# Figures and sources, a first look at Joseph Loth and Wales

Elisabeth Chatel

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OpenEdition
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URL: https://journals.openedition.org/lbl/11477

DOI: 10.4000/15k6f

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Université de Bretagne Occidentale – UBO

**Printed version**

Date of publication: January 26, 2026

ISBN: 979-10-92331-87-5

ISSN: 1270-2412

**Electronic reference**

Elisabeth Chatel, "Figures and sources, a first look at Joseph Loth and Wales", *La Bretagne Linguistique* [Online], 27 | 2026, Online since 27 January 2026, connection on 27 January 2026. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/lbl/11477; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/15k6f

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Figures and sources, a first look
at Joseph Loth and Wales

Elisabeth CHATEL

This article is the combined result of two talks given during the DreAM seminars, entitled “Joseph Loth et le pays de Galles, premières approches”, in February 2024, and “To Send or not to send birthday greetings”, in June that same year. My gratitude goes to Heather Williams for her gracious help for the Welsh parts of the archives I quote here.

Joseph Loth (1847–1934), once a towering figure in Celtic studies, has receded from modern memory despite his significant academic and cultural contributions. Born into a Breton-speaking family in central Brittany, he ascended to unprecedented heights for a man of his background. His career milestones include establishing France's first Breton and Celtic studies department in Rennes and presiding over institutions like the *Revue celtique*. However, his relationship with Wales, both personal and professional, adds a compelling layer to his story.

In 1884, Loth undertook a government-sponsored mission to Wales, immersing himself in its language and manuscript traditions. This trip was to determine not only his scholarly trajectory but also his marriage to Annie Roberts, a Welsh woman whose absence from the family tomb in Guéméné-sur-Scorff invites questions. Yet even if not much is known about her, her Welsh legacy at least permeates the names of the family. On the same tombstone, we find the name of her and Loth's son, William Arthur, and of his daughter, Annwen, and we also know that her sister was named Olwen, a name supposedly difficult for Breton speakers to pronounce: “My son has been married for a bit more than two years, and
fathered a little girl who just turned one, we gave her the name *Olwen*, which Bretons turned into *Oll-wen*<fnref n="1" />.

Loth's fascination with Wales endured throughout his career, informing his linguistic, literary, and historical research. His groundbreaking doctoral thesis on Breton immigration from Wales positioned him as a key figure in the ideological and academic narratives of both regions. Loth's subsequent works, ranging from medieval Welsh literature to contemporary language studies, reinforced his role as a bridge between the two cultures. This essay will discuss three aspects of Joseph Loth's connection to Wales: his scholarly specialisation in Welsh studies and his ambiguous role in-between the two countries, at the time of the revival of Celticism within the Breton movement, as well as his relationships with Welsh academics.

## Turning “Welsh” into a scientific object in French academia

If Loth discussed the past of Wales very early one, starting with his thesis, in which he discussed the emigration of Bretons to Brittany during the fifth century, he ventured even further into the Welsh territory a few years later. In 1889, he published his own translations of the *Mabinogi*<fnref n="2" />, forty years after La Villemarqué's translation (which was based on Guest's English one). Disregarding La Villemarqué's version, he took his inspiration from the methodology with which specialists of ancient Greece and romanists were renewing the knowledge of their respective fields, leading to a better understanding of the ancient texts: “[t]he method I have employed is that which has renewed the understanding of Latin and Greek texts<fnref n="3" />”. Dedicated to Gaston Paris, his project is that of a critical translation, contrary to La Villemarqué who, according to him “didn't

<footnote n="1">1. Underlined by Loth. [*Mon fils est marié depuis un peu plus de deux ans et est père d'une fillette qui vient d'avoir un an, on lui a donné le prénom d'Olwen que les Bretons transforment en Oll-wen.*] Loth to Diverrès, Toulinet en Saint-Efflam par Plestin-les-Grèves, October 23rd 1932, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">2. Joseph LOTH, *Les Mabinogion*, Paris, Fontemoing, 1889 ; Joseph LOTH, *Les Mabinogion du “Livre rouge” de Hergest avec les variantes du “Livre blanc” de Rhydderch*, Paris, Fontemoing, 1913.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">3. J. LOTH, *Les Mabinogion, op. cit.*, p. 5.</footnote>
always understand the English translation<fnref n="4" />”. Loth followed the same guidelines as Rhŷs and Evans<fnref n="5" />, by “compromising between the spelling of the *Mabinogion* and modern spelling”. As his comparison with ancient Rome and Greece suggests, Loth chose the *Mabinogi* due to their being fairly old. According to him, it implied that they were “without doubt a leftover of a common heritage between Gaels and Bretons<fnref n="6" />”. This idea was already present in Renan’s fundamental *Poetry of the Celtic races*<fnref n="7" />, in which he had put forward the idea that the *Mabinogi* were the original behind Chrétien de Troyes and Edchenbasch’s copies: “The admiration that has too easily been accorded to pale copies should have been confined to the original<fnref n="8" />”. Although this translation was awarded the Prix Langlois by the Académie Française, it does not seem to have aroused the interest of the scientific community. Neither *Romania* nor the *Revue celtique* published any reviews. It is only in the context of etymological studies that this work is mentioned, which was perhaps to be expected from such a literary work.

