A calendar of Welsh saints and martyrs compiled by Thomas Peter Ellis.

A volume (pp. i-xxii; 1-449) containing miscellaneous items, many relating to Welsh bardism, in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg'). The contents include pp. 1-3, a note re the proclamation in 1795 of a bardic meeting to be held at Pen Bryn Owain in co. Glamorgan in 1796; 3-7, notes re the times of holding bardic meetings ('Cadair a Gorsedd wrth Gerdd a Barddoniaeth'), etc.; 7-16, eleven rules under the superscription 'Darbodau Gorsedd Gyfallwy Cadair Morganwg . . . ar Benn Brynn Owain ym Morganwg . . . 1795' relating to the conduct of bardic meetings, the measures, content, and language of poems, the bards, etc.; 25-8, a note of a proclamation in 1798 of a 'Cadair a Gorsedd ar Gerdd a Barddoniaeth' to be held at Pen Brynn Owain in co. Glamorgan in twelve months time, notes on the times of holding future bardic meetings '. . . ymmraint Cadair Orsedd Morganwg . . . ar ben Twyn Owain', and a geographical definition of the term Morgannwg in this context; 35-44., notes headed 'Coelbren y Beirdd herwydd Llyfr Llywelyn Siôn' being notes relating to the special alphabet reputedly devised by the Welsh bards for carving or notching on wooden surfaces and different modes of constructing wooden appliances or so-called 'books' which could be used as writing surfaces when utilising this alphabet; 51, an incomplete version of a 'question and answer' conversation between a teacher and his disciple; 55-6, notes relating to early British bards called 'gwyddoniaid', a bardic meeting between Prydain ab Aedd Mawr and three of these bards called Plennydd, Alawn, and Gwron ('Tri Phrif Feirdd Ynys Prydain'), rules for the bardic order formulated then, etc.; 57-60, English definitions of, or notes in Welsh on, terms of bardic relevance, e.g. 'Alban', 'Gorsedd Arddangos', 'Arwest', 'Cerdd Arwest'; 63-73, extracts of varying length from the works of Welsh poets ? illustrating bardic or poetic terms ('Bardic Allusions from the Welsh Bards'); 79, a note on 'Colofn Prydain (sef felly y gelwir y Gyhydedd Gyrch yn Llyfr Gm. Tew)'; 80-82, notes on Welsh literary production up to and including the fifteenth century mentioning Dafydd ap Gwilym, Llawdden, Harri ap Rhys ap Gwilym, Ieuan Brechfa, Edeyrn dafawd aur, Einiawn offeiriad, Dafydd Ddu Hiraddug, and Hopkin ap Thomas; 82-6, notes relating to an 'eisteddfod' held under the patronage of Gruffydd ap Rhys ap Tewdwr in Aberteifi and to rules concerning the order of bards and musicians formulated there; 87-8, brief notes on the bardic 'cadair arddangos' and 'cadair dwmpath'; 89, a note relating to the original of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, an extract from the said work, and a note on 'a circumstance . . . exactly similar' in a poem by Dafydd ap Gwilym; 90-91, notes on Dafydd ap Gwilym and his poetry; 92-4, notes on the Welsh alphabet; 95-? 104, the rules and customs of the bardic chair of Tir Iarll ('Trefnau a Defodau Cadair Tir Iarll'); 111-13, bardic miscellanea; 119- 22, notes relating to the rights, etc., of the bardic order with the superscription 'Llyma ddangos amrafaelion o arferion a breiniau a defodau a barnau a chyfarwyddyd a berthynent i Feirdd a gwyr wrth gerdd o'r hen Lyfrau'; 127-33, notes on 'Cerdd Gadair', 'Cerdd Deuluaidd', 'Clergerdd', 'Datgeiniad Cadair', and 'Datgeiniad Penpastwn'; (continued)

