Griffith Powell (1561 – 15 June or 28 June 1620) was a philosopher and Principal of

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, from 1613 to 1620.

Life

Powell was the third of four sons of John ap Hywel of Llansawel,

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Powell matriculated at Jesus College in 1581, obtaining his BA in 1584, MA in 1589, and BCL in 1593. He was elected Fellow of the college in 1589. He effectively ran the college during the principalships of his two predecessors, Francis Bevans and

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

. Williams deprived him of his Fellowship, but it was restored on the Chancellor's orders. Powell wrote two volumes on

Aristotelian philosophy Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics. It covers the treatment of the soc ...

, ''Analysis analyticorum posteriorum'' (1594) and ''De sophisticis elenchis'' (1598). He was awarded his DCL in 1599. During his time as Principal he "requested" various "worthy personages" to contribute to the construction of college buildings, in particular the chapel, hall, buttery and kitchen, and raised £838 12s 2d: £259 from merchants and gentry of London, £160 from citizens of Oxford, £341 from people in Wales and the borders, and £78 from seven members of the clergy in Wales ( Richard Parry,

Bishop of St Asaph The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph. The diocese covers the counties of Conwy county borough, Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The ...

, giving £66 13s 2d of this sum).Baker, ''Jesus College'', 4 The hall still retains the panelling, three tables and two benches from the time of this work. His careful approach to college finances also made it possible to increase the numbers of resident fellows and scholars, and the popularity of the college with students from South Wales in particular increased during his time as Principal. He died in 1620 and was buried in the Church of

St Michael at the Northgate __NOTOC__ St Michael at the North Gate is a church in Cornmarket Street, at the junction with Ship Street, in central Oxford, England. The name derives from the church's location on the site of the north gate of Oxford when it was surrounded ...

near the College. He left his whole estate to the college; lands in

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

were bought with the proceeds, and these remained in college ownership until 1966. The college chapel was completed within a year of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Griffith 1561 births 1620 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford Principals of Jesus College, Oxford Welsh philosophers People from Carmarthenshire 16th-century Welsh writers 17th-century Welsh writers 16th-century English philosophers 17th-century English philosophers