This however did not deter him from revising his translation, over twenty years later, motivated by the publication of the *White Book*<fnref n="9" /> in 1907, as well as his own research. Loth’s editing is, in his own words, “severe<fnref n="10" />”. He hopes this book “will, among other results, facilitate and spread [the study of Arthurian romances and the literature of the Middle Ages]<fnref n="11" />”. We have little information on the reception of this new version, as reviews are often published in the year following the publication of a work, for obvious reasons relating to the time inherent in reading and writing an analysis. However, France’s entry into the war in the summer of 1914 seems to have put an end to these ambitions, since although

<footnote n="4">4. *Ibid.*, p. 17.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">5. John RHYS, John Gwenogvryn EVANS, *The Text of the Mabinogion: and other welsh tales from the Red Book of Hergest*, Oxford, 1887.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">6. J. LOTH, *Les Mabinogion, op. cit.*, p. 9.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">7. Ernest RENAN, « La Poésie Des Races Celtiques », *Revue des Deux Mondes*, vol. 5, n° 3, 1854, p. 473-506.</footnote>

<footnote n="8">8. *Ibid.*, p. 481-482.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">9. EVANS John Gwenogvryn, *The White Book Mabinogion: Welsh Tales & Romances Reproduced from the Peniarth Manuscripts*, Pwllheli, 1907.</footnote>

<footnote n="10">10. J. LOTH, *Les Mabinogion avec les variantes du “Livre blanc”*, op. cit., p. 4.</footnote>

<footnote n="11">11. *Ibid.*, p. 10.</footnote>
the *Revue celtique* announced in 1913 that a review of the *Mabinogion* would be published in the following volume, we find no trace of it in the 1915 issue.

All in all, Loth discussed either Welsh language or Welsh literature in six books: *L'Émigration bretonne, Mots latins, Vocabulaire Vieux-Breton*<fnref n="12" />, the two translations of the *Mabinogi*, and a study on Welsh poetry – in three volumes –, *La métrique galloise*<fnref n="13" />. Moreover, he also published many articles in either *Revue celtique, Annales de Bretagne* or in the reports of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. There, beyond his regular studies on comparative linguistics, he discussed the organization of Celtic-speaking societies, either comparing them<fnref n="14" /> or discussing aspects of Wales specifically<fnref n="15" />. He also took an interest in the Arthurian cycle<fnref n="16" />, especially the figure of Tristan<fnref n="17" />, and his translation of the *Ystoria Tristan* remains, to this day, the only version available in French.

<footnote n="12">12. Joseph LOTH, *Vocabulaire vieux-breton : avec commentaire contenant toutes les gloses en vieux-breton, gallois, chronique, armoricain, connues*, Paris, Vieweg, 1884.</footnote>

<footnote n="13">13. Joseph LOTH, *La métrique galloise depuis les plus anciens textes jusqu'à nos jours : introduction au Livre noir de Carmarthen et aux vieux poèmes gallois*, Paris, Fontemoing, 1900.</footnote>

<footnote n="14">14. Joseph LOTH, « Le Monachisme irlandais d'après un ouvrage récent et le Monachisme britton », *Annales de Bretagne*, vol. 40, 1932, p. 375-411, p. 661-680.</footnote>

<footnote n="15">15. Joseph LOTH, « L'archéologie et la linguistique dans le Pays de Galles (1921-1923) », *Annales de Bretagne*, vol. 37, 1925, p. 233-259 and *Annales de Bretagne*, vol. 38, 1928, p. 134-170 ; « Deux ouvrages en Gallois sur la Littérature galloise : L'un allant de 1450 à 1600, sur la poésie, l'autre de 1540 à 1660, sur la prose, par W. J. Gruffydd », *Annales de Bretagne*, vol. 39, 1930, p. 165-186 ; « L'étude et l'enseignement du droit dans le pays de Galles du Xe au XIIIe siècle », *Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres*, vol. 75, 1931, p. 135-138.</footnote>

