He'rarried -fovce Marri Rre.clen i" r9i9 rttJ'"a . a."Eni;r;il t*i .orrr" [n t'e co'rse of a busl' .

fficiar career, cocrrington {ounci tirne to inrzesiig;rte var.icrus problerrrs connectecl wiih the il]rt".l.,-"irrrrlrIrr"ti, in scriptions,of ('-s1'1nrr :mri to .t"o. *"nJ.-*is.urr.epti.,.rs ^r_ra rvhich prevailed aino'g schola.rs bef,re t.ime. He w-'as, ., trr"-i."r.i,-i)'.#*"'g.a r" S1'riac stucies, in rvrricrr ciepartme'l 'is il;;1;l b"rtici' is acijudged br-conrpete*t a.thoritier t" i.;;;;;s;;;,i, iitir",*_ "f b;;-i;;r"i ;*"porinnt n,r". codrington na.s, bc\-.'nrl anr,' question, ,re forerriost r,vriter on cevlon rrurnis'ratics. His irriere_st iri rlle i"uj".i'r..nrs to lrar.e becn cvirrced irot long after rre arrir-ed i. the irr^"a',-i"r'r, b-c,,i;,;i;;;.",,ibiini r* ,l,u Colombo fufuseitm, Muha,tnra,t,,, ir,-rt"irr,ipron, .pur:i'i, ir, ;;i;; ,9"4. .\ numbcr- of. papcr-s de.aling rn irlr parii,:uinitgu"rri,,,,, r.elaline to nrrnris_ rr;,tics trave bccrr r'rl,rished br r,;m in i;&;{.;. ir tlre rrtrrv defiurct Crt,tg1t.),,:i;,,,,;;0"n,','i'f;i,,,.,,11,Rtgistrr. "r irrirl"i,riifi il *"tt u, (.rvio' ln (-nitts nnd ctrrt.etrc\,. rlrr.lrlished 'l1l ir," l.J',n G,,,."rr,,rrr"lrt irr r'is g"o,"."nJ,rr, Ilr.nioir.f tlret',,l,inrl,,,ttr,.eum,tt,ei"i,,,i;subicctt_,f tc1 lorr\umisinatics been ti-eatecl i, a m<_rst .n-p."t,.r,ii re tto cloulrt renraiir. for- 6;111y deiacles tu nrrO ,.notarly manner. lt rvill 'as *_", the standard rvork of re_ ference on the sirbject. e.iri,,' ,,Irlrc,l,iar'r,f Sir Joirrr Dbrli, 1..:1:l,lq,:"'s ''t'lt) rl r()r7, tirro*s rrrrrch liglit .rrr rhi cvents..irriingpublis'ed br t'is ,n; irri,l:):';i llrc Sirrlralcse l<jrrurl,,rrr. His "1,,tes,--'aa'Sgn*,t lu erplain obscure. p"irrrs i' thc i)ia'i. ini'1'g.5 rrre rea.icr-wiii, r1. ;r.i;;;,;'i"J*,..g" t'hiclr c.driirgtou po55si5.a i,i{";ljlt i"rtit.rtions ancl traditions a'd Itis fanriliarilr:rriili ilrc tt,Pugr.aphr ,,{'1he *".,,,ttnn c(,lrntrv. frrrtlrer L lulls ,,f this sidc,,f his stridies i,,"r b;;;;,rlJ"".f fj"l..l o',, -4s i)),')o1,t,, l't ititi f>o I Ii tt rttl t,tr tt t t,;, i,,i i'rn,,i,,,ir,,"),,i)'7,r;, r,,,"r.., iint,lJi,",,, , i-, lt,,rirc$.]riit ,il<irr is tlrc rler.r ot. rrscful f,1nssn,l_tl",,l .\otir,,..horcigtr and ur Antli_ r ist rl u'olds t,cct t'riit! i,t O.lfitit,l rt,i, ,:irjb,,i.t(( (trd ollt)) ioctlmr,ttr, {t ,rl,lnrbo, re:-i.).
(iodr-ingtorr's stiudies on the History of Ceylon were not c'nfi'ecl t. a Itar.ticrrlar- pcr-ioj op {1q.r,. ln .4 .s}i,,ri'uiri); oI Cr.vtitl.' (i;;;;;, \926), jro Irirs gi'cr a su'rlrr;rr\ .f rhe isrand'ri,i;.irr-irorri tn".!.ii"rii'i_". r,,

during the course of ,uf.,i.l, fr. frc,lcl mair1, irnportairt airpoint_ rg3e, hc retirectr i.otr'r th" seivice 'erts (i'vern'e't Agent rf rhe ceirtral p;"i;;r;;. Ii" rvrrire r,uiai'g ;h"'port or ;;;,:.;;'i]F"li'" oor;ns thc first \lbrlcl \\.:rr. At-tlte,_,..t'r"ok of tl,e pr_ere't r.var he.ioi'ed the p. Service and acted :Ls rlir {. R. Raici WuJ",,.tnrn,r;il;;;;J f:,'urrrr,,.
irr

