Fitzroy Richard Somerset, 4th Baron RaglanFRAI (10 June 1885 – 14 September 1964) was a British soldier, author, and amateur anthropologist. His books include The Hero, A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama and Monmouthshire Houses, with Cyril Fox.
With the death of his father in 1921, he assumed the title 4th Baron Raglan and, after retiring from the army, returned to his ancestral home, Cefntilla Court near Usk in Monmouthshire. Very active in local affairs, he was a Justice of the Peace for the county as early as 1909 and served for twenty-one years (1928–49) as a member of the former Monmouthshire county council. He took a great interest in the Boy Scout movement, was county commissioner for Monmouthshire for 27 years (1927–54), and served as Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire from 1942 until 1964.[1]
During his life he studied and wrote on topics such as anthropology, political science, and architecture. His interest in the antiquities of Monmouthshire led him, with Sir Cyril Fox, to write three volumes on the county's medieval and later domestic architecture, Monmouthshire Houses. In 1933 he became president of Section H (Anthropology) of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and from 1945 to 1947 he served as president of the Folklore Society. Chairman of the art and archaeology committee of the National Museum of Wales (1949–51) and president of the National Museum of Wales from 1957 to 1962, he was also president of the Royal Anthropological Institute from 1955 to 1957.[3]
On 9 April 1923 Raglan married Julia Hamilton (7 January 1901 – 17 April 1971), daughter of Lt.-Col.Robert Hamilton-Udny, 11th Lord Belhaven and Stenton by his marriage to Kathleen Gonville Bromhead. The Lord and Lady Raglan had five children, the first of whom died a few days after birth. Julia, Lady Raglan also contributed to the study of folklore. In an article in the journal Folklore in 1939, she coined the term "Green Man" to describe the foliate heads found in English churches. Her theory on their origin is still debated.[5]
Lord Raglan was the source of various controversies over the course of his life. In 1938 he declared his wish to give up his job at the Ministry of Information on the grounds that he was not doing enough work to justify his salary. In 1958 he agitated Welsh nationalist feelings by declaring Welsh a 'moribund' language. Demands were made for his resignation from the National Museum of Wales, but he stood fast. (The motto of the Raglan barony is Mutare vel timere sperno: 'I scorn to change or to fear').[1]
Not only an active member of many societies and interested in administrative duties in national institutions, Lord Raglan also published a number of books and papers on archaeology and anthropology. His first book, Jocasta's Crime – An Anthropological Study, a study of incest and incest taboos, was published in 1933. He followed with The Science of Peace, a work on the origin, development, and prevention of war.
Significantly, Raglan excludes Jesus from the study, even though Jesus matched a number of the identified traits.[8] Raglan later claimed to have omitted Jesus to avoid conflict with his publisher.
The Temple and the House, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1964, Norton (New York, NY), 1965
References
^ abcMiller, Dean A. (2004). "FitzRoy Richard, fourth Baron Raglan (1885–1964)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/75510. Retrieved 27 January 2016. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
fitzroy, somerset, baron, raglan, fitzroy, richard, somerset, baron, raglan, frai, june, 1885, september, 1964, british, soldier, author, amateur, anthropologist, books, include, hero, study, tradition, myth, drama, monmouthshire, houses, with, cyril, right, h. Fitzroy Richard Somerset 4th Baron Raglan FRAI 10 June 1885 14 September 1964 was a British soldier author and amateur anthropologist His books include The Hero A Study in Tradition Myth and Drama and Monmouthshire Houses with Cyril Fox The Right HonourableThe Lord RaglanFRAILord Raglan in front of Raglan CastlePredecessorGeorge Somerset 3rd Baron RaglanSuccessorFitzRoy John Somerset 5th Baron RaglanKnown forSoldierAuthorAmateur AnthropologistBornFitzroy Richard Somerset 1885 06 10 10 June 188512 Albert Mansions Victoria Street WestminsterDied14 September 1964 1964 09 14 aged 79 ResidenceCefntilla CourtLocalityLlandenny Monmouthshire WalesSpouse s Julia Hamilton 1923 1964 IssueFitzroy SomersetJanetta SomersetFitzRoy John Somerset 5th Baron RaglanGeoffrey Somerset 6th Baron RaglanCecily SomersetParentsGeorge Somerset 3rd Baron RaglanEthel Jemima Ponsonby Contents 1 Life 2 Literary works 3 Bibliography 4 ReferencesLife EditFitzRoy Richard Somerset heir to the title of Baron Raglan was born on 10 June 1885 to George Fitzroy Henry Somerset 3rd Baron Raglan and his wife Lady Ethel Jemima Ponsonby 1 He was educated at Sandroyd School Eton and the Royal Military College Sandhurst and received a commission as Second lieutenant in the Militia regiment the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers on 10 June 1902 2 In 1905 he entered the British Army and was commissioned in the Grenadier Guards His military career included working as an aide de camp to the governor of Hong Kong service in the Egyptian army from 1913 to 1919 district commissioner in Sudan and as a political officer in Palestine and Transjordan In recognition of his services in Egypt he was made an Officer of the Order of the Nile 3 He retired from the Army in 1922 as a major 4 With the death of his father in 1921 he assumed the title 4th Baron Raglan and after retiring from the army returned to his ancestral home Cefntilla Court near Usk in Monmouthshire Very active in local affairs he was a Justice of the Peace for the county as early as 1909 and served for twenty one years 1928 49 as a member of the former Monmouthshire county council He took a great interest in the