<footnote n="16">16. Joseph LOTH, *Contributions à l'étude des romans de la Table Ronde*, Paris, Champion, 1912 ; « L'origine de la légende d'Arthur, fils d'Uther Pendragon », *Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres*, vol. 75, 1931, p. 127-129.</footnote>

<footnote n="17">17. Joseph LOTH, « Le Cornwall et le roman de Tristan », *Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres*, vol. 56, 1912, p. 17-18 ; « L'«Ystoria Trystan» et la question des archétypes des Romans de la Table ronde », *Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres*, vol. 57, 1913, p. 92-100 ; « Un parallèle au roman de Tristan, en irlandais, au Xe siècle », *Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres*, vol. 68, 1924, p. 122-133.</footnote>
This interest for Wales was rewarded more than once by French institutions: as mentioned above, the first version of Loth's *Mabinogion* won the Langlois prize from the Académie française in 1890, but three other books received academic awards. In 1883, *L'Émigration bretonne* got the second medal at the national antiquities competition organized by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. The following year, the Institut de France gave his *Vocabulaire Vieux-Breton* its prestigious Volney prize. In 1902, the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres once again celebrated Loth's work, and rewarded *La métrique galloise*.

## Spreading knowledge

In addition to his works, Loth himself went to Wales in 1884. He had published his doctoral thesis the year before, and was sent by the government to study Welsh manuscripts and dialects:

> "The government recently commissioned Mr J. Loth to travel to London and Wales. The aim is to consult important manuscripts and to study Welsh dialects in situ. We can only wish our learned compatriot a rich philological harvest: we are certain that Celtic scholarship will benefit greatly from Mr Loth's new studies<fnref n="18" />."

Back in France, he was appointed to Rennes' faculté des lettres in 1885, when the department of Celtic studies was created, which was, in Loth's view, the faculty's "main objective"<fnref n="19" />. In 1909, Loth exposed his vision of the department to the learned societies of Brittany:

> "It is now recognised that no branch of the historical and philological sciences in Europe should ignore Celtic studies, and that they can all benefit from them. It is a sort of revenge for Celticism which is beginning, or rather which is continuing after an interruption of several centuries, for, after having been initiated in the sixth to tenth centuries AD by the Irish, the most ardent pioneers at that time of Christian civilisation at its highest level, it was taken up again in the twelfth century by the Bretons of France

<footnote n="18">18. S.A., « Les Cours de Celtique », *Le Phare des campagnes*, Lorient, July 6th 1884, p. 2-3.</footnote>

<footnote n="19">19. Joseph LOTH, « Discours prononcé à l'ouverture du Congrès des Sociétés savantes à Rennes le 3 avril 1909 », *Annales de Bretagne*, vol. 25, 1909, p. 1-13, p. 4.</footnote>
and England, whose traditions have renewed the literature of France and Europe: a revenge such as no Celtic scholar could have dared dream of<fnref n="20" />.”

Beyond the focus on Brittany itself, the international perspective seems to have been central to his vision for the Chair of Celtic Studies that he helped establish in Rennes, he emphasised the international aspect of Celtic matters, recalling the unity of the Bretons, which he himself endorsed. Thus, he argued that understanding Welsh and Irish early history was necessary to understand Europe's overall past, as the literature of those countries was of the highest quality, and its population quite ancient:

> "From a linguistic point of view, the Celtic group now exceeds in interest most of the groups in the Indo-European family. [...] And here we have poems from Ireland, recently freed from the dust of libraries, revealing lyrical poetry comparable to that of the Welsh, so much superior in the twelfth century, and even in the fourteenth, to that of the other nations of Europe. The popular literature of the Neo-Celtic peoples, and of the Bretons in particular, is perhaps the richest branch of European folklore. Finally, it is impossible to study the history of the primitive law of the Indo-European family without drawing on the laws of ancient Ireland and Wales<fnref n="21" />."