135-7 + 145, further notes re rules for bardic meetings; 142, two triads; 143-4 + 155, notes relating to ? the Welsh bardic alphabet; 154, a note on 'Tair colofn Barddoniaeth'; 157-9, notes relating to the alleged association between (a) Gruffudd ap Cynan and Bleddyn ap Cynfyn and the code of rules for the bardic order, (b) Bleddyn ap Cynfyn and 'regulations for genealogies and armorial bearings', (c) Rhys ap Tewdwr and the introduction of the 'Bardic Laws of the Round Table' from Armorica, and (d) Gruffudd ap Cynan and 'a musical sessions in Glyn Achlach in Ireland . . . 1096'; 171-4, a transcript of twelve stanzas of Welsh verse attributed to Siencyn o'r Crwys y Prydydd; 174, a list of 'Plant Caw o Brydyn'; 175, a transcript of a twelve-line Welsh stanza allegedly composed by Thomas Glyn Cothi on the occasion of the French landing at Fishguard in 1797; 176-7, genealogical data relating to the family of Iestyn ab Gwrgan and related families; 178, a transcript of an 'englyn' relating to Owain Glyn Dyfrdwy attributed to Ieuan Gethin ap Ieuan ap Lleision; 179, a few entries relating to events in Welsh history, 870-959; 180, a transcript of 'englynion' ? attributed to Hywel Ystoryn; 181-6, an anecdote and notes relating to ? the reputed poetesses of Ty Talwyn, parish of Llangynwyd [co. Glamorgan]; 187 + 193, skeleton notes on Llanilid, Llanharan, Llanhari, Llantrisaint, St. Donats, and Flimston [co. Glamorgan]; 188-9, historical and other notes relating to the parish of Merthyr Tydvil [co. Glamorgan]; 190, a list of 'Antiquities in and about Merthyr'; 191, a note on Mallt Walbi 'a Brecon virago' and leader of a gang of freebooters, and a list of 'Remarkable Parishes' [in Glamorgan]; 192, a list of 'Antiquities in and about Lantwit Major' [co. Glamorgan]; 205, extracts relating to 'Melchin, an ancient British author', 'Hu Gadarn', etc., 'Ex Celtic Remains by Lewis Morris'; 206-07, a note on heroic poetry and the attitude of the 'descendants of the Celts' towards it; 219- 22, comments on orthography arising out of [William] Owen [Pughe]'s innovations with regard to Welsh orthography; 223-7, notes relating to the formation of compounds and plurals of monosyllabic words in ancient Cimbric and modern Welsh; 227-39, notes relating to the original home of the Cymry and early druidism and bardism, etc.; 241, a short list of Welsh words relating to worship with English definitions; 242-4, notes on the principles of druidism; 246-51, notes relating to the 'Great Eisteddfod at Caermarthen' [? 1451], 'the system of versification that received the sanction of that Eisteddfod', the adoption of this system by the bards of North Wales and some of those of South Wales, its rejection by the bards of Glamorgan and their compilation of 'a system of discipline, of Poetical Criticism, of Versification, and of whatever appertained to their science', the death of the Carmarthen system during the reign of James I, Gronwy Owen's verse, and the Gwyneddigion Society's annual Welsh poetry competition and its attempt 'to restore the system of the Carmarthen Eisteddfod'; 252-4, notes relating to an 'eisteddfod' held at Nant Gonwy, 1 Edward IV, incorporating 'englynion' attributed to Dafydd ap Edmund and Twm Tegid Brydydd 'o Langower ym Mhenllyn'; 259-66 + 274-82, an outline journal of a journey from South to North Wales and back, July-August 1800, the places mentioned on the northward journey including Cowbridge, Bridgend, Neath, Caeo, Dolau Cothi, Pumsaint, Clydogau Mountain, Llanfair Cludogeu, Llandewi Brevi, Tregaron, Pont Rhyd Fendigaid, Hafod, Pont ar fynach, Llanbadarn, Aberdyfi, Towyn, Dolgelleu, and Blaeneu (a visit to [Rhys Jones, antiquary and poet] and transcribing of manuscripts), and on the return journey Llanfachreth, Dolgelley (mention here of harpists and of the origin of the triple-stringed harp), Carneddi Hengwm, Tal y llynn, Abergyrnolwyn, Aberdyfi, Aberystwyth, Llanrhystid, Tal y sarn, New Inn, Abergwily, Caerm[arthe]n, Llangyndeyrn, Pont y Berem, Llan Nonn, Cydwely, Llanelly, Pont ar Ddulais, Swansea, Llangynwyd, and Bridgend; 262, a transcript of twelve lines of English verse entitled 'Loyalty by a Cobler'; 264, a transcript of an 'englyn' attributed to Huw Llwyd Cynfel; 270-73, a Welsh saints' calendar; 306, a plan of a 'Sheepfold at the foot of Cadair Idris, another in ruins on the same plan Cefn Merthyr, several more in Glamorgan'; (continued)

