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Myddelton, William, 1556?-1621.
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Barddoniaeth; doethineb Catwg Ddoeth,

A composite volume containing transcripts of prose and verse items in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg'). Pp. 1-80 contain transcripts of Welsh poems, almost entirely 'englynion', by, or attributed to, Llywelyn ab Rhosser 'o Sainffag[an]', Dafydd Llwyd Mathew, Dafydd ap Siencyn Fynglwyd, Richd. Watcins, vicar Llanellen, Thomas Llywelyn 'o Regoes', Llywelyn Thomas, Edwd. Dafydd 'o Fargam', Siôn y Cent, Siôn Morys 'o Lanfabon', Thomas Lewys 'o Lechau', Rhys Brychan, Hywel Bwr Bach, Huw Cae Llwyd, Dafydd Benwyn, Iorwerth Fynglwyd, Morys Cyffin, Hopcin Thomas 'o Faglan', Rhaff ab Rhobert, Siôn Tudur, Gwerfyl Mechain, Rhobert Cludro, Tudur Aled, Dafydd ap Edmwnd, Hywel ap Syr Matthew, Bleddyn Siôn 'o Lancarfan', Hywel Llwyd, Dafydd ap Gwilym, Siôn Philip 'o Hendrewaelod', Lewys Morys, Dafydd, abad Margam, Dafydd Dafies 'o Gastell Hywel', Iolo Morganwg, Huw Llwyd Cynfel, Siôn Cydewain, Llawdden, Syr Lewys Mochnant, Lewis Môn, Roger Cyffln, Syr Ifan o Garno, Wiliam Byrchinsha, Ednyfed Fychan, Cwnin Brydydd, Twm Siôn Catti, Lewys Morganwg, Rhys Brydydd, ? Lewys Glyn Cothi, Dafydd Nanmor, Jenkin Richards 'o Flaenau Gwent', Ieuan Gethin ab Ieuan ab Lleision, Siôn Brwynog, William Cynwal, Richard Huws, Dr. Morgan, esgob Llanelwy, Lewys Powel, William Middelton, Hopcin Tomas ab Einiawn, Elis Drwynhir, Harri ap Thomas ap Wiliam 'o'r Ddiserth', Grufydd Hiraethog, Morys Dwyfech, Owain Gronw, Hywel ap Rhys, Syr Lewys Gethin, Richard Cynwal, Roger y Gwydd, Edmwnd Prys, Dr. R. Davies, esgob Ty Ddewi, Rhys Cain, Huw Roberts Llun, Rhisiart Iorwerth 'o Langynwyd', ? Huw Ednyfed, Einion ap Dafydd Llwyd, Rhydderch Roberts, Syr Lewys y defaid, Syr Lewys Anwyl, Robert ab Han, Syr Ieuan Brydydd, Syr Owain ap Gwilym, Catherin ferch Howel, Wiliam Llyn, Owain Gwynedd, Dafydd Alaw, Evan Llwyd Sieffre, Morgan ap Huw Lewys, Robert Dafydd Llwyd, Wiliam ap Hywel ap Tomas, Morys Parri Llen, Ifan Siôn 'o Wedir', and Sils ap Siôn, and other unattributed poems. The inscriptions on p. 81 and p. 83 and the note on p. 82 appear to indicate that they were intended as cover and 'title-page' respectively for a home-made booklet containing a corpus of 'englynion' by Jenkin Richards of Blaenau Gwent, co. Monmouth, extracted mainly 'o Lyfrau Harri Siôn o Bont y Pwl a Llyfr ym Meddiant Rhys Thomas, Argraffydd o'r Bont Faen ym Morganwg', but only four 'englynion', presumably meant to be attributed to this poet, follow on p. 84. Pp. 91-198 contain miscellaneous items including 91-2, notes headed 'On the oldest places of Christian Worship in Wales'; (continued)

