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Taliesin Bards and bardism.
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Barddoniaeth, etc.,

A note-book (pp. 1-80) and miscellaneous papers (pp. 81-268) containing notes, lists, extracts, transcripts, etc., in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg') bound together in one volume. Page 1 is inscribed 'Cynnulliadau Tuag att Hanes Eisteddfodau Caerfyrddin, Caerwys, ag eraill Casgledig (gan mwyaf) yng Ngwynedd gan Iolo Morganwg', and this first section contains: a version of the 'statute' of Gruffudd ap Cynan as allegedly confirmed at an 'eisteddfod' held at Caerwys, co. Flint, in 1523, with a list of the names of the bards and musicians licensed at the said 'eisteddfod', transcribed 'O Lyfr Ygrif (sic) P. Panton, Yswain, o'r Plas Gwynn ym Môn' or, as stated elsewhere, 'Ex No. 65, Plas Gwynn, Môn' [i.e. Panton MS 65, now NLW MS 2031, of which see pp. 200-12] (see also NLW MS 13096B above) (pp. 17-27); a list of the twenty-four Welsh strict poetic metres with illustrative examples [?transcribed from the aforementioned Panton MS 65, pp. 186-93] (see also NLW MS 13096B) (pp. 27-35); notes relating to, and lists of, Welsh musical measures [?transcribed from Panton MS 65, pp. 194-200] (see also NLW MS 13096B) (pp. 36-39); an incomplete transcript [?from Panton MS 65, pp. 182-4] of notes relating to the twenty-four traditional Welsh accomplishments (p. 40); anecdotes relating to the poet Dafydd ap Edmunt and the 'eisteddfod' held at Carmarthen [c. 1450] under the patronage of Gruffudd ap Nicolas, transcribed 'Ex Vol. 17, P.P.' [i.e. Panton MS 17, now NLW MS 1986A, of which manuscript see ff. 111-17] (see also NLW MS 13096B) (pp. 41-47); further miscellaneous extracts from Panton MS 17 including an anecdote relating to the poet Huw Arwystli, notes relating to the 'cantrefi' of Glamorgan, etc. (pp. 47-49); transcripts of 'englynion' by, or attributed to, D[afydd] ab Gwilym, John Mowddwy, ?Thos. Lln., and Siôn Tudur (pp. 49-50); transcripts of twenty-three 'englynion' commemorating the year of accession of every English monarch, 1066-1558, attributed to Berud ap yr Ynad Coch, Bleddyn Ddu, Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr, Lln. Fardd, Dafydd y Coet, Harri Haram Param, Cyssymdaith Llevot Wynt epolawl, Mabwaith Hengrys o Iâl, Llywelyn ap Ho wrneth, Gwilym Ddu o Arfon, Dafydd Bach ap Madoc Gwladaidd, Llygad Gwr, Daniel Llosgwrn Marw (sic), Dafydd Eppynt, Ieuan Brydydd Hir, Bleuddyn ap Ieuan Hen, Hywel Ystorun, Ierwerth Fynglwyd, Rhys Nanmor, Hywel ab Bleuddyn Mathew, Owain y Bardd 'o Wynedd', and Huw Arwystli (pp. 51-56); a list of the commissioners in whose presence the 'eisteddfod' was held at Caerwys in 1567, and of the poets and musicians who were granted licences at the said 'eisteddfod' (pp. 56-59); a list of bards present at, and notes relating to, an 'eisteddfod' held at Bala [co. Merioneth] in 1740 (p. 60); an extract relating to the code of rules for Welsh bards and musicians allegedly compiled in the time of Gruffudd ap Cynan (p. 61); and transcripts of two sequences of 'englynion' (six and five respectively) allegedly written by Siôn Prichard Prys at an 'eisteddfod' held at Bala in 1680 with the object of enlisting the aid of the bishop of Bangor and Sir Roger Mostyn in an attempt to obtain a [royal] patent for holding an 'eisteddfod' (pp. 62-64). The greater part of the contents of the remainder of the volume consists of transcripts of Welsh poems in strict and free metres, including poems by, or attributed to, [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' himself, Ieuan Tir Iarll 'sef John Bradford o'r Bettws ym Morganwg', Daf. Nicolas, William Hopkin, Daf. o'r Nant, Llywelyn ab Ifan, Siôn Hywel, Thomas Evan, 'Telynor o'r Drenewydd Nottais ym Morganwg', Morgan Pywel, Gwilym Tew (or Owain ap Rhydderch, or Ieuan ab Rhydderch), Twm ab Ifan ab Rhys, Gronwy William, Hywel Llwyd 'o Lancarfan', Wil. Tabwr, Dafydd Nicolas 'o Aberpergwm', Lewys William 