- Idris Foster
Sir Idris Llewelyn Foster (1911-1984) was a distinguished Welsh scholar, and was most notably
Jesus Professor of Celtic atthe University of Oxford from 1947 until 1978.He was born in Carneddi, Bethesda, Caernarfonshire and read
Latin and Welsh at theUniversity College of North Wales , Bangor. He was appointed Head of the Department of Celtic at theUniversity of Liverpool in 1936. His academic career was interrupted byWorld War II , when he worked in Naval Intelligence. He was appointed as the third holder of the Oxford chair in Celtic (originally held by Sir John Rhys) in 1947 and became aFellow ofJesus College, Oxford at the same time. He wasknighted in 1977 and retired the following year back to his birth place, where he died in 1984.His most important work in the field of Celtic Studies were in Medieval Welsh and Irish, both poetry and prose. He made a particular contribution to the study of tale of
Culhwch ac Olwen , and his edition of the tale was published in 1992, after his death.He was actively involved in many leading Welsh organisations and societies, particularly the
National Eisteddfod , where he was Chairman of the Council and President of the Court, theNational Library of Wales (Treasurer and Vice-President), and theChurch in Wales (member of the Governing Body). The National Library of Wales holds the archive of his papers.External links
* [http://www.archivesnetworkwales.info/cgi-bin/anw/search2?coll_id=178&inst_id=1&term= Brief biography and details of archive (accessed 18 February 2007)]
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