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Brogyntyn manuscripts
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Pedwar mesur ar hugain Cerdd Dant, &c.,

  • Brogyntyn MS II.41 [RESTRICTED ACCESS].
  • File
  • 1592, [17 cent., second ½]-[mid-18 cent.]
  • Part of Brogyntyn manuscripts

A copy of Siôn Dafydd Rhys, Cambrobrytannicæ Cymraecæve Lingvae Institvtiones et Rvdimenta... (London: Thomas Orwin, 1592, ESTC S115912), with manuscript additions in a number of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century hands throughout the volume and on the back fly-leaves, including Welsh verse in strict and free metre on pp. 98, 151, 196, 200 and 308-309, and 'pedwar mesir arhigain Cerdd Dant', 'y pedwar mesir arhugain Cerdd dafod' and 'y saith fesur ar hugain, ne'r saith fesurau [Cerdd Dant]' on pp. 305-307, together with a drawing of a Welsh triple harp and a diagram illustrating the tuning of its three sets of strings on p. 308.
The Welsh verses on p. 98 are probably in the hand of Robert Lloyd, whose name occurs on pp. 95, 98 and 157, and those on pp. 196 and 200 in the hand of Ffoulk Edwardes, whose name occurs on p. 156. The eighteenth-century hand which added the dates to poems on pp. 45, 164, 181, 183, 184, 190 and 248 probably also copied the verses on pp. 151, 248 and the texts on pp. 305-309.

Barddoniaeth a phroffwydoliaethau

A volume containing poetry mostly in strict metre, together with some prose items and a significant body of prophetic prose or vaticinatory verse, transcribed between 1649 (see pp. 285-288) and 1660 by Wiliam Bodwrda; the volume would appear to have been 'No. 17' in his own collection of manuscripts (see f. iv and p. 342).
The cited works are mainly those of fifteenth-century poets, including eulogies by Lewys Glyn Cothi and prophetic poetry by Dafydd Gorlech, Dafydd Llwyd ap Llywelyn ap Gruffudd o Fathafarn and Robin Ddu. Several pieces of prophecy are either anonymous or attributed to ambiguous and obscure authors such as Taliesin, y Bardd Cwsg and y Bergam. Eulogies composed in praise of the Bodwrda family are found on pages 181-193 and 285-288. Wiliam Bodwrda himself has paginated the manuscript from 1-341, but some of these numbers have been cropped in binding. The paper, according to the transcriber's practice, has been folded before use giving three vertical creases on every page, the left-hand crease being used as a guide for the alignment of the text. The transcriber uses a catchword on the bottom right-hand corner of most verso pages.

Wiliam Bodwrda.

Barddoniaeth a rhyddiaith,

  • Brogyntyn MS II.55 [RESTRICTED ACCESS].
  • File
  • [late 16 cent.]-[18 cent., first ½].
  • Part of Brogyntyn manuscripts