'o Ferthyr Tydfyl', Thomas Williams, William Llywelyn, and Wm. Sanders 'o Landocheu'. The free-metre verse includes the words of songs written to specified airs. Other items in the volume include observations ?by Edward Williams after reading certain criticisms of John Hughes: An Essay on the Ancient and Present State of the Welsh Language [London, 1823] (pp. 113-114); notes on Welsh bardism (pp. 161-165); notes headed 'Etymologies that point out the origin and progress of civilization' (p. 167); extracts from Hugh Thomas: An Introduction to the British History [?London, ?1730] (pp. 169-171); a few Welsh triads and proverbs (pp. 227-228); a list of Welsh proverbs heard in Glamorganshire by [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' arranged in alphabetical order according to the initial letter (incomplete, A-G only) (pp. 231-240); advisory or proverbial sayings attributed to Taliesin, Cattwn ddoeth, and Meugant (pp. 243-2444); a list of the ten commandments of St. Paul described as '. . . dengair deddf Pawl Sant y rhai a gafas efe o ben Iesu Grist . . .' (see John Williams: Barddas . . ., Vol. I, pp. 288-9) (p. 247); a list of Latin words commencing with the letter v with English meanings and Welsh ?derivatives (pp. 253-254); and (interspersed amongst other items), miscellaneous Welsh proverbs (pp. 241-end). In three instances the blank verso and margins of copies of a printed handbill (English) containing proposals, 1793, for publishing The Celtic Remains (vol. I by Lewis Morris, vol. II by Walter Davies) and of a printed handbill (Welsh) announcing an 'eisteddfod' to be held at Caerwys in 1798 under the patronage of the Gwyneddigion Society have been used for writing notes. A few loose leaves (pp. 261-268) have been placed in an archival envelope.

Geirfau, etc.,

Miscellaneous papers containing notes, extracts, transcripts, lists, etc., in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg') bound together in one volume. Pp. 9-62, 68-73, 76- 90, 107-48, 213-20 and various other pages in the volume contain miscellaneous Welsh word lists frequently, but not invariably, with English definitions and illustrative excerpts from the works of Welsh poets. Other items include pp. 63-5, an incomplete 'Cornish - Silurian vocabulary' (words beginning with letter A only); 75, a comparative word list with the superscription 'Peculiarities of the Silurian and Venedotian dialects'; 93-106, a list of popular proverbial and figurative expressions or phrases in Welsh (see IM, t. 389); 149-50, 157-63, lists of Latin proper names, common nouns, etc., largely connected with ancient Gaul; 153- 6, 165-208, a French - English vocabulary with Welsh cognates of the French words; 221-30, a Cornish - English vocabulary with the superscription 'Borlace Vocabulary' [probably transcribed from, or based upon, the vocabulary to be found in William Borlase: Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County of Cornwall . . . (1754, 2nd ed. 1769)], with Welsh cognates of the Cornish words; 236, 'Some Names of Rivers in Glamorganshire'; 237, a copy of a poem attributed to Taliesin; 240, notes headed 'Names of Mountains'; 241-2, notes headed 'Appelative Name of Watter', and 'Proper Names of Rivers'; 251-8, a collection of Welsh proverbs arranged alphabetically according to the initial letter (incomplete, G-Y only); 260-61, a Welsh poem by Edward Williams; 262, a list of 'Silurian words agreeing with Armoric'; 273-4, two lists with the headings 'Books and MSS. useful towards the History of Cardiff', and 'Hints and Materials for the History of Cardiff' respectively; 281-2, a copy of a thirty-eight stanza anti-Puritan poem entitled 'Cân i Ladron Morganwg' attributed to 'Jenkin Rhichards o Flaenau Gwent' and dated 1646 (for an assessment of the historical evidence presented in this poem see Thomas Richards: A History of the Puritan Movement in Wales (London, 1920), p. 211, and the same author's Religious Developments in Wales, 1654-1662 ( London, 1923), pp. 