Rice Rees (31 March 1804 – 20 May 1839) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

cleric and historian.

Life

Rees was born at Ton, near

Llandovery Llandovery (; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 road, A40 and A483 road, A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and w ...

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, son of David- of a distinguished Llandovery family- and Sarah Rees, and christened in the local Independent chapel. From 1819, he was educated for a short time at

Lampeter Lampeter (; (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, after Aberystwyth and C ...

grammar school, under

Eliezer Williams Rev. Eliezer Williams (baptised 4 October 1754 – 20 January 1820) was a Welsh clergyman and genealogist, who served the Earl of Galloway as a family tutor and genealogical researcher. Life Williams was born in Pibwr-lwyd, Llangynnwr, Car ...

, before being educated at home and by his uncle,

William Jenkins Rees William Jenkins Rees (10 January 1772 – 18 January 1855) was a Welsh cleric and antiquary.Dictionary o ...

. He

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

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 ...

in 1822. He was appointed to a college scholarship in 1825 and graduated with a B.A. degree in 1826 and a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1828. His tutor was

Llewelyn Lewellin Llewelyn Lewellin (3 August 1798 – 25 November 1878) was a cleric and academic, the first principal of St David's College, Lampeter and the first Dean of St Davids.Before 1840, the senior residentiary cleric was the Precentor, and not a Dean d ...

, who in 1827 was appointed as the first Principal of

St David's College, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter () was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited degree awarding powers since 1852. It was a ...

(which later became the University of Wales, Lampeter). Rees was appointed as lecturer in

and librarian at St David's College. He was elected to a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

ship of Jesus College in 1828, retaining this position until his death. E. G. Hardy's 1899 history of the college gives the date of his election as 1830, not 1828. He was ordained deacon in 1827 and priest in 1828, becoming rector of

Llanddewi Velfrey Llanddewi Velfrey (also spelled ''Llandewi Velfrey'' or ''Llan-ddewi-vel-vre''; ) is a village, parish and Community (Wales), community of Pembrokeshire in West Wales. Historically it was in the Narberth Hundred. The village is in Lampeter Vale, ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

in 1832, obtaining a B.D. degree in 1837 and being appointed chaplain to the

Bishop of St Davids The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in ...

, John Jenkinson, in 1838. His book, ''The Welsh Saints'', was described by the historian Sir J. E. Lloyd as "full and luminous". It was based on a prize-winning essay Rees wrote for the 1835

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

and was thereafter expanded, and published by his brother, William Rees, in 1836. He was also a member of the committee appointed to revise the Welsh

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

. He died suddenly, apparently from overwork, at

Newbridge-on-Wye Newbridge-on-Wye ( ) is a small village in Powys, Wales. It lies, as its name suggests, on the River Wye, just downstream from the market town of Rhayader, and in the community of Llanyre. Location Newbridge-on-Wye is located roughly in the m ...

on 20 May 1839 when travelling from

Cascob Cascob () is a small village in Powys. It is located in a valley five miles to the south-west of Knighton. The village is part of Whitton, Powys. The village is situated to the east of Radnor Forest, an area of moorland just within Wales. It a ...

, and was buried at Llandingad. His unfinished work on the ''

Liber Landavensis The Book of Llandaff (; , ', or '), is the cartulary of the cathedral of Llandaff, a 12th-century compilation of documents relating to the history of the diocese of Llandaff in Wales. It is written primarily in Latin but also contains a significa ...

'', a Welsh 12th century chronicle of the history of the

Diocese of Llandaff The Diocese of Llandaff is an Anglican (Church in Wales) diocese that traces its roots to pre-Reformation times as heir of a Catholic bishopric. It is headed by the Bishop of Llandaff, whose seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Pet ...

, was completed by his uncle.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Rice 1804 births 1839 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford Academics of the University of Wales, Lampeter 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests Welsh non-fiction writers 19th-century Welsh historians People from Llandovery