Boy Scout movement was county commissioner for Monmouthshire for 27 years 1927 54 and served as Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire from 1942 until 1964 1 During his life he studied and wrote on topics such as anthropology political science and architecture His interest in the antiquities of Monmouthshire led him with Sir Cyril Fox to write three volumes on the county s medieval and later domestic architecture Monmouthshire Houses In 1933 he became president of Section H Anthropology of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and from 1945 to 1947 he served as president of the Folklore Society Chairman of the art and archaeology committee of the National Museum of Wales 1949 51 and president of the National Museum of Wales from 1957 to 1962 he was also president of the Royal Anthropological Institute from 1955 to 1957 3 On 9 April 1923 Raglan married Julia Hamilton 7 January 1901 17 April 1971 daughter of Lt Col Robert Hamilton Udny 11th Lord Belhaven and Stenton by his marriage to Kathleen Gonville Bromhead The Lord and Lady Raglan had five children the first of whom died a few days after birth Julia Lady Raglan also contributed to the study of folklore In an article in the journal Folklore in 1939 she coined the term Green Man to describe the foliate heads found in English churches Her theory on their origin is still debated 5 Lord Raglan was the source of various controversies over the course of his life In 1938 he declared his wish to give up his job at the Ministry of Information on the grounds that he was not doing enough work to justify his salary In 1958 he agitated Welsh nationalist feelings by declaring Welsh a moribund language Demands were made for his resignation from the National Museum of Wales but he stood fast The motto of the Raglan barony is Mutare vel timere sperno I scorn to change or to fear 1 Lord Raglan died on 14 September 1964 6 Literary works EditNot only an active member of many societies and interested in administrative duties in national institutions Lord Raglan also published a number of books and papers on archaeology and anthropology His first book Jocasta s Crime An Anthropological Study a study of incest and incest taboos was published in 1933 He followed with The Science of Peace a work on the origin development and prevention of war Lord Raglan s work The Hero a Study in Tradition Myth and Drama was published in 1936 The book s central thesis is that hero figures of mythology have their origin in ritual drama not historical fact In the book s most influential chapter he outlines 22 common traits of god heroes which he calls the mythic hero archetype Raglan then encapsulates the lives of several heroes and awards points marks for thematic elements for a possible score of 22 He dissects Oedipus Theseus Romulus Heracles Perseus Jason Bellerophon Pelops Asclepios Dionysos Apollo Zeus Joseph Moses Elijah Watu Gunung Nyikang Sigurd or Siegfried Llew Llawgyffes Arthur and Robin Hood Oedipus earns the highest score with 21 marks The pattern has been applied to other heroes including Beowulf and Harry Potter 7 Significantly Raglan excludes Jesus from the study even though Jesus matched a number of the identified traits 8 Raglan later claimed to have omitted Jesus to avoid conflict with his publisher An outspoken atheist and active humanist 9 in the 1960s Raglan was among the MPs and peers who established the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group in the British Parliament 10 He was a member of the British Humanist Association serving on its advisory council 11 Bibliography EditJocasta s Crime An Anthropological Study Methuen London 1933 Fertig New York NY 1991 The Science of Peace Methuen 1933 reprinted by Pierides Press 2007 ISBN 978 1406789171 If I Were Dictator Methuen 1934 contributor The Hero A Study in Tradition Myth and Drama Methuen 1936 reprinted by Dover Publications 2011 ISBN 978 0486427089 How Came Civilisation Methuen 1939 Death and Rebirth C A Watts 1945 The Origins of Religion C A Watts 1949 With Cyril Fox Monmouthshire Houses Parts I III National Museum of Wales 1951 54 ISBN 978 0720003987 The Temple and the House Routledge amp Kegan Paul 1964 Norton New York NY 1965References Edit a b c Miller Dean A 2004 FitzRoy Richard fourth Baron Raglan 1885 1964 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 75510 Retrieved 27 January 2016 Subscription or UK public library membership required No 27441 The London Gazette 10 June 1902 p 3755 a b Bowen Emrys George Dictionary of Welsh Biography The National Library of Wales Retrieved 30 January 2016 Somerset Fitzroy January 2003 The Hero A Study in Tradition Myth and Drama Dover Publications p About the Author ISBN 978 0486427089 The Enigma of the Green Man Theories and Interpretations The Enigma of the Green Man Retrieved 24 August 2016 Lord Raglan Soldier Author Anthropologist The Herald No 182nd year No 200 Glasgow 15 September 1964 Retrieved 27 January 2016 Sienkewicz Thomas J Lord Raglan s Hero Pattern monm edu Archived from the original on 10 August 2018 Retrieved 10 August 2018 Life events shared by Yeshua Jesus and the Mythic Hero Archetype ReligiousTolerance org Retrieved 1 February 2016 Roth Andrew 18 April 2010 Lord Raglan obituary The Guardian Retrieved 30 April 2021 Humanist Lobby Humanist Heritage Humanists UK Retrieved 30 April 2021 Distinguished Supporters of the British Humanist Association Archived from the original on 20 October 2000 Retrieved 30 April 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Honorary titlesPreceded bySir Henry Mather Jackson Bt Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire1942 1964 Succeeded byEdward Roderick HillPeerage of the United KingdomPreceded byGeorge Fitzroy Henry Somerset Baron Raglan1921 1964 Succeeded byFitzRoy Somerset Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title FitzRoy Somerset 4th Baron Raglan amp oldid 1133907759, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