191-4, and for doubts as to its authenticity IM, tt. 254-63); 283-4, a transcript of a letter from [the Reverend] Edw[ar]d Gamage [from St. Athan] to Llywelyn [ab Ifan] 'o'r Cannerw', undated (replying to a request for the names of books for the study of the Welsh language, observations on differences between the dialects of Glamorgan and North Wales, a suggestion that a scholarly, bardic language be formed from the best elements in all regional dialects) (for a holograph copy of a letter from Edward Gamage to Llywelyn ab Ifan see NLW MS 13077B and for transcripts by Edward Williams of letters from, or allegedly from, Gamage to the same recipient in addition to the present example see NLW MSS 13095B, 13100B; for observations on these letters and the dubious authenticity of the Williams transcripts see IMCY, tt. 58-60, TLLM, tt. 107, 195, and IM, tt. 245-6); 285, a copy of an 'englyn' descriptive of a silkworm and 'composed of vowels'; 291, an incomplete transcript of [Thomas] Gray's 'Ode on the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude'; 295-8, a chronicle of events in British-Welsh history, 1076-1110; 299-300, notes on the Welsh bardic order with references to [James] Macpherson's theories about the druids and bards and a comment on his Fingal poem; 302, extracts from the Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure, 1768; 303-04, a transcript of [Taliesin's poem] 'Gwaith Argoed Llwyfain' with an English translation thereof by W[illia]m Whitehead (see Edward Jones: Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards . . . (1784), pp. 5-6); 307-10, an English translation of the title-page of Theophilus Evans: Drych y Prif Oesoedd . . ., ail arg. [1740], and of pp. 107-10 of the text of the work; 315-16, a copy of a letter from 'Christopher Crabstick', servant of Mr. Windham [Thomas Wyndham of Dunraven Castle, co. Glamorgan], to Captain Wind[s]or [Captain Thomas Windsor, R.N.), undated (a satirical attack on recipient's decision to offer himself as a candidate in the parliamentary election for the county of Glamorgan [?1789]); 323, draft copies of an election song to accompany the preceding item; 317-20, brief notes on the topography, agriculture, mineral wealth, etc., of the three main divisions of Glamorgan; 321-2, an advertisement for a proposed history of the town of Cardiff and lordship of Glamorgan; 326, a copy of the proposed title- page of Edward Williams's intended 'History of the Ancient British Bards or Druids' to be published in 1795; 327-30, notes on Welsh poetic metres ('Am gysefin ansawdd y mesurau') and on bardic ceremonial ('defodau . . . wrth gynnal gorsedd'); 333-4, prose items with the superscriptions 'Casbethau serchog', 'Llyma lythr anfon serch o waith D.G. o lyfr Ovydd', 'Dewisbethau serchog o lyfr Ofydd', and 'Casbethau Eiddig'; 335-6 two sequences of stanzas (twenty-one and twenty-four respectively) of Welsh prophetic verse with each stanza commencing with the words 'Coronog faban . . .', the first sequence being taken, with revised orthography, from Thomas Pugh: Brittish and Out-landish Prophesies . . . (London, 1658) [pp- 47-51, 37-8] (for the text of both sequences see Iolo Manuscripts . . ., pp. 276-82); 337-8, an incomplete copy of a Welsh poem describing the county of Glamorgan, its towns, etc. (for the missing portion, i.e., stanzas 1-30, see Iolo Aneurin Williams MS 97 in the National Library of Wales); 339-40 transcripts of two 'cywyddau' attributed to Ieuan ap Hywel Swrdwal and Gruff. ap Ieuan ap Llywelyn Fychan; 341-2, a transcript of a letter in Welsh from the poet Gronw Owen from Donnington, co. Salop, to William Elias, 1751 (for the text of this letter and notes on problems relating thereto see J. H. Davies (ed.): The Letters of Goronwy Owen . . . (Cardiff, 1924), pp. 3-4, 203-04); 343-5 medical maxims in Welsh; and 347-8, transcripts of 'englynion' by Wm. Llyn, H[uw] Llyn, and Edward Morris. Also included are miscellaneous notes on bardic, literary, and historical matters, etc.

