Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- [15 cent.] (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
35 items.
Context area
Archival history
Discovered in 1946 (?and later) by the abbey site's curator Rhys Jones, during excavation and clearing work by the Ministry of Works.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Ministry of Works; Deposit, with the permission of the Representative Body of the Church in Wales; 1950?
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Thirty-five inscribed slates from Strata Florida Abbey, Cardiganshire, dated to the fifteenth century. Many of the slates are broken fragments with the inscriptions consequently often being incomplete; all are irregular in shape. The inscriptions comprise both text, the majority being in Welsh with examples of Latin and English, and pictures, comprising zoomorphic and anthropomorphic forms, geometric shapes and patterns, as well as other indefinite markings. The majority of the slates are inscribed on one face only, with eleven bearing inscriptions on both sides (SF 1, 3, 5-7, 15, 19, 22, 24, 28-29).
The five slates SF 13-14, 23, 25-26 are all broken fragments of one original slab (along with other still missing sections); with the exception of SF 13 the fragments can be joined up into one larger piece. SF 13-14 and 26 contain parts of a single epitaph, incised in large outline letters, which together appear to read: 'Hic ia[cet] ...es ap ... [a]p ll[ywelyn] [mona]chus'. SF 33 and 35 are also two fragments of a single slate.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Arranged at NLW very broadly as follows: items containing text; items containing little or no text.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
- English
- Latin
- Welsh
Script of material
Language and script notes
Welsh, Latin, English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
A few items are fragile, with the slate beginning to split (SF11, SF19).
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
E. D. Jones, 'Ysgriflechi Cymraeg Ystrad Fflur', in Llên Cymru, 1 (1950), 1-6.
Publication note
E. D. Jones, 'Inscribed Slates from Strata Florida', in Ceredigion, 1 (1950), 103-105.
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of fonds.
Note
Dated on the basis of E. D. Jones's analysis in 'Ysgriflechi Cymraeg Ystrad Fflur', in Llên Cymru, 1 (1950), 1-6.
Alternative identifier(s)
Alma system control number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Strata Florida Abbey (Wales) (Subject)
- Strata Florida Abbey (Wales) -- Archives (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
May 2019.
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: E. D. Jones, 'Ysgriflechi Cymraeg Ystrad Fflur', in Llên Cymru, 1 (1950), 1-6; E. D. Jones, 'Inscribed Slates from Strata Florida', in Ceredigion, 1 (1950).
Archivist's note
Description compiled by Myra Booth-Cockroft and Rhys Jones.