<footnote n="20">20. [Cette création se justifiait déjà, s'imposait même par l'importance croissante qu'ont prise les études celtiques depuis quelques années ; il est aujourd'hui reconnu qu'aucune branche des sciences historiques et philologiques, en Europe, ne doit s'en désintéresser, et que toutes peuvent y trouver leur profit. C'est une sorte de revanche du celtisme qui commence, ou plutôt qui se continue après une interruption de plusieurs siècles, car, commencée du VIe au Xe siècle de notre ère par les Irlandais, les plus ardents pionniers, à cette époque, de la civilisation chrétienne dans ce qu'elle a de plus élevé, elle a été reprise au XIIe par les Bretons de France et d'Angleterre, dont les traditions ont renouvelé la littérature de la France et de l'Europe : revanche telle qu'aucun celtomane n'aurait pu la rêver] Ibid.</footnote>

<footnote n="21">21. [Le groupe celtique, au point de vue linguistique, dépasse aujourd'hui en intérêt la plupart des groupes de la famille indo-européenne. [...] Et voici que des poèmes, débarrassés récemment de la poussière des bibliothèques, nous révèlent en Irlande une poésie lyrique comparable au lyrisme gallois, si supérieur, au XIIe siècle, au XIVe même, à celui des autres nations de l'Europe. La littérature populaire des peuples néo-celtiques, celle des Bretons en particulier, forme peut-être la branche la plus riche du Folklore européen. Enfin, il est impossible d'étudier l'histoire du droit primitif de la famille indo-européenne sans mettre à contribution les lois de l'ancienne Irlande et du pays de Galles.] Ibid., p. 5-6.</footnote>
As we have seen, Loth dedicated considerable time and energy during his long career to the study of Welsh literature. This specialisation in a foreign culture allowed him a recognition that focusing solely on Breton matters might not have afforded.

However, he did not stop there: as a professor at the faculty, he supervised doctoral students. It is noteworthy that the first holder of a doctorate in Celtic Studies, the Lorient-born Paul Diverrès, also known as Pol Diverres or under his bardic name of *Tangwall*, wrote and defended under Loth's direction a thesis<fnref n="22" /> on medieval Welsh medical texts, the *Meddygon Myddvai*, which he also translated into French.

Not only was he a student of Loth, but he also remained a friend across the Channel until Loth's death in 1934. From their correspondence, it seems that Loth's supervisory project aimed to ensure the existence of future specialists on Wales after his time. He not only trained Diverrès but also used his network to secure a promising future for him, as evidenced in a letter to John Glyn Davies, the first librarian of the NLW (though I believe he was in Liverpool at the time):

> “Diverrès is an excellent young man who you can blindly trust. He's a hard worker. He knows Breton well; he has extensively studied Welsh, Cornish and knows some Irish. His thesis on the *Meddygon Myddveu* is a most methodically-researched work he will later complete. I agree with you. It is highly desirable that he studies Welsh and Breton comparative botany. Should he dedicate himself to it, he will have a great many notes from a Breton professor [at] the Sorbonne, a most knowledgeable botanist, Le Dantec, who knows Breton well and even Welsh<fnref n="23" />.”

Diverrès later became the curator of manuscripts at the NLW, which is why his archives are housed there. While I cannot conclusively state

<footnote n="22">22. Paul DIVERRÈS, *Le plus ancien texte des Meddygon Myddveu*, Rennes, Faculté des Lettres de Rennes, 1913.</footnote>

<footnote n="23">23. [Diverrès est un excellent garçon, à qui vous pouvez vous fier les yeux fermés. C'est un travailleur acharné. Il sait bien le breton ; a beaucoup étudié le gallois, le cornique, et fait de l'irlandais. Sa thèse sur les Meddygon Myddveu est un travail très-consciencieux qu'il complétera plus tard. Je suis de votre avis. Il est très-désirable qu'il étudie la botanique galloise et bretonne comparée. Il aura, s'il s'y consacre, de très-nombreuses notes d'un Breton professeur [de] la Sorbonne, très-savant botanologiste[sic] et sachant bien le breton et même le gallois, Le Dantec.] Loth to Glyn Davies, in Paris, undated, National Library of Wales, J. Glyn Davies papers, General correspondence/6294.</footnote>
from a single letter that he owed this position to Loth, I believe the latter
played a significant role. Indeed, as early as 1911, he encouraged Bretons
to send their works to Aberystwyth: “M. Loth reminds Breton authors,
on behalf of Aberystwys[sic]’ librarian that this Welsh city’s library is the
national library of Wales and that it is, so to speak, the national library of
Celtia. All Breton books will be welcomed there<fnref n="24" />”. Later, when Diverrès
was working in Aberystwyth, their correspondence remained clearly warm
and friendly. Occasionally, Loth would turn to him when he sought to
acquire British works for the university library in Rennes.

In 1908, Loth also taught summer classes, meant for a wider audience
than university students, in which he made a significant place to Welsh
literature, as the twelve lessons included “explanations on the *Black
Book of Carmarthen* poems<fnref n="25" />”. He was made an honorary president of
the Saint David’s Day Banquet of the Breton-Welsh Club (later Club
Celtique), founded by his doctoral students: Diverrès, Mary Williams,
and Morgan Watkyn. He also participated in the festivities of the Union
Régionaliste Bretonne. In his speeches, he frequently mentioned our
neighbours, particularly as a model for defending their language:

> “It has been rightly said: changing a people's language changes its soul, so to speak. By forgetting their language, Breton people would lose the best part of themselves. A Welsh writer recently made the painful observation on the parishes of his country that have abandoned the language of their fathers and adopted that of the Saxons<fnref n="26" />”.