307, a transcript of the 'title-page' of Edward Jones: The Bardic Museum of Primitive British Literature . . .; 308-13, a series of eleven Welsh triads ('Llyma Drioedd y Beirdd') with an English translation thereof extracted from pp. 1-4 of the aforementioned Bardic Museum by Edward Jones; 316, a medicinal recipe for rheumatism in the head; 317, a 'Plan of a school house or accademy'; 323-38, extracts from Sharon Turner: History . . . of the Anglo-Saxons [vol. IV], relating to the language, literature, and music of the Anglo - Saxons; 339-43, notes on, and extracts from, [Walter] Scott's 'Lay of the Last Minstrel'; 359-62, extracts from a review of Edward Moor: The Hindu Pantheon which appeared in The Edinburgh Review, February 1811; 367-70, brief notes relating to the poetic dialect of the Welsh bards, the 'ancient [Welsh] Prose dialect', 'the modern [Welsh] literary Dialect', and 'The Venedotian Dialect' and its use in literature, and comments on the efforts of 'A Welsh (would-be literary) Society in London . . . to patronize the Welsh Language'; 373-80, notes relating to the introduction of Scaldic bardism into North Wales in the time of Gruffudd ap Cynan and the consequent disappearance of the old British bardism in that part of the country, the preservation of the old bardism in Glamorgan, and the invigorating effect of the 'Scaldic manner or system' on Welsh poetry and the Welsh language, general comments on the moral tone of Welsh literature, etc.; 381, three 'grammatical' triads; 382, a very brief list of Irish words in the Venedotian dialect; 383, an extract 'Ex Vol. 35 Plas Gwynn Mon' [i.e. Panton MS 35 now NLW MS 2003] relating to the 'dymchwelawl' poetic metre; 384, a note relating to an old manuscript volume containing Welsh miracle plays in the possession of 'Dr. Thomas yn Llwyn Iwrch' in the eighteenth century; 385-6, comments on the practice of calling 'the ancient British Religion Druidical'; 387-9, general observations on the development of the 'system of versification and of poetical criticism . . . of the Welsh Bards'; 390, a brief note on 'Bardism or Druidism'; 391-2, a list of fourteen chapter headings for a proposed 'History of the Bards' [? by Edward Williams], with a note at the beginning 'A Bad Plan' and at the end 'The above is only the first rude sketch of 1791 and here only retained as containing a few hints that may be useful' (in addition to material on British / Welsh bardism and druidism and Welsh music this work was to contain chapters on Irish and Highland bards, Scandinavian scalds, Provencal troubadours, and Saxon and English minstrels); 392-4, a list of thirty-six topics or subject or chapter headings being 'Another arrangement' [presumably for the proposed 'History of the Bards']; 395, a transcript of three 'englynion' attributed to Gutto'r Glyn, the third being attributed also to H[ywel] D[afydd] I[eua] n Rhys (an accompanying note mentions an 'eisteddfod' at Cardiff Castle); 396-7, a list of six 'Topics for the Bards Common Place book'; 398, a list of dates ? in connection with the holding of 'eisteddfodau' at Ystrad Ywain [co. Glamorgan]; 399-400, notes relating to the 'Polity or Discipline' of the druids and bards; 407, a list of fourteen 'names given by the ancient Bards to the Coronog faban' (part Welsh, part English, and derived from [Thomas] Pugh [: Brittish and Out-landish] Prophesies . . . [ London, 1658]); 408-18, notes relating largely to early British bardism and druidism with mention of [James] MacPherson and the Ossianic poems; 423-5, miscellaneous triads, etc.; 426 + 430-31, general reflections relating to etymology; 427-9, reflections on the use of conjecture in history particularly 'with respect to the peopling of Europe and America' if no historical records were available; 431-3, notes relating to the dissension between the bards of North Wales and those of Glamorgan consequent upon the 'succesful attempt of Daf[ydd] ab Edmund at the Caermarthen Congress [? 