Jesus Professor of Celtic
The Jesus Chair of Celtic is a professorship in
History
The reforms at Oxford University during the mid-19th century provided the impetus for the establishment of a chair in Celtic, with a major impetus provided by Matthew Arnold's Poetry lectures 'On the Study of Celtic Literature'.[3] At the time that the Royal Commission was established in 1852, there were 19 fellowships and 18 scholarships at Jesus College. Seven of each were limited to those from north Wales, and seven of each to south Wales and Monmouthshire. There were also exhibitions for students from Wales, with the Meyricke bequest making the north Wales exhibitions particularly valuable, despite the lower numbers of residents in north Wales compared to south Wales. The restrictions were said to be "ruining the College as a place of education", since it took little effort for a Welsh boy to achieve a scholarship or exhibition despite the deficiencies in their education; and many then became fellows of the college without obtaining anything more than a third- or fourth-class degree.[4] The commissioners appointed in 1852 to consider reforms of the university were known to favour abolishing local restrictions on fellowships and scholarships, such as those requiring the holder to be from a particular school or area. The college therefore proposed to the commissioners in 1854 that the divisions between north and south Wales fellowships and scholarships should be removed, and that the number of fellows should be reduced by two in order to endow a Professorship of Welsh.[5]
The commissioners, however, proposed that a fellowship should be devoted to the
It is the oldest chair in the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford and is still the only chair in Celtic at an English university.[7]
The professor also controls access to the Celtic Library at Jesus College, a specialist collection for researchers.
List of Jesus Professors of Celtic
- Sir John Rhys: 1877–1915
- John Fraser : 1921–1945
- Sir Idris Foster : 1947–1978
- D Ellis Evans : 1978–1996
- Thomas Charles-Edwards : 1997–2011
- David Willis : 2020–
See also
- List of professorships at the University of Oxford
- Chair of Celtic, Glasgow
References
- References
- ^ University of Wales, Strategic alliance with Jesus College of Oxford in the field of Celtic Studies, 14 December 2018.
- ^ "Dr David Willis appointed as the new Jesus Chair of Celtic". Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
- ^ Hardy, pp. 187–191
- ^ Hardy, pp. 193–194
- ^ Hardy, p. 196
- ^ "Celtic at Oxford". Modern Languages Faculty, University of Oxford. Retrieved 18 February 2007.
- Bibliography
- Hardy, E. G. (1899). Jesus College. London: F. E. Robinson & Co.