A composite manuscript of loose papers and fragments of manuscript volumes. It contains poetry and prose, mostly in Welsh, much of the poetry being addressed to the Owen family of Brogyntyn and Clenennau and other related families. Apart from a late-sixteenth century awdl by Wiliam Llŷn (ff. 57-58), the other items all belong between the first half of the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century.
Fragments apparently once part of books, some of which perhaps were never bound, are: a narrow folio of cywyddau and englynion by Mathew Owen, in the hand of Nathanael Jones (ff. 20-26), written not before 1656 (see ff. 24 verso-25), with autograph englynion added by Harri Howel (f. 20 verso) and by Nathanael Jones (f. 20 verso, 23); a folio manuscript containing cywyddau to Lewis Anwyl of Parc and his family, dated 1627-1636 (ff. 38-55), written by two good hands of the first half of the seventeenth century, one responsible for ff. 38-50 verso, the other ff. 51-55; a quarto manuscript with transcripts of poetry of the Gogynfeirdd (ff. 113-122; paginated 1-20), by a seventeenth-century hand similar to that of Morris Evans (cf. ff. 93-94, 123-141); pedigrees of Welsh royal lines, the Maurices of Clenennau, etc., in English (ff. 123-141; original foliation 1-12 survives), in the hand of Morris Evans (ff. 123-127 verso, 129-134 verso) and a second hand (ff. 128 recto-verso, 135-141); a narrow folio of canu brud attributed to Myrddin, Taliesin, etc. (ff. 178-186), written by Nathanael Jones, not before 1651 (ff. 182 verso, 183 verso 'aetatis suae a 21o Feb: 1650 27'); a folio manuscript of canu brud, mainly cywyddau, by Dafydd Llwyd and others (ff. 189-207), in a poor hand of the mid seventeenth century, probably that of Thomas Edwards to judge by pentrials on f. 196 verso, who refers to Tregeiriog (f. 199 verso) and 'Llanfylling fairings' (f. 207 verso); an octavo manuscript containing poems by Robin Clidro, etc., in a seventeenth or eighteenth century hand (ff. 210-219); and a folio manuscript of autograph cywyddau and englynion by Huw Morys, some addressed to William Owen and Sir Robert Owen (ff. 222-226 verso). Poetry written on loose papers includes autograph poems by Huw Morys (ff. 12-18), John Owens (ff. 59-71; f. 69 recto-verso may be his italic hand), Harri Howel (ff. 75-76 verso, 90 recto-verso), Owen Gruffydd (ff. 84-89, 230-231), William Phylip (ff. 97-98 verso), John Morgan, later vicar of Conwy (f. 101 recto-verso, the poem incomplete and anonymous, dated 1688, the hand his), Siôn Rhydderch, 1732 (ff. 104-105, 227-228), and Edward Lloyd, Brewis (f. 221 recto-verso). There are probable autograph poems by Edward Rowlant (ff. 72-74 verso, 79-80) and John Richard (f. 81), and possible autograph poems by 'J. Ll.' (f. 26 verso), Mathew Owen (ff. 77-78, 232 recto-verso), Siôn Roberts (ff. 91-92), Huw Cadwaladr (ff. 106-108) and 'R.C.' (f. 163). Other poetry is in the hands of Morris Evans (ff. 93-94) and 'Theo: Ro:' (ff. 152-154 verso). Also included is a letter, 1652, from the antiquary Meredith Lloyd to Thomas Vaughan, the alchemist and poet (ff. 1-3 verso), followed by a copy of Hanes Taliesin (ff. 5-10 verso). The 'Cywydd Marwnad i Mr William Owen o Borkynton' by Huw Morys, beginning 'Mae gwaedd oer lem Gweddw [yw'r wlad]', discussed in E. D. Jones, 'The Brogyntyn Welsh Manuscripts', National Library of Wales Journal, 7 (1951-2), 165-198 (pp. 186-189, 196-197), has not been found.

Barddoniaeth

A composite volume consisting of two incomplete manuscripts written by several mid-seventeenth century scribes and containing Welsh poetry mostly in strict-metre.
It comprises: (a) pp. 1-498, 595-622 (many misplaced leaves, the original order being pp. 615-616, 179-186, 37-38, 595-598, 619-622, 599-602, 35-36, 1-34, 39-178, 187-432, 603-614, 433-498) mainly in the hands of Richard Cynwal (pp. 37-38, 179-186, 615-619) and an unidentified mid-seventeenth century scribe, containing Welsh poetry addressed mostly to the Maurice family of Clenennau and related families, including those of Bryncir; Wern, Penmorfa; Craflwyn, Beddgelert; Ystumcegid and Corsygedol; (b) pp. 499-594 in the hand of an unidentified mid-seventeenth century scribe, containing Welsh poetry addressed to families of north-east Wales, particularly those of Eutun of Leeswood and Lloyd of Bodidris. Poems, probably holograph, by Ellis Rowland, Jane Vaughan of Caer Gai and William Wynne are tipped in at the end of the volume (pp. 623-625).

Barddoniaeth

A volume containing Welsh poetry in strict and free metre, including a poem dated 1627 (f. 280), in an unidentified hand of the early seventeenth century; the same hand also wrote NLW MS 6471B and Jesus College, Oxford MSS 139 and 140.
The scribe was copying from at least six different manuscripts, the beginnings and ends of which he usually indicates, e.g. 'dechre llyfyr Mr Iohn peers' (f. 1), 'dechre llyfyr arall (ff. 60 verso, 225 verso) and 'diwedd i llyfr yma' (ff. 135, 225 verso). Books begin on ff. 1, 60 verso, 105, 135 and 225 verso; the sixth book probably began in the gap resulting from the excision of leaves between ff. 245 and 246. Additions include a poem, dated 1630, written in a contemporary hand on ff. iii-iv; englynion on ff. iv verso, and on f. 176 verso, probably in the hand of Lowry Evans; verses in free metre in an early-nineteenth century hand tipped onto f. 305; and a subject index of contents of the volume when it was complete in a hand of the second half of the seventeenth century on ff. 306-310.