1451] to establish his own system [of versification]', the researches undertaken by the Glamorgan bards into 'Bardic history and science' and their discovery of 'the true principles of Poetry and versification', etc.; 435-7, notes containing general reflections on changes in the Welsh language and poetry from the late thirteenth century onwards; and 438, a list of six Welsh triads.

(I and ii). An interleaved copy in two volumes of The English Works of the late Rev. Eliezer Williams with a memoir of his life by his son St George Armstrong Williams (London, 1840), with corrections and annotations by the Reverend St George Armstrong Williams. (Iii). (A) Letters addressed to the Reverend Eliezer Williams (1754-1820), vicar of Lampeter (1805-20), from St G[eorge] Armstrong, Whitehaven, 1803 (personal finances, expectations of war, intends applying for a company in the Leitrim Militia), [Susan] Lady Blandford, undated (gift of books for addressee), Charles Bowdler, Lampeter, undated (invites Evans ('Ieuan Brydydd Hir'), Aberystwyth, 1778 (the publication of writer's sermons and the addressee's subscription, writer's distrust of Evan James, hopes addressee and Richard Thomas will transcribe 'the Damhegion from the Llyfr Coch' for him, Sir Watkin [Williams Wynn]'s generosity, intends 'to print the Adagia Britannica and the Triades with Mr Vaughan of Hengwrt's notes in two volumes', hopes addressee, Mr Rice Jones and Mr Richard Thomas will help to obtain subscribers (published in D. Silvan Evans (ed.) Gwaith y Parchedig Evan Evans (Caernarvon, 1876), pp. 243-4)), H. Flemyng, Dublin, 1817 (addressee's claims on the estate of the late Captain Armstrong's estate), John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway, 1792-6 (12), from Galloway House, London, Bath, etc. (addressee's work on the earl's pedigree to establish his claim to an English peerage) [the Earl was created Baron Stewart of Garlies in the Peerage of Great Britain, 6 June 1796], Andrew Stuart, London, 1790 (Lord Galloway's pedigree, reference to documents, etc.), Thomas Thomas, Aberporth, 1819 (the tenant of Lluest farm feared the rights of Lluest might be overlooked by the commissioners partitioning the common), G. Williams, Limehouse, 1793 (rearrangement of meeting with addressee because of writer's funeral engagements), [Reverend] Peter [Bailey] Williams (1763-1836), Llanrug, 1793 (family and personal news, prejudice against his father wearing off, sales of his father's edition of the Bible, approved of addressee's plan of establishing a school at Paddington) and 1805 (addressee's return journey to Lampeter, little Harry to be innoculated with cowpox because of the smallpox in the parish, comments on Dolgellau, antiquarian notes, inscriptions at Pant y Polion, Carmarthenshire and Llanwnnen and Llanddewibrefi, Cardiganshire, names and dates of various Welsh saints' festivals), a copy ?of the previous letter which has been altered and contains some additions, [ ], London, 1785 (news of Oxford acquaintances, writer had been a candidate for an office in the University but had been unsuccessful, writer's interest and that of Crowe had clashed and he had thus been unable to solicit the support of Crowe's friends, who would normally have supported him). (B) Miscellaneous letters and papers relating to the