ANWYL, Sir EDWARD (1866-1914), Celtic scholar;
b. 5 Aug. 1866 at Chester, son of John and Ellen Anwyl, he was educated at the King's School, Chester, and at Oriel and Mansfield colleges, Oxford. He became professor of Welsh at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1892, and, later, professor of Comparative Philology as well. He was appointed first principal of Monmouthshire Training College, Caerleon, in Nov. 1913, but d. 8 Aug. 1914, before assuming his duties. He was a member of many bodies, including the University of Wales Theological Board, the Central Welsh Board (of which he became chairman), the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments (Wales), and the Council of the National Library of Wales; he was also a lay preacher (among the Independents). His numerous publications include A Welsh Grammar for Schools, Part I, Welsh Accidence, 1898, Part II, Welsh Syntax, 1899; Celtic Religion in Pre-Christian Times, 1906; introductions and lectures, addresses, and articles in journals and encyclopaedias, especially Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics (Hastings), and a commentary, in Welsh, on Hosea.
Anwyl was a great scholar; he had encyclopaedic knowledge. He was for many years in the forefront of Welsh cultural life and activities. He was knighted in 1911.
Bibliography:
- (Sir) Thomas Hughes, Great Welshmen of Modern Days, 1931;
- Ww, 1914;
- personal knowledge.
Author:
Emeritus Professor Sir Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams, D.Litt., (1887-1975), Aberystwyth
