Welsh Manuscripts Society
The Welsh Manuscripts Society, also known as the Society for the Publication of Ancient Welsh Manuscripts, was a learned society concerned with the study and publication of early Welsh and British manuscripts. It was established in 1837 in Abergavenny, in the historic county of Monmouthshire in South East Wales, by six members of the Cymreigyddion y Fenni.
History
Thomas Price (Carnhuanawc) (1854) recorded that William Williams (1788–1855), a member of the long-established Williams family of Aberpergwm, Glamorganshire,[1][2] and the eldest brother of Maria Jane Williams, suggested the establishment of the society at the third anniversary of the Cymreigyddion y Fenni, which was held on 23 and 24 November 1836 in the Free Grammar school-room of Abergavenny.[3][4]
The society had the purpose of collecting, studying and, as a text publication society, of publishing manuscripts relating to the ancient poetry, prose and historiography of Britain and Wales.[5] Thomas Price (Carnhuanawc) habitually commended the important new books that the Society published in the speeches that he delivered at the eisteddfodau of the Cymreigyddion y Fenni.[6]
In 1856 the society published a Welsh language grammar which is said to have been written by Davod Aur Edeyrn.[7][8] Its final publication was Barddas; or, a collection of original documents, illustrative of the theology, wisdom and usages of the Bardo-Druidic system of the isle of Britain, which was edited and translated by Rev. John Williams (Ab Ithel). The first volume appeared in 1862; and the second volume, in an incomplete form, in 1874.[9]
William Rees of Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, was the printer and publisher for the society.[8]
Notes
- ↑ Nicholas 1874, p. 189.
- ↑ Jenkins 1959.
- ↑ Price 1854, p. 233.
- ↑ Thomas 1988, pp. 4–5 documented that six members of the Society attended who included Taliesin Williams. Price 1854, p. 233 did not mention him. But he did mention W. Williams, Esq. of Llangybi, as having taken the chair.
- ↑ Miles 1992.
- ↑ Thomas 1988, p. 4.
- ↑
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Edeyrn, Davod Aur". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. - 1 2 Jones 1959.
- ↑ Williams Ab Ithel 1874.
References
- Jenkins, Robert Thomas (1959). "Williams family, of Aberpergwm, Vale of Neath". In Johnston, Dafydd; Gruffydd Jones, Elin Haf (eds.). Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales.
- Jones, Selwyn (1959). "Rees, William (1808 - 1873), printer and publisher". In Johnston, Dafydd; Gruffydd Jones, Elin Haf (eds.). Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- Miles, Dillwyn (1992). The Secret of the Bards of the Isle of Britain. Gwasg Dinefwr Press. ISBN 978-0-9519926-0-9. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- Nicholas, Thomas (1874). The History and Antiquities of Glamorganshire and its Families. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
- Price, Thomas (1854). Williams, Jane (ed.). The Literary Remains of the Rev. Thomas Price, Carnhuanawc, vicar of Cwmdû, Breconshire, and rural dean, author of Hanes Cymru, Essays on the geographical progress of empire and civilization, etc. etc. Vol. II. Llandovery: William Rees.
- Thomas, Mair Elvet (1988). The Welsh Spirit of Gwent. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-1020-6.
- Williams Ab Ithel, J. (1874). Barddas: or, A collection of original documents, illustrative of the theology, wisdom, and usages of the Bardo-Druidic system of the isle of Britain Volume II. London: Bernard Quaritch. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
External links
bs and societies in Wales]]