<footnote n="24">24. [M Loth rappelle aux auteurs bretons à la demande du bibliothécaire d'Aberysthwyss[sic] que la bibliothèque de cette ville galloise est la bibliothèque nationale de Galles et qu'elle est en quelque sorte la bibliothèque nationale de la Celtique. Tous les ouvrages bretons y seront les bien reçus.] AN IBILL PLOM, « Le Banquet de la Saint-David », *Le Pays Breton et le Réveil Breton*, Lorient, March 12th 1911, p. 3.</footnote>

<footnote n="25">25. S.A., « COURS SUPPLÉMENTAIRE de Langue et Littérature Celtiques », *Le Pays Breton et le Réveil Breton*, Lorient, May 17th 1908, p. 3.</footnote>

<footnote n="26">26. [On l'a dit avec raison : un peuple qui change de langue change en quelque sorte d'âme. En oubliant sa langue, le Breton perdrait le meilleur de lui-même. Un écrivain gallois en faisait tout récemment la douloureuse constatation pour les cantons de son pays qui ont abandonné la langue de leurs pères et adopté celle des Saxons.] Grégoire LOIRE, « Contre le Breton », *Le Courrier des campagnes*, Lorient, October 5th 1902, p. 1.</footnote>
This idea should not be interpreted through Celtomaniac or Bretonist
lens. For Loth, protecting the Breton language was not a mean to defend
Brittany against France or a perceived urban-led decadence:

"Mr Loth says he wants to translate the toast made earlier by the Mayor of Cardiff in Welsh. Two hundred years ago, the English wanted to interfere with the intimate affairs of Wales. They attacked their language. All the efforts they made to suppress it only resulted in its renewed popularity. For forty years, not only have the English given up their project, but the Welsh have had complete freedom, even of propaganda, and they are no less — this is recognised — the best of all citizens<fnref n="27" />".

While Loth clearly felt attracted to Wales, displaying a fascination
and even a passion for it, he was far from being an adept of Jaffrennou-like
intercelticism and could be highly critical of the practices of his contem-
poraries on both sides of the Channel. His critique of the *Goursez*, the
Breton pendant of the *Gorsedd*, was not limited to private conversations
but extended to public forums, even with his friend Diverrès, who was
a member of it. This critical stance persisted from Loth's early steps into
the old country of his forebears to his own old age.

Between paper and flesh, the difficulties of scholarly
relationships between Celtic scholars

Loth’s letters to Egerton Phillimore – in French – would truly deserve
a presentation of their own. They constitute a unique testimony of Loth’s
impression of Wales on what may be his first – and perhaps only – trip
to Wales. He spent most of his time in Caernarvon, which he did not
particularly like: “I am decidedly settling in Carnarvon[sic], not that
I like the town, but I have found a quite comfortable and cheap place
to live. I can speak Welsh there. There are many churches where I can

<footnote n="27">27. [M. Loth [...] dit qu'il veut traduire le toast porté tout à l'heure par le maire de Cardiff, en langue galloise. Les Anglais, il y a 200 ans, voulurent s'ingérer dans les affaires intimes du pays de Galles. Ils s'attaquèrent à leur langue. Tous les efforts qu'ils firent pour la supprimer n'aboutirent qu'à lui donner un regain de popularité. Depuis quarante ans, non seulement les Anglais ont renoncé à leur projet, mais les gallois ont toute liberté, même de propagande et ils n'en sont pas moins – ceci est reconnu – les meilleurs parmi les citoyens.] S.A., « La journée du dimanche », La Croix du Morbihan, Lorient, September 20th 1903, p. 2.</footnote>
preach and sing<fnref n="28" />”. During his time, he was able to attend the *Eisteddfod*, which left him rather sceptical:

"I went to Liverpool's *Eisteddfod ffug-genedlaethol* [so-called national]. The singing was remarkable. For the rest, it's a vast comedy and a money-making venture. The Welsh are very naive. I take a sweet pleasure in shutting their mouth when they talk to me so emphatically about the *Eisteddfod*. I tell them it's a shame to see *y iaith gymraeg cardotta tipyn o le* [the Welsh language begging for a little space] in a so-called national festival, and to hear the choirs perform in *Saesnec* [English] only<fnref n="29" />".

