Theophilus Evans
{{short description|Welsh historian}}
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Theophilus Evans (February 1693 – 11 September 1767) was a Welsh clergyman and historian.
Life
Evans' father was from Pen-y-wenallt and he was christened in the church in Llandygwydd in Cardiganshire in 1693.{{Cite DWB|id=s-EVAN-THE-1693|title=Evans, Theophilus|access-date=26 September 2013}}
Evans served curacies in Brecknockshire and incumbencies in both counties. He is best known for his work Drych y Prif Oesoedd (Mirror of the Early Centuries) (1716; revised ed. 1740) where with some literary talent but with an absence of critical method (mixing history with legend) he endeavours to justify the independent origins of British Christianity. Evans was supported by Sackville Gwynne, the squire of Glanbrân. In 1727, Evans became the private chaplain of Marmaduke Gwynne, Sackville's heir, but they eventually parted because of Gwynne's support for Howell Harris and the Methodist cause.[http://www.llgc.org.uk/fileadmin/documents/pdf/The_Journal_Marmaduke_Gwynne_Jason_Evans.pdf Marmaduke Gwynne (1691–1769) A Methodist Squire] {{Webarchive | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513075455/http://www.llgc.org.uk/fileadmin/documents/pdf/The_Journal_Marmaduke_Gwynne_Jason_Evans.pdf | date=13 May 2013 }}, llgc.org.uk
Works
- Drych y Prif Oesoedd (1716)
- A History of Modern Enthusiasm (1752)
Bibliography
- Theophilus Evans: Drych y Prif Oesoedd (ed. Garfield H.Hughes, 1961)
Sources
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Category:18th-century Welsh Anglican priests
Category:18th-century Welsh historians
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