Sir Robert Rees Davies, (6 August 1938 – 16 May 2005) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

historian.

Biography

Davies was born in

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

, and educated at

Bala Grammar School Ysgol y Berwyn is a high-school situated in the town of Bala, in Gwynedd, north Wales. According to the 2013 Estyn report, 79% of pupils are from Welsh-speaking homes. In 2017, 80% of pupils achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C. In September ...

. He was bilingual in Welsh and English.Obituary in ''The Independent'' 23 May 2005, Accessed 11 May 2014
/ref> He received a

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

in his degree from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

in 1959, later returning there as a lecturer in 1963. In 1959 he undertook a two-year postgraduate study of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

’s Welsh lordships in the later Middle Ages at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

under the supervision of

K. B. McFarlane Kenneth Bruce McFarlane, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (18 October 1903 – 16 July 1966) was one of the 20th century's most influential historians of late Mediæval Britain, medieval England. Life McFarlane was born on 18 October 1903, the ...

. In 1975, he was appointed Professor of History,

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

. His 1987 book ''Conquest, Coexistence and Change: Wales 1063–1415'' won him the Wolfson Literary Award for History. In 1992 he became President of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

. In 1995, he was appointed the

Chichele Professor of Medieval History Chichele is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Henry Chichele ( 1364–1443), English religious leader ** Chichele Professorship * Thomas Chichele (1614–1699), English politician See also *Chicheley (disambiguation) Chicheley i ...

at the University of Oxford and made a fellow of

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

. From 1995 to 2005 he served as Chairman of the

Ancient Monuments Board English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

for Wales. Davies was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...

for services to history in the Queen's

2005 New Year Honours New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; and ...

. He is best known for his reinvigoration of Welsh medieval scholarship and as a pioneer in the study of British history, rejecting earlier Anglo-centric treatments of the medieval histories of Britain and Ireland. In 1966, he married Carys Lloyd Wynne, with whom he had one son and one daughter. Professor Sir Rees Davies died of cancer in Oxford, aged 66.

Works

*1978 ''Lordship and Society in the March of Wales, 1282–1400'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press) *1984 ''Welsh Society and Nationhood: Historical Essays Presented to

Glanmor Williams Sir Glanmor Williams (5 May 1920 – 24 February 2005) was one of Wales's most eminent historians. Sir Glanmor was born in Dowlais, into a working-class family, and was educated at Cyfarthfa Grammar School in Merthyr Tydfil. He studied at ...

'', jointly edited (Cardiff: University of Wales Press ) *1987 ''Conquest, Coexistence, and Change: Wales, 1063–1415'', 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: Clarendon Press) *1987 ''Wales: the Age Of Conquest, 1063–1415'' *1988 ''The British Isles, 1100–1500: Comparisons, Contrasts, and Connections'' (Edinburgh: J. Donald Publishers) *1990 ''Domination and Conquest: the Experience of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, 1100–1300'' (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press) *1995 ''The Revolt of

Owain Glyn Dŵr Owain () is a name of Welsh origin, variously written in Old Welsh as Ougein, Eugein, Euguen, Iguein, Ou(u)ein, Eug(u)ein, Yuein, and in Middle Welsh as Ewein, Owein, and Ywein. Other variants of the name Owain include Ewein, Iguein, Owein, Ouein, ...

'' (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press ) *2000 ''The Age of Conquest: Wales, 1063–1415'' (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press) *2000 ''The First English Empire: Power and Identities in the British Isles: 1093–1343'' (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press) *2002 ''Owain Glyn Dwr: trwy ras Duw, Tywysog Cymru'' (Talybont, Ceredigion: Y Lolfa, in Welsh) **English translation by Gerald Morgan: ''Owain Glyndwr: Prince of Wales'' (Talybont, Ceredigion: Y Lolfa, 2009) *2004 ''From Medieval to Modern Wales: Historical Essays in Honour of Kenneth O. Morgan and Ralph A. Griffiths'', edited with Geraint H. Jenkins, (Cardiff: University of Wales Press) *2009 ''Lords and Lordship in the British Isles in the Late Middle Ages'', edited by Brendan Smith, (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

References

Obituary in the ''Guardian'' 26 May 2005

Obituary in ''History Today'', Volume 55 Issue 9
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Rees 1938 births 2005 deaths Davies, Robert Rees 20th-century Welsh historians Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Presidents of the Royal Historical Society Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor British medievalists Chichele Professors of Medieval History 21st-century Welsh historians Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy