A FORMER keeper of manuscripts and records at The National Library of Wales has been awarded an honorary degree at a special congregation of the University of Wales held at the Temple of Peace, Cardiff.

The D.Litt is in recognition of his achievement as the foremost authority on Welsh manuscripts – both those written in Welsh and those written in other languages in Wales – and as author of the forthcoming Repertory of Welsh Manuscripts and Scribes.

Daniel Huws, of Penrhyncoch, was born in London in 1932, and was educated at Llangefni County and Bryanston Schools.

After graduating in archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge University – where he was a contemporary and friend of poet Ted Hughes – Daniel Huws followed a course of further study in archives at the University of London.

Appointed to the staff of the National Library of Wales in 1961, he became keeper of manuscripts and records in 1981, and retired in 1992. Mr Huws’ eminence in his field was initially recognised by the University of Wales with the honorary degree of MA in July 2002, largely based on his authoritative volume Medieval Welsh Manuscripts (Cardiff & Aberystwyth, 2000), which was at once recognised as the indispensable guide to the field.

Since his retirement, Mr Huws has produced a constant stream of publications in the field of Welsh manuscript studies.

The award of an honorary doctorate by the University of Wales is an acknowledgement of the magnitude of scholarship which will come to fruition in this long-awaited publication.

Linda Tomos, chief executive and librarian of the National Library of Wales, said: ”There are few staff members who spend a quarter of a century of their retirement regularly visiting their former workplace to make innovative discoveries in their subject area.

“We are delighted that Welsh academia is honouring one of our own with one of its highest honours, and cannot think of a more deserving recipient for an honorary doctorate.”

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