93-7, 105-06, notes, generally derogatory, on the character and literary and metallurgical activities of Lewis Morris; 100- 04, notes on 'Welsh Ideas of Celibacy'; 122-8, a transcript of thirty 'englynion' entitled 'Ymatreg Llywelyn a Gwrnerth' attributed to Tysiliaw fab Brochwel Ysgithrawc; 130, a note relating to an 'eisteddfod' held at Y Pil (Pyle, co. Glamorgan), 1740; 131- 41, notes relating to 'singing to the harp', the 'bardd telyn', carol and 'alsain' verse, the adapting of verse to music, etc.; 147-62, transcripts of 'englynion' attributed to Rhobert, Tywysog Norddmanty, Morys Kyffin, Wm. Byrchinsha, and Gutto'r Glyn, extracts from the works of various Welsh poets, etc.; 167, a version of William Midleton's introductory epistle [to his Bardhoniaeth neu brydydhiaeth, y llyfr kyntaf (Llundain, 1593)] copied 'Ex Vol. 40. Mr. Panton' [i.e. Panton MS.40 now NLW MS 2008]; 168-9, five stanzas of a hymn tune attributed to Elis Wynn; 169, a transcript of two 'englynion' attributed to Dr. [John] Davies; 171, a list of the commotes and hundreds of Glamorgan copied from '68. P.P.' [i.e. Panton MS 68 now NLW MS 2034]; 175-88, an alphabetical list of Welsh bards 'o Lyfr D'dd Ddu o'r Eryri'; and 188-98, miscellanea including transcripts of 'englynion' attributed to Siôn Mawddwy, Ieuan Tew, William Philip, and D[afydd] ab Gwilym, miscellaneous triads, genealogical data relating to various Welsh bards and Syr Rhys ap Thomas, etc. Pp. 207-390 (previously paginated 1-184) contain a collection of maxims, proverbs, triads, sayings, etc., attributed to Cattwg Ddoeth and described on a 'title-page' to the section ( p. 199) as 'Llyma Ddoethineb Cattwg Ddoeth o Lancarvan' and in a concluding note (p. 390) as 'Llyfr y cyntaf y Gwyddfardd Cyfarwydd'. In a note on the aforementioned 'title-page' (p. 199) Edward Williams claims to have transcribed this collection in 1799 from a manuscript in the possession of Siams Thomas of Maerdy Newydd, co. Glamorgan. Preceding and following the actual text of the collection are transcripts of a prefatory letter dated 1685 (pp. 201-06) and of the concluding note already referred to (p. 390) both of which are attributed to the Glamorgan scribe and copyist Thomas ab Iefan of Tre Bryn as compiler of the manuscript from which Edward Williams was allegedly copying (see TLLM, t. 172; IM, tt. 291-4). Pp. 391-477 contain a transcript of a collection, in alphabetical order, of over three thousand Welsh proverbs attributed to Cattwg Ddoeth ('Llyma Ddiarhebion Cattwg Ddoeth . . . sef yw hwnn Ail Lyfr y Gwyddfardd Cyvarwydd'). This collection, according to the aforementioned note at the end of the preceding section (p. 390) attributed to Thomas ab Iefan, had been compiled by the said Thomas from various sources and formed a continuation of the previous section. Edward Williams's claim with regard to the Siams Thomas volume is probably intended to apply to the contents of pp. 391-477 as well. The contents of pp. 199-390 have been published in The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales . . ., vol. III (London, 1807), pp. 1-99.

