Writing Britain's Celtic History in the Nineteenth Century: The Study of Folk Tradition by Sir John Rhŷs

Abstract

Sir John Rhŷs was the first professor of Celtic studies in Oxford and was also a renowned collector of Welsh folklore. This paper explores how Rhŷs used tales and narrative motifs from folklore, especially those related to traditions of the Tylwyth Teg, the Welsh fairies, to construct and support his idea of Britain’s prehistory. In this context, it will be shown how he employed contemporary ideas based on social Darwinism, such as the development of social organization according to Bachofen, Morgan and Engels and the development of religion according to Frazer.