He had the same stance on the *Goursez* festivities a few decades later:

"[In Brittany] Celticism [...] in on the rise, but it's too often a Celticism of the comic-opera variety. Adam and Eve are hardly made to speak Breton in the Garden of Eden any more, but Celtomania lives on and is capable of transforming itself. Didn't we recently see, in Brest, an arch-druid standing on a papier-mâché dolmen, dressed in white, surrounded by people in blue who called themselves *bards*, and others in green who called themselves *ovates* or *scholars*? Rest assured: the arch-druid was not there to simulate human sacrifices; he was announcing peace to the world; it's a kind of candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. I and others have been at pains to repeat that *ovates* do not exist; that *ovates* is a misreading due to the Greek transcription *ouateis*, from the Latin *vates*; that the Welsh *ovydd*, on which we rely, is a learned transcription of Ovid's name; that, if they were so inclined, they could at a pinch be called *wates*, a class of soothsayers that existed among the Celts, as well as the word *vatis* itself: they are absolutely adamant about this barbarism, without which, it is true, they would not exist<fnref n="30" />".

<footnote n="28">28. Loth to Phillimore, in Caernarvon, August 29th 1884, National Library of Wales, Egerton Phillimore papers, C1/39.</footnote>

<footnote n="29">29. [*Je suis allé à l'Eisteddfod ffug-genedlaethol de Liverpool. C'était remarquable comme chant. Pour le reste, c'est une vaste comédie et une entreprise monétaire. Les Gallois sont bien naïfs. Je me fais un malin plaisir de leur rabattre le caquet quand ils me parlent avec emphase de l'Eisteddfod. Je leur dis que c'est une honte de voir y iaith gymraeg cardotta tipyn o le dans une fête soi-disant nationale et d'entendre les chœurs concourir uniquement en Saesnec.*] Loth to Phillimore, in Caernarvon, September 24th 1884, National Library of Wales, Egerton Phillimore papers, C1/39.</footnote>

<footnote n="30">30. [*'[En Bretagne] le celtisme [...] est en faveur, mais c'est trop souvent un celtisme d'opéra-comique. On ne fait plus guère parler breton à Adam et Eve dans le Paradis terrestre, mais la celtomanie a la vie dure et est habile à se transformer. N'avons-nous pas vu récemment, à Brest, un archi-druide debout sur un dolmen en carton-pâte, vêtu de blanc, entouré de gens en bleu qui s'appellent bardes, d'autres en vert qui se sont sacrés ovates ou savants. Rassurez-vous : l'archi-druide n'était pas là pour simuler des sacrifices'*]</footnote>
Later still, in 1932, he had no qualms about mocking Breton druids in a letter to Diverrès, in spite of him being part of the *Goursez*, and taking part in the mocked event:

> "I attended the *Gorsedd* (which Bretons should at least transcribe into *Goursez* in Leon dialect) *incognito*, at the top of St Barbe. Do you know the effect it had on Le Faouët's people? During your parade in the village on your way back, I heard by my side (I was in the car), a market-woman from Le Faouët cry out loudly: "it's disgusting to see grown men dressing up like that for a carnival." I am in favour of annual '*goursez*' focusing on language, literature, and music, but not of parades as ridiculous as that<fnref n="31" />".

Beyond his contempt for both the *Gorsedd* and *Goursez*, Loth appeared to have applied his intellectual rigour to individuals as well. Being so interested in Welsh matters, he also grew increasingly frustrated with his perceived attitude of Welsh scholars, whom he was very keen to dismiss in his letters to Diverrès. Everyone who was someone in Welsh studies at the time would be a target of his ire. Morris-Jones? "Here is a celticist who does not even know about the Revue celtique!<fnref n="32" />" John Gwenogvryn Evans? "Here is a man who spent his life transcribing Welsh

<footnote>humains ; il annonçait la paix au monde ; c'est une façon de candidat au prix Nobel de la Paix. On s'est éproumonné[sic], moi comme d'autres, à répéter que les ovates n'existent pas ; qu'ovates est une faute de lecture due à la transcription grecque ouateis, du latin vates; que le gallois ovydd, sur lequel on s'appuie, est une transcription savante du nom d'Ovide ; que, s'ils y tiennent, ils pourraient à la rigueur se dénommer wates, une classe de devins ayant existé chez les Celtes, ainsi que le mot vatis lui-même : rien n'y fait ; ils tiennent absolument à ce barbarisme sans lequel, il est vrai, ils n'existeraient pas.] J. LOTH, « Discours prononcé à l'ouverture du Congrès des Sociétés savantes à Rennes le 3 avril 1909 », op. cit., p. 6-7.</footnote>