H["'MPHREY WILLTAM CODRINGTON Ir,r- tirc cl::rtli of ll .\|.(--odrington, rviricir occurrecl in Lo'clon o* Nor.cmber - rl t,,J-:," \ir. j1,pj'.'1. J,:rs l,rst ,,rre of its lrosl ,fi.tirji*f,"J"n.,ln,l,"rr.f,, ,n" ..,i.ri:,',ltnl r',irt,,,y : ;;. i.:ll;".lliil,'J;.,:,i ;,,:'Jilrrt",t.tt1t'il;11{i,,r1 "na 'i'irr .ider s{rr of Irear-Adr'irar \\riliiar, (irtlri'g1rxr. c.n., ancl the I1,,'r i,lr \lls. (,r,1;i11g.tlrr. ilrrlrli,l;,"l, ti,iii;,,,,, ( t,ririrrgtr,ri rr,;rs :;,( r.itl; uI_5gIic.111Ltr. ri7(r. t'le receiretl ],i. crrll educati,rn lrc,rrr un at ,lrt.:lpl rnr,I graduated Irinr \erv (., tf"e", OriJ'Jl 'p*.;;;'1,1, \\.irr_ r';r,let c'r'trre curorri;rl,t ir.ir Scr-ric", t,..i-lr,.,i ,r "= " r.)(u iris off1qin1 iarc"r this islalrd,
until,

i'

tlre fatl .f rrre s;nrrirere kil,c;;;;;;;i;;. rr"i l'r'c'erited rrirr fr-m r,eari,ig'tii"'r'ir1.Jt

brei.itl r,f rrre work ;,, tretair, but the sarierrt

.t.he

up

5b

JOURNAL, R.A.S, (CEYLON)

;vor. XX-{VI

Ni5)98-r9451

r{uMpHRErr wrLLrA}{ coDRrNGroN

J/

facts are passed in review andhe has made it a poiLt to include only suc\ information as could be considered absolutely reliable at the time the book was published. The bibliographies attached to the various chapters are very helplul to a student desirous of making a detailed study of a

particular period.
Codrington also undertook the detailed studS' 6f certain periods of the island's iistory, concerning which there was much uncertainly and difference o{ opinion among icholars. In this task, he has made a critical analysis of fhe original documentsbearing uPon each period , examined the views of previdus writers and has given his own interpretation of the coursp of events. Some l{otes ott t}t'e Da*tbadeniya Dynasty _(C. A' and 1.. R., Vol. X pp. 37-53 and 88-99) was followedblt lhe.Campola Period of Ceyloi History, published in the journal of this Society (Vol. -Of tirst rate importance is his'paper^entitled XXXII;' pp. z6o-3ogi. Irlotes on tlLe Kandyai Dynasty iu. tlrc Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries (Ceylon Literary Re{ister, fhirdSeries, Vo1."II, pp. zpg--zg6-1nd 343;35.r) king Senasammata Vikrama Bdhu, who ruled the Udarata- in the fifteinth century with Kandy as his capital,had tillthen been confounded with his earlier namesake, vikramabahu III of Gampola. His successors were very vaguely known. By an examination o{ the stone inscriptions
references

codrington was not content rvith obtaining the materiai for his historical researches at second hand. whether he was clealing with tlie historv 'of the earlier sinhalese periods, or with the rater porluguese and Dutcir penods,,he went to the original sources, for the'nclersLnding of which he had th-e necessary attainments. This red rrim to a stu<ly of ihe inscriptions and sannas(6. In collaboration with that veteian antiquary,

'

modern Jquivalents is a necessary preliminary to writirtg a full and intelligible modeirn account of the histbrl'of the-period. The sagacious historical scnse of Codrington, co.pled with his intimate thosc parts of the ista-"nd wnich'witnessed the historical f."%*i"Ai" ,rhappeniigs "i alludecl to--in most of which he had served, at one time or ;dJr, ;.? high administrative official-enabled him to identify beyond doubt many dt ttre important scenes of events in the twelfth century' How much later studenis of Ceylon history ought to be indebted to Codrington in this respect can be giuged bv one if he refers to the foot-notes ;tl:;h;a i;G"ig;;'. translation c"f the-seconcl iraif of the great chronicle of Ceylon. One"of Codrington's discoveries,-of capital historical and geographical importance, *"Jth" fact that theCatauatitsa, when ,it refers to
names