Miscellanea,

A composite volume containing miscellaneous notes, jottings, etc., of an extremely varied nature in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg'). Included, pagination in brackets, are small groups or short lists of Welsh words sometimes with English definitions and sometimes with illustrative extracts from the works of Welsh poets, grammatical notes, etc. (41-2, 51, 55, 63-4, 72, 85-6, 89-93 99, 163-6, 168, 171-3, 178); transcripts of 'englynion' attributed to Iorwerth ab Sierlyn 'uwch benn Bedd Siôn Ceiriog . . . 1792' (54) and Huw Llwyd Cynfel (187); extracts consisting of single stanzas, couplets, or even single lines from the works of the Welsh poets D[afydd] ab G[wily]m, W[ilia]m Cynwal, Gruff. ab . . . ab Tudur, Lewys Morys, Edm[wn]d Prys, and [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' (38-41), Gwalchmai (48), Wm. Midd[leto]n (49), Thos. Prys of P[las] Iolyn (50), Howel ab Owain Gwynedd (52-3), Iolo Goch or Gruff. Llwyd ab Daf ab Einion (63), Llen. Moel y Pantri, Tudur Aled, and Guttun Owain (to illustrate specific words) (85-6), ? Thos. Redwood (93), and Teilo Sant (95); transcripts of English verse including anonymous stanzas (41), four stanzas with the superscription 'Question in Arithmetic from the Welsh' ( 87), an epitaph by [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' (95), and a stanza again by 'Iolo Morganwg' (187); miscellaneous items including a list of six principles headed 'requisites of Language by Ed. Wms.' (17), notes relating to bardic ceremonial (20), two bardic triads (38), notes relating to the division of a community into four classes, viz. grand jurors, jurors, private citizens, and subjects, and their roles in government (45- 6), notes relating to mottoes and titles of bardic 'gorseddau' (56-9), a note on metempsychosis (60), a list of twenty books and authors with a note written sideways in the margin 'Books and Authorities for the History of the Bards' (73), brief notes referring to old inscriptions [in Britain], the features called Caer y Vynwent and Maen y chwyfan in co. Flint, the administration of the Isle of Man, and the Picts (77-80), a brief note relating to medieval North Wales prose (86), notes headed 'August 30th 1808' containing brief topographical, agricultural, etc. memoranda referring to places called Bryn y Menyn [on] Coettre Hen Estate, Cefn Hirgoed, and Hirwaen [? co. Glamorgan] (90), a brief note relating to 'chware cnau mewn Ilaw Morganwg' (93), lists of subject or chapter headings for a ? four - volume work to be divided into 'Volume of Welsh Tracts Translated', 'Historical Volume', 'Vol. III. Barddoniaeth amrafaelion oesoedd a Thestunau', and 'Volume IV' (no headings but to contain sections on, or relating to, 'Meddygon Myddfai', 'Cato Gymraeg', 'Trin Perllanau', 'Hen arddoriaeth', etc.) (94), a brief note on influences on North Walian and South Walian poetry (95), a note on the number of letters in the ? Welsh alphabet at various times (96), a Welsh bardic triad (96), a short list of Welsh proverbs (97), a note referring to the state of the Welsh language and the language of the Normans at the time of the Norman settlement in Wales, the adoption of Welsh by Norman authors such as, allegedly, Robert, earl of Glo[uceste]r, Walter de Mapes, Robert, duke of Normandy, etc. (98), a list of various taxes or fees, e.g. churchwardens' rate, fees for notices to quit, charges for parish register certificates, etc. (100), brief notes relating to the functions of the 'Penrhaith, the most ancient Title of sovereignty in Britain, i.e. Chief or Foreman of the Rhaith or Senatorial Assembly', the lesser officials called 'pencenedl', the assembly called 'Rhaith Gwlad', etc., references to the allegedly false views of the seventeenth century antiquary Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt on these matters in his book British Antiquities Revived, and more general remarks on 'monokingism' and what is termed 'natural Government, not hereditary, not elective' (101-07), a brief note relating to 'corfannau' ( 110), notes referring to scripts of ancient inscriptions headed 'Saxon Characters' (111-112), a note relating to 'Englynion byrron' and 'Englynion hirion' in Glamorgan and the defining of certain types of 'odlau' by . . . Swrdwal (113), a note relating to the word 'rhath' and to the village and church of Rhath near Cardiff (120), statistics relating to the religions of the world 'From Malte Brun's System of Universal Geography, Paris, 1816' (125), a list of various bardic 'cylymau' headed 'Cwlm Eisteddfod, cwlm gorsedd' (166), a note headed 'Sapiential and Satyrical Triades' (167), a list of ten subject or chapter headings under the general superscription 'Collections for a History of the Ancient British Bards and Druids' (169-70), three lists of Welsh historico-literary material and / or authors under the headings (1) 'Oldest Documents', (2) 'Northwalian Grammars', and (3) 'Southwalian recent' (170), a note containing generalisations concerning the Welsh language (179-80), and other miscellanea; extracts from a variety of printed sources including [Henry Home] Lord Kaimes: Elements of Criticism, [John] Lempriere: A Classical Dictionary, [Paul Henri] Mallet: Northern Antiquities, Monthly Review, Month[ly] Mag[axine], The Edinburgh Review, The Critical Review, Courier, and Thomas Langley: [An Abridgement of the Notable Worke of] Polidore Vergile; etc.