Madog and the discovery of America; Welsh Indians; etc.,

Miscellaneous papers and a ? note-book of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg') bound together in one volume. The contents include pp. 28-62, an essay or article entitled 'Some Account of an Ancient Welsh Colony in America' containing an introductory section on the discovery of America by the Welsh prince, Madog, in the late twelfth century, and copious evidence collected by the writer from oral, manuscript, and printed sources concerning the existence in North America of 'Welsh Indians' who spoke the Welsh language (for Edward Williams's interest in Madog and the 'Welsh Indians' see David Williams: 'John Evans's Strange Journey', The American Historical Review, vol. LIV, Nos. 2-3, and The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1948, pp. 105-46, and Richard Deacon: Madoc and the Discovery of America . . . (London, 1967 ), more particularly pp. 56-60, 131-6); 64-82, another 'version' of the aforementioned essay or article; 85-118, miscellaneous notes, extracts from printed sources, etc., relating largely to Madog, the Welsh Indians, and the Nootka area [? of Vancouver Island]; 119-29, a variant or draft version of the essay which, under the title 'A Short Review of the Present State of Welsh Manuscripts', appeared as the preface to The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales . . . (London, 1801); 176, a list of bridges in Glamorganshire; 189-91, transcripts of series of rhyming sayings attributed to Taliesin ('Geiriau Gwir Taliesin', 'Cynghor Taliesin i Afaon ei fab'), a three-stanza English poem, and two 'englynion' attributed to Siôn Rhydderch; 199-200, extracts from the [ ] County Herald, 31 December 1796 and 7 January 1797, relating to the extreme cold in London and areas in Kent, etc.; 217 + 224, thirteen stanzas of a Welsh poem on Glamorganshire (? incomplete); 223, the first two stanzas of an incomplete Welsh poem ? on Monmouthshire; 225-33, a transcript of a 'Calendar of Flora' (January-October); 237 42 and possibly 243-52, notes on the philosophical and religious ideas of the British bards or druids; 253-4, further notes relating to the bardic or druidic order; 256-7, a copy of an eleven-point plan for establishing a colony of Welsh emigrants in America on land 'near the Mississippi between the Ohio and Illenois'; and 259, a sketch plan of 'the Hustings and Booths at the General Election, Com. Glam. 1820', drawn on the blank verso of a folded copy of a printed election pamphlet containing a letter, 7 March 1820, from 'Rhys ap Thomas' to Sir Christopher Cole, one of the candidates in the parliamentary election for the Glamorgan county seat. Also included are miscellaneous lists of Welsh words and other miscellanea, these in some instances being written on the blank verso or in the margins, etc., of copies of printed proposals for publishing Edward Williams's volumes of English verse Poems Lyric and Pastoral, copies of a printed circular dated 16 August 1820 in which Taliesin Williams appealed to Unitarian ministers to contribute towards the fund for completing the erection of a Unitarian chapel in Merthyr Tydfil, an autograph letter from Messrs. Johnson, Prichard, and Johnson, Bristol, to Mr. Hopkins, Bridgend, 1815 (a business appointment), and a transcript (probably not in the hand of Edward Williams) of an English poem by ? Thomas Redwood.