methods of literary criticism applied in his works often made Stephens unpopular with the less discriminating enthusiasts for the glory of Wales, but he earned the respect of serious scholars. Stephens' manuscripts and letters are included in the National Library of Wales General Manuscript Collection. Social reforms With the encouragement and friendship of Lord Aberdare, Sir Josiah John Guest, and Lady Charlotte Guest, Stephens was a prominent promoter of welfare, education and sanitary schemes in Merthyr Tydfil and organised relief for families of victims of coal mine explosions. He was appointed High Constable of Merthyr in 1858. Legacy Literary critic Meic Stephens states that Stephens "is generally considered to have been the first Welsh literary critic to adopt a scientific method and to have done more, as an adjudicator, to raise the standards of the National Eisteddfod and to win for it the confidence of scholars, than any other Welshman of his time". However, he also notes that author Emyr Humphreys presents a "less favourable view" in his 1983 work The Taliesin Tradition. Stephens' modern biographer Marion Löffler describes his "main contributions to the shaping of Wales" in terms of his work to transform Merthyr's social organisation and modernise Welsh culture, and "his pioneering works of scholarship". Works (eisteddfod essay) (eisteddfod essay) (eisteddfod essay) (eisteddfod essay) (originally published as The Gododdin of Aneurin Gwawdrydd: An English Translation with Copious Explanatory Notes; A Life of Aneurin; and Several Lengthy Dissertations Illustrative of the "Gododdin", and the Battle of Cattraeth) (eisteddfod essay) A series of critical essays, including: Numerous shorter articles in newspapers such as The Cambrian, The Merthyr Guardian, The Monmouthshire Merlin, and The Silurian, and in periodicals including Seren Gomer, Yr Ymofynnydd, Y Traethodydd, and Y Beirniad. (Sources for works: Dictionary of Welsh Biography, National Library of Wales, Stephens, NLW Welsh newspapers) References Further reading External Sources The Life of Thomas Stephens. 1876. A List of the Mss. Essays and Writings of Thomas Stephens. 1876. Notable Men of Wales. Thomas Stephens. 1882. (Portrait of Stephens once in Cardiff Reference Library) Stephens, Thomas. 1908. (Biography) (Connections with Joseph Edwards and Charles Wilkins) (Includes Stephens' birthplace) Welsh literary critics 19th-century Welsh historians Celtic studies scholars 1821 births 1875 deaths 19th-century British journalists British male journalists 19th-century British male writers People from Merthyr Tydfil