Käte Bosse-Griffiths
Encyclopedia
Käte Bosse-Griffiths was a German
born Egyptologist
who after moving to Wales
became a writer in the Welsh language
.
in Germany in 1910, and although her mother was of Jewish parentage, she was brought up as a member of the Lutheran Church
. After completing her secondary education in her home town she was accepted into the University of Munich where she gained a doctorate in Classics and Egyptology in 1935. Soon after she started work at the Egyptology and Archaeology Department of the Berlin State Museums
. When it was discovered that her mother was a Jew she was dismissed from her post.
Bosse left Germany for Britain and found research work at the Petrie Museum at the University College London and later at the Ashmolean Museum
, Oxford
. In 1938, while at Oxford, as a senior member of Somerville College she met fellow Egyptologist J. Gwyn Griffiths
. Griffiths, a Welsh and Classics scholar brought up in the Rhondda
, was at that time a research student at Oxford, but the two of them returned to the Rhondda and made their home in the village of Pentre
. They married in 1939 and Bosse became Käte Bosse-Griffiths. During the Second World War, Bosse-Griffiths and her husband set up the Cadwgan Circle from their home in Pentre, an avant-garde
literary and intellectual group whose membership included Pennar Davies
and Rhydwen Williams
. Among these literary Welsh speakers Bosse-Griffiths found a love of the Welsh language. During the same years in Germany, Bosse-Griffiths's mother died at Ravensbrück
, a notorious women's concentration camp. Her brothers Günther and Fritz were both imprisoned, and then served at Zöschen
camp. An order to have them killed at the end of the war was not carried out. Her sister Dorothee was imprisoned for six weeks but released.
, the couple moved to Uplands
and then Sketty
in Swansea
. Bosse-Griffiths became a member of Swansea Museum, where she was Keeper of Archaeology, a role she would undertake for 25 years. She helped bring Sir Henry Wellcome
's Egyptian collection, at the time held in storage, to the Department of Classics at Swansea, and would spend the next twenty years researching this 5,000 piece collection. This Wellcome collection is now housed at the Egypt Centre at Swansea University.
Bosse-Griffiths was also a published author. She wrote on German pacifist movements in Mudiadau Heddwch yn yr Almaen (1942) in the Welsh language, while academic works include her 1955 collection Amarna Studies and Other Collected Papers.
Bosse-Griffiths' output included scores of articles on archaeological matters. Her literary output includes short stories and novels including Anesmwyth Hoen (1941), My sister eve and other stories(Fy Chwaer Efa a Storïau Eraill) (1944), Mae'r Galon wrth y Llyw (1957), and Cariadau (1995), and two travel books, train air Rwsia to Berlin(Trem ar Rwsia a Berlin) (1962), and Tywysennau o'r Aifft (1970).
(some translations courtesy of imtranslater.net)
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
born Egyptologist
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
who after moving to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
became a writer in the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
.
Early history
Käte Bosse was born in WittenbergWittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
in Germany in 1910, and although her mother was of Jewish parentage, she was brought up as a member of the Lutheran Church
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
. After completing her secondary education in her home town she was accepted into the University of Munich where she gained a doctorate in Classics and Egyptology in 1935. Soon after she started work at the Egyptology and Archaeology Department of the Berlin State Museums
Berlin State Museums
The Berlin State Museums, in German Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, are a group of museums in Berlin, Germany overseen by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and funded by the German federal government in collaboration with Germany's federal states...
. When it was discovered that her mother was a Jew she was dismissed from her post.
Bosse left Germany for Britain and found research work at the Petrie Museum at the University College London and later at the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. In 1938, while at Oxford, as a senior member of Somerville College she met fellow Egyptologist J. Gwyn Griffiths
J. Gwyn Griffiths
John Gwyn Griffiths , was a Welsh poet, Egyptologist and nationalist political activist who spent the largest span of his career lecturing at Swansea University.-Early history:...
. Griffiths, a Welsh and Classics scholar brought up in the Rhondda
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
, was at that time a research student at Oxford, but the two of them returned to the Rhondda and made their home in the village of Pentre
Pentre
Pentre is a village and community, near Treorchy in Rhondda valley, falling within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's name is taken from the Welsh word Pentref, which translates as homestead, though Pentre is named after a large farm that dominated the area before the...
. They married in 1939 and Bosse became Käte Bosse-Griffiths. During the Second World War, Bosse-Griffiths and her husband set up the Cadwgan Circle from their home in Pentre, an avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
literary and intellectual group whose membership included Pennar Davies
Pennar Davies
William Thomas Pennar Davies was a Welsh clergyman and author.Born simply William Thomas Davies, in Mountain Ash , the son of a miner, he took the name "Pennar" "as a sign of his identification with the native culture of Wales"...
and Rhydwen Williams
Rhydwen Williams
Robert Rhydwenfro Williams, known as Rhydwen Williams , was a Welsh poet, novelist and Baptist minister. His work is mainly written in his native Welsh language, and is noted for adapting the established style and context of Welsh poetry from a rural and bygone age to that of a modern industrial...
. Among these literary Welsh speakers Bosse-Griffiths found a love of the Welsh language. During the same years in Germany, Bosse-Griffiths's mother died at Ravensbrück
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
, a notorious women's concentration camp. Her brothers Günther and Fritz were both imprisoned, and then served at Zöschen
Zöschen
Zöschen is a village and a former municipality in the district Saalekreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 31 December 2009, it is part of the town Leuna....
camp. An order to have them killed at the end of the war was not carried out. Her sister Dorothee was imprisoned for six weeks but released.
Academic and literary career
When her husband became a lecturer at Swansea UniversitySwansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
, the couple moved to Uplands
Uplands
Uplands may refer to:* Highland , a range of hills* CFB Uplands, a Canadian Forces Base* Indiana Uplands, a geographical region in south-central Indiana* Uplands, Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada** Uplands Park, a park...
and then Sketty
Sketty
Sketty is the name of an electoral ward, a community and a suburb in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK. The community is coterminous with the electoral ward....
in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
. Bosse-Griffiths became a member of Swansea Museum, where she was Keeper of Archaeology, a role she would undertake for 25 years. She helped bring Sir Henry Wellcome
Henry Wellcome
Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome FRS was an American-British pharmaceutical entrepreneur. He founded the pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome & Company with his colleague Silas Burroughs, which is one of the four large companies that merged to form GlaxoSmithKline...
's Egyptian collection, at the time held in storage, to the Department of Classics at Swansea, and would spend the next twenty years researching this 5,000 piece collection. This Wellcome collection is now housed at the Egypt Centre at Swansea University.
Bosse-Griffiths was also a published author. She wrote on German pacifist movements in Mudiadau Heddwch yn yr Almaen (1942) in the Welsh language, while academic works include her 1955 collection Amarna Studies and Other Collected Papers.
Bosse-Griffiths' output included scores of articles on archaeological matters. Her literary output includes short stories and novels including Anesmwyth Hoen (1941), My sister eve and other stories(Fy Chwaer Efa a Storïau Eraill) (1944), Mae'r Galon wrth y Llyw (1957), and Cariadau (1995), and two travel books, train air Rwsia to Berlin(Trem ar Rwsia a Berlin) (1962), and Tywysennau o'r Aifft (1970).
(some translations courtesy of imtranslater.net)
External links
- University of Wales Swansea History of the Egypt Centre with pictures of Bosse-Griffiths.