<footnote n="31">31. [J'ai assisté incognito au Gorsedd (que les Bretons devraient au moins transcrire en Goursez en dialecte de Léon) au sommet de st. Barbe. Savez-vous l'effet produit sur le peuple au Faouët? Quand vous défiliez dans le bourg en revenant, j'ai entendu, à côté de moi (j'étais en auto) une paysanne commerçante du Faouët, s'écrier à haute voix : "c'est dégoûtant de voir des hommes rendus se déguiser en carnaval comme ça." Je suis partisan de sessions annuelles 'goursez' linguistiques, littéraires, musicales, mais non de parades aussi ridicules.] Loth to Diverrès, in Toulinet en Saint-Efflam par Plestin-les-Grèves, September 1932, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="32">32. [Voilà un celtiste qui ignore la Revue celtique!] Loth to Diverrès, in Saint Malo, November 13th 1913, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>
texts, and who shows in many places a disconcerting ignorance of Welsh lexicography!<fnref n="33" />" Gruffydd is a "very intelligent, but pretentious<fnref n="34" />" man, who has "undertaken an impossible work, using a dangerous method: that of John Rhys". Regarding the quality of their work, they do not fare much better, according to Loth: "Anwyl's notes [on *Kulhwch and Olwen*] are either useless, or superficial, or erroneous<fnref n="35" />". The Welsh are not the only ones who fail to meet Loth's standards. On many occasions, Loth admonished other Celtic scholars, from Zimmer, the man who occupied the first ever chair of Celtic studies: "The colossus with feet of clay of which only a few linguistic discoveries, sometimes brilliant, will remain<fnref n="36" />" to his contemporaries: "Faral, bad in every aspect. My report is very thorough<fnref n="37" />". He expected just as much from his students, in this case, François Jaffrennou: "Had I been the dean of Rennes' Faculty of Letters, it is not a doctor's morterboard I would have had him wear<fnref n="38" />".

The essence of the criticism Loth levels at the Welsh scholars is that they do not keep themselves informed of the advancement of continental Celtic studies: "I have noticed that Welsh Experts, without forgetting the pious Anwyl, have an unfortunate tendency, not to lie, but to bend the truth. Additionally, they do not keep sufficiently informed about

<footnote n="33">33. [Voilà un homme qui a passé sa vie à transcrire des textes gallois, et qui montre en nombre d'endroits une ignorance déconcertante de la lexicographie galloise!] Loth to Diverrès, in Paris, March 20th 1918, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="34">34. [Gruffydd est fort intelligent, mais prétentieux] Loth to Diverrès, in Le Paluden en Arradon, August 31st 1929, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="35">35. [les notes d'Anwyl sont ou inutiles, ou superficielles ou erronées] Loth to Diverrès, in London, 1913, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="36">36. [Zimmer, le colosse aux pieds d'argiles dont il ne restera que quelques trouvailles linguistiques parfois géniales] Loth to Diverrès, in Paris, November 26th 1916, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="37">37. [Faral, mauvais à tout point de vue, mon compte-rendu est très-détaillé] Loth to Diverrès, in Toulinet en Saint-Efflam par Plestin-les-Grèves, September 1932, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="38">38. [Si j'avais été doyen de la Faculté des Lettres de Rennes, ce n'est pas d'un bonnet de docteur que je l'aurais coiffé.] Loth to Diverrès, in Saint Malo, May 28th 1914, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>
the Celtic movement abroad<fnref n="39" />”. In spite of his efforts (“Don’t forget that the columns of the *Revue Celtique* are wide open to you” he wrote to Rhŷs), he felt they knew nothing about the *Revue celtique* in general, and his works in particular: “[Edward Anwyl] has not read me<fnref n="40" />”, “I was able to see again that the watchword in Wales is to ignore the *Revue celtique*<fnref n="41" />”, “Like most Welsh people, [Gruffydd] has hardly read French works, particularly those of yours truly<fnref n="42" />”. It became even more of an issue during the war: “[t]hey do not speak French and use German, which they do not understand<fnref n="43" />”. However, Loth did not lose hope: “I believe, as you do, that the Welsh will eventually realize that with their temperament and their mindset, they have more to gain from attending French universities<fnref n="44" />”.

