Rachel Bromwich (1915–2010)

Rachel Bromwich, née Amos, was born in Hove, Sussex, England (some sources say Brighton), to a Quaker family, and spent her early childhood in Egypt where her father Maurice Amos was serving as an international law adviser to the government. The family moved frequently for his work before settling in Cumbria in 1925. In 1934, she entered Cambridge University, where she studied the Anglo-Saxon language before switching to focus on Middle Welsh. In 1938, she moved to the University College of North Wales in Bangor, and studied under Ifor Williams. She took a great interest in medieval Welsh literature, particularly the Arthurian legend. She also studied Old Irish at Queen's University, Belfast, during World War II. Prof. Bromwich taught Old Welsh and Old Irish at Cambridge beginning in 1945. She was named University Reader in Celtic Languages and Literatures in 1973 and retired from teaching in 1976.

In 1961, she published her magnum opus, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, an influential edition of the Welsh Triads that became a classic in the scholarship on medieval Welsh literature; a third, revised edition was published in 2006. Among Bromwich's other major contributions was her series of books and articles on Dafydd ap Gwilym, the great 14th century Welsh poet. With D. Simon Evans, she created editions of the major medieval Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen in both Welsh (1988) and English (1992).
She also co-edited The Arthur of the Welsh, a unique, comprehensive view of scholarship relating to Arthurian literature in early Welsh and other Brythonic sources. Prof. Bromwich served in leadership positions with the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, the International Arthurian Society, and the Irish Texts Society.