Reverend Eliezer Williams, including drafts or copies of letters from the Reverend Eliezer Williams to his mother from Galloway House, 1791 (a translation of a letter written in Welsh) (religious sentiments, his father's writings), to Charles [?Stewart, later Bishop of Quebec], c. 1812 (family news, enquiries concerning addressee's family), a letter written from Lampeter, 1817 to [ ] (writer's claims on Captain Armstrong's estate, describes his own circumstances since he had married Captain Armstrong's daughter and the help he had given Captain Armstrong and his family); original letters from [William Stuart], Bishop of St Davids, c. 1795, to [? Lord Galloway] (the present state of the diocese rendered it important, to the King as well as to the people, that the residence of the clergy should be more exemplary than hitherto, hopes Mr Williams's absence will not be protracted), T [ ], 1799, to the Earl of Galloway (requests the loan of Mr Williams's two pamphlets), the Reverend Eliezer Williams, Lampeter, 1814, to his brother the Reverend Peter Bailey Williams, Llanrug (writer's involvement in the controversy relating to Welsh orthography in Seren Gomer, desires David Thomas to look over the writer's ode, [Lampeter] illuminated for the return of the Cardiganshire Militia, writer's opinion of the peace), a newspaper cutting relating to a meeting held by the pupils of the late Reverend Eliezer Williams held at the Star Inn, Lampeter, 14 June 1822, in order to open a subscription to erect a monument to his memory, 'An Acrostic to the Memory of the late Mrs Armstrong, the wife of St George Armstrong, Esq., of Annaduff in the County of Leitrim, Ireland'. (C) Letters relating to The English Works of the Rev. Eliezer Williams to the Reverend St George Armstrong Williams from Charles Cradock, London, 1840-1(2) (details of the cost of binding and despatching the book and the receipt of a remittance from addressee), Jenkin Davies, Talybont, Brecon, 1841 (details relating to sales of the book and of subscribers who had died or moved, etc.), Mathilde Tobler, Glangwna, 1840 (gratitude upon the receipt of a gift of the book), a letter from Dr [Joseph] Bosworth, Etwell, 1843, to the Very Reverend Dean of Bangor [James Henry Cotton] (obliged to addressee for recommending The English Works of the Rev. Eliezer Williams, it had revived his desire to become acquainted with the Welsh language and literature, intends applying himself to the subject as soon as his present work was finished, requests addressee to take charge of his subscription of a sovereign, his high opinion of the work). (D) Miscellaneous letters and papers, including letters (2) from A[nne] A[rmstrong] Williams, Fron, near Caernarvon, 1840, to her son [St George Armstrong Williams] (family news) and to her husband, the Reverend St George Armstrong Williams, at the Belle Vue Hotel, Aberystwyth (family and local news), copies of a letter from Cyril Williams, Talcymmerau, 1844, to [Christopher Bethel] Bishop of Bangor, with the bishop's reply (support for the retention of a curate in the parishes of Llannor and Denio, Caernarvonshire), a letter from ? George W. Edmonds, Middlesborough, 1880, to his grandfather (personal), a bill, 29 September 1797, for the funeral of the daughter of the Reverend Mr Williams, proposals (draft) for publishing an English edition of Peter Williams's annotated Bible, a blank Schoolmaster's Certificate (printed), a printed copy of the rules of the Carnarvon Clothing Club (Cymdeithas Dilladu y Tlodion yn Nghaernarfon) in English and Welsh, copies (drafts) of the rules of the Pwllheli Clothing Club (Cymdeithas Dilladu y tlodion y' Mhwllheli) in English and Welsh, and of the Llannor Clothing Club, Cymdeithas i ddilladu y tlodion yn Llannor, in Welsh.