 2000 * (ed jtly) Let's Do Our Best for the Ancient Tongue, 2000 * (ed) Cymru a’r Cymry 2000, 2001 * (ed jtly) From Medieval to Modern Wales, 2004 * A Rattleskull Genius: the many faces of Iolo Morganwg, 2005 * (ed jtly) Degrees of Influence, 2008 * Iolo Morganwg y Gweriniaethwr, 2010 * The Swans Go Up, 2011 * ''Yr Elyrch: Dathlu’r Cant'', 2012 * ''Bard of Liberty: the political radicalism of Iolo Morganwg'', 2012 * Proud to be a Swan: the centenary history of Swansea City FC, 2012 * (ed jtly) The Welsh Language in the Twentieth Century, 2015 *''Y Digymar Iolo Morganwg'', 2018 * (ed jtly) Cardiganshire County History: medieval and early modern Cardiganshire, 2019

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Geraint H. 1946 births 2025 deaths People from Penparcau Historians of Wales Alumni of Swansea University Alumni of Aberystwyth University Academics of Aberystwyth University Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales