series A1 - Iolo Morganwg

Identity area

Reference code

A1

Title

Iolo Morganwg

Date(s)

  • [1916x1963] (Creation)

Level of description

series

Extent and medium

8 bocs, 3 ffolder, 4 amlen

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Edward Williams (Iolo Morganwg, 1747-1826), stonemason, poet and literary forger, was born 10 March 1747 in Llancarfan, Glamorgan, to Edward Williams (1715-1795), stonemason, and Ann Matthews (1713-1770), and lived for most of his life in Flemingston (or Flimston), Glamorgan, apart from periods spent in London, Kent and elsewhere. His only schooling came from his mother and from the numerous poets who taught him their craft. He worked as a monumental mason and builder. He also tried his hand at various other trades but with little success; he was imprisoned for debt in Cardiff Gaol in 1786. In 1781 Iolo married Margaret Roberts (1749-1827). They had four children, of which two, Margaret (b. 1782) and Taliesin (1787-1847), survived into adulthood. Iolo Morganwg died at Flemingston on 18 December 1826. Iolo had various literary, antiquarian and political interests. He wrote poetry in both Welsh and English, his Poems Lyrical and Pastoral appearing in 1794. He became a Unitarian from about 1797 and wrote many hymns, published in Salmau yr Eglwys yn yr Anialwch (1812, 1827 and 1834). Following the French Revolution he had radical sympathies. However he has become notorious for his forgeries and fabrications. The edition of Dafydd ap Gwilym published in 1789 contained an appendix of additional poems which were in fact written by Iolo. The Myvyrian Archaiology (1801, 1807), of which he was an editor contained many of his fabrications. These forgeries went largely undiscovered until the early twentieth century. His interest in the ancient druids led to his unveiling of the Gorsedd of Bards of Great Britain, which first met on Primrose Hill, London, in 1792. He claimed it to be a miraculous survival from ancient times and it persists as an integral part of the ritual and pageantry of the National Eisteddfod. However it too was invented by Iolo. Following Iolo's death his son Taliesin, a schoolmaster in Merthyr Tydfil, edited his manuscripts and upheld his legacy, apparently completely oblivious to the forgeries.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Cyhoeddiadau a phapurau ymchwil G. J. Williams, [1916x1963], ar fywyd a gwaith Iolo Morganwg, gan gynnwys drafftiau o'r gyfrol Iolo Morganwg (Caerdydd, 1956); darlithoedd, [1916x1963]; nodiadau helaeth, [1916x1963]; adysgrifau o lawysgrifau Iolo, [1916x1963]; a llawysgrif yr erthygl 'Cywyddau'r Ychwanegiad at Waith Dafydd ap Gwilym' (Y Beirniad, VIII, 1919).

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Trefnwyd yn bedair ffeil-ar-ddeg yn ôl pwnc, a'r drefn wreiddiol o fewn y ffeiliau.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Mae llawysgrifau Iolo Morganwg ar gadw yn LlGC. Gweler hefyd ddisgrifiadau lefel ffeil.

Related descriptions

Notes area

Note

Preferred citation: A1

Alternative identifier(s)

Virtua system control number

vtls004379968

GEAC system control number

(WlAbNL)0000379968

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related genres

Related places

Physical storage

  • Text: A1.