My husband, Laurence Rule, who has died aged 75, was a university lecturer and administrator who became a bard of the Gorsedh Kernow – a body that attempts to maintain the Celtic spirit of Cornwall – and spent much of his time promoting and developing the Cornish language.
He was born in Camborne, Cornwall, to Edith, a shop worker, and Reg, who worked for an engineering firm; coincidentally, both parents had the surname Rule before they married. Laurence won a scholarship to Truro school and from there went to King’s College London, where he gained a chemistry degree, followed by a PhD. He spent almost all his working life at West Ham College of Technology (now the University of East London), starting as a lecturer and finishing as dean of academic standards.
In the early days he taught the history and philosophy of science and set up a pioneering modular science degree. Later he spent much of his time on quality assurance and course development. I was introduced to him by a mutual friend in 1977, and after a partnership of nearly 15 years we were married in 1992.
On retirement, Laurence moved back to Cornwall and did some work in the registrar’s department at Falmouth College of Art, gaining a renewed interest in Cornish affairs by learning the language. He became a language bard at the 75th Gorsedh in 2003, taking the bardic name of Linennell, meaning “straight edge”, a play on his surname. Laurence was instrumental, with other scholars, in promoting the standard written form of Cornish, which has helped the language to develop and prosper. He also worked on a dictionary of Cornish in the standard written form, harnessing to great effect his measured approach, attention to detail and dedication to the task in hand.
Aside from Cornish affairs, Laurence was particularly interested in science fiction and history of all kinds, including military history and archaeology.
He is survived by his son, David, from a previous marriage, to Eloisa Martinez, by his brother, Alan, and by me.
Source:Laurence Rule obituary