Regardless of those hardships, Loth also took part in Welsh academia, and was regarded as a prominent scholar himself. In 1919, after Anwyl's passing, he gave his support to Timothy Lewis to take over his chair at Aberystwyth's university. While this whole episode would need further inquiry, two details caught my attention. The first is that Lewis' military achievements played a part in Loth's recommendation: "his conduct during the war proves that he combines high qualities of intelligence with noble qualities of heart. I would be happy to see him obtain the position

<footnote n="39">39. [J'ai remarqué que les Lettrés gallois (Welsh Experts), sans omettre le pieux Anwyl, ont une fâcheuse tendance, non pas à mentir, mais à donner des entorses à la vérité. De plus, ils ne se tiennent pas suffisamment au courant du mouvement celtique à l'étranger.] Loth to Diverrès, in Saint Malo, November 13th 1913, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="40">40. [il ne m'a pas lu] Loth to Diverrès, in London, 1913, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="41">41. [J'ai pu constater de nouveau qu'il y a comme mot d'ordre en Galles d'ignorer la Revue Celtique.] Loth to Diverrès, in Cancale, August 12th, in the 1910s, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="42">42. [comme la plupart des Gallois, il n'a guère lu les travaux français, en particulier ceux de votre serviteur.] Loth to Diverrès, in Le Paluden en Arradon, August 31st 1929, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>

<footnote n="43">43. [Ils ignorent le français et utilisent l'allemand qu'ils ne comprennent pas] Loth to Diverrès, in Kerdivio en Lignol, September 17th 1913.</footnote>

<footnote n="44">44. [Comme vous je crois que les Gallois finiront par se rendre compte qu'avec leur tempérament et leur tournure d'esprit, ils ont plus à gagner à la fréquentation des universités françaises] Loth to Diverrès, in Paris, November 26th 1916, National Library of Wales, Paul Diverrès collection, file 189, ms. 208B.</footnote>
he legitimately aspires to<fnref n="45" />”. The second is that Lewis’ challenger to the post, Gwynn Jones, was supported by François Vallée, another Breton linguist, suggesting that the rivalry between academics and non-academics in Brittany expanded across the Channel. Ultimately, it was Gwynn Jones who obtained the post.

Loth’s keen interest in Welsh matters put him in a unique place among French academics. Without even considering the other languages he knew, being a native Breton speaker and fluent in Welsh allowed him to be the sole expert in the country on certain aspects of the history of Britain through his use of its medieval literature. In return, this earned him the interest of prominent French Romanists, such as Gaston Paris. He also made good use of his position as a professor to teach his findings and to train the next generation. Even though I have focused on Diverrès in this article, both Mary Williams and Morgan Watkyn went to be quite successful scholars, and also discussed Welsh literature in their research. Loth’s numerous criticisms towards the Welsh scholars of his time did not make him any less interested in their work, which he kept reading with attention – if anything, at least to criticise them even more. Even they did not seem too deterred by his attention, as Gwynn Jones, Parry-Williams, Morris-Jones, Ifor Williams, Gruffydd and Henry Lewis wrote him a collective postcard to celebrate his eightieth birthday in 1927, to “recognize [his] great work and [his] faithful service to the things that concern us<fnref n="46" />”. They added: “The field of Celtic studies would be poorer without your tireless service, determination, and commitment to illuminating what is hidden, and correcting what is uncertain<fnref n="47" />”.

<footnote n="45">45. [Sa conduite pendant la guerre prouve qu'il unit à de hautes qualités d'intelligence, de nobles qualités de cœur Je serais heureux de lui voir obtenir le poste qu'il ambitionne fort légitimement.] Loth to Lewis, in Paris, July 10th 1919, National Library of Wales, Dr Thomas Jones CH papers, sub-fonds J, file J8, letter n° 86.</footnote>

<footnote n="46">46. [Drwy hyn yr ydym yn dymuno cydnabod eich mawr lafur a'ch ffyddlon wasanaeth yn y pethau hynny y byddwn ni yn ymwneuthurfwyaf à hwynt.] Thomas Gwynn Jones, Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams, John Morris-Jones, Ifor Williams, Henry Lewis and Williams John Gruffydd to Joseph Loth, in Aberystwyth, December 25th 1927, National Library of Wales, Papurau Thomas Gwynn Jones, sub-fonds G6893-7031, series G6970-7000, file G7000.</footnote>

<footnote n="47">47. [Bwasai maes dysg yr ieithoedd Celtai dd yn Uymach oni bai am eich gwasanaeth diflino chwi, ac unplygrwydd eich meddwl a'ch penderfyniad i ddwyn y dirgel i'r golau a'r ansicr i gywirdeb.] Ibid.</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>National Library of Wales, Papurau Thomas Gwynn Jones,
sub-fonds G6893-7031, series G6970-7000, file G7000</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_4.png" /></figure>