Ieft by tie ruleri of this first Kandyan Dynasty, their sannasas and to them in Sinhalese literature as well as bv Portuguese historians, Codrington has succeeded in giving us as coherent an account of them as is pbssibie with the material available so far. Of great importance to the student of history are Codrington's re.""."1i"s into ihe mediaeval geography of Ceylon, the results of which are embodied in a paper entltled ly'oles on Ceylon Tgpography 'in tha' Tutetfth Centwrtt, pulliinea in this Society's journal (Vol. XXIX pp' 6z-7+ and Voi. XXX pp. 7o-gl. In connection with the campaigns of Vijiyabahu I and Paiekr'amabdhu I, the Ci:i,laaarirsa mentions a large ttrtt'td"i of place-names, the vast majoritl' of l"thich are not easily recognisable in the pali forms in which they occur in the chronicle. It is, of course, impossible to have a clear conception of the course of events. particularly of a military campaign, without -an adequate comprehension 6t tt.," geographical Uaikground, and the identification of these place-

as

Two inscriptions of the.Polonnaruva periocl,edited by codiingto", n""u been published in this journal (Vol. XXVI, pp. 53-6; and \,'ol, XXX, pp. 27r-279). He has also contributed a n-umber of papers oir Ii{'scrip_ tions and sa'nnasa', belonging to different periods, to^vtls. III and IV. oI }he Epigraphia Zeylanica. In his epigraphical work, too, Codrington exhibits the same critical acumen uncl-.iatirre schola,rship as are shown in the other fields of his studies. The results of codrington's researches in vet another aspect of the history of ceylon are embodied in one of his rite-qt publications, namery, Ancient Land Tenure and Reuenue in Cqtlora, (Co1ombo, r%7). The material pertaining to this subject for the early centuries ii v".j: -"r.gr" and not always easy to interpret. After the ioming of the portuguese there is more abundant material. Alr this material, fiom Sinharese, T.-imil, Portuguese and Dutch sources, has been br.ught together by codrington and discussed with his usual acumen in relattio'n to tire practices stiil"prevailing, or wre prevailing till recent times. in the villages. Like his work on cevlon Numismatics, it is the most comprehensi-ve treatment so far attempted of the subject,and wili remain foi a rong time t. come

H c P' Bell, codrington wrote a criticism of some parts of wickrernasinghe's Epigraphia Zeylanica (C. ,4. and 1-. R., Vol. IV, pp. 19*35).

staridard work

of

reference.

#itftfririr

information necessitated doing so. He rvas extr:emely irra".i.io*, thorough and was never satisfied till ire liad coilccted all thc cr-idence "rra on a particular topic in which he happened to be intercstecl. f,"".tn* consrrlted tlc,always othe^rs working irr the sanle ficrd es he, and shared th"ry the copious information wnich hc lracl srrcceeded in garher.ing Iitl rrom vanous sources. Th^e present writer had many opportinities oT . coming into contact with codrington, owes. much to iii. i"lp;."iior, guidance and entertains pleasan"t memorie's of his "rra in vain did he refer fo codrington ;- k,roi;,' persona'litv. Never ?"iil#'iririch he
encountered

Codrington possessed all the qualities which go to the making of a sound scholar. He never allowed prejudice or se'timent to affect his reasoning and was very exact in his meihods. He *ever arrived at hasty conclusions; but was e-ver ready to revise his jucrgment if subsequeni

?n.5"f.tfrin5p^.-"' ihe Southern Quarter' doesnotmean the southerrt part of the isiand as a whole, Uut it the Rdiarattha. \r\ hen a Pl-ace,t; mentioned in the chronicle as located in the Dakkhi4a-passa' it shoutu be soughf for, not in the present Southern Province, but in the Kurunait th;;;;ih";" half of the e"h, u?tite or Kegalla Districts,or
Anurddhapura District.

"rr",.t

trcvotcd[v .rrcr disirrreresteclry l:g,T].ir:q the pasi hi:torl' et.ultdate. and culture nf anrong whom 1r1 ao.mrnistrative ncc"ssitl has matlc tlrcm spcnd 'arious'peoplcs parts if their tlic be:t rrves. His name will i;c rtmcrnbered rvith honnur and gratitude b)-the s., long as they continue lo take an 'intere.st in "their ,lill-1:^".f,9:ylon rstand s hlstorv.
S. PaneNevrr.lNa

in the coLlrse of his 6pigra.phical nria'nirto.i.a.r it'dies. occupl ,,t:lii"glrJ wiltr u'ithuut doubr ial.loririd r iiigh piace rmone rlrose dis_ Englislrmen who havc