John Jenkins (8 October 1872 – 16 May 1936) was a Welsh poet and theologian. Known by his bardic name of Gwili, he served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1932 to 1936. Early life and education Gwili was born at Hendy in Carmarthenshire, the fifth child of John Jenkins, a metal refiner, and his wife Elizabeth. His parents were fervent Baptists and he received much of his primary education in the Baptist Sunday School movement. He attended Hendy Primary School, where he served also as a pupil teacher in 1885–1890. In the late 19th and early 20th century in England and Wales, a promising 13-year-old could stay on at school as a probationer to help with teaching younger pupils. After two years, another three years would be spent learning the profession before taking a final exam, to be paid for at training college to become a qualified teacher, although Gwili did not become one. In 1891 Gwili became a pupil at the Athenaeum School in Llanelli, but stayed for only one term, as it then closed. He moved on to the Gwynfryn School in Ammanford for a year, studying Greek and Latin, before moving to the Baptists' Theological College in Bangor. There he studied for the external intermediate examination of the University of London, which he failed in 1896, probably because he had spent too much of his time on poetic and literary pursuits. The failure precluded him at that time from being accepted into the Baptist ministry. In October 1896 Gwili enrolled on a course at the University of Wales, Cardiff, but withdrew in March 1897. In 1905, aged 33, Gwili entered Jesus College, Oxford as a student of Greats, i. e. Latin, Greek, Ancient Philosophy and History, and passed the first-year examinations. However, he changed his course and instead obtained a second-class honours degree in theology in 1908. University regulations at the time would have awarded him an automatic MA degree after seven years (1915). In 1918 Gwili wrote a thesis on "The Study of the Gospels in Mediaeval Welsh", for which he obtained an Oxford University B.Litt.. He also received an honorary degree of D.Litt. in 1932. Professional life Though an ordained minister, Gwili never took up pastoral duties, spending most of his working life in teaching roles. Between his studies in Cardiff and Oxford, he worked as assistant master at Gwynfryn School