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Ieuan Brechfa, d. ca. 1500? Glamorgan (Wales) -- History
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Brut Ieuan Brechfa; Brut Aberpergwm; triads, etc.

A composite volume containing miscellaneous historical and literary material in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg'). Pp. 24-36 contain a transcript of a version of the medieval Welsh Chronicle of the Princes associated with the name of the fifteenth century poet and genealogist Ieuan Brechfa with the title or superscription 'Brut y Tywysogion . . . a dynnwyd o Lyfrau Caradawc Llancarfan ac eraill o hen Lyfrau Cyfarwyddyd a ysgrifenodd Ieuan Brechfa'. The transcript was allegedly made by Edward Williams from a volume in the possession of Rhys Thomas, printer, of Cowbridge, and the text was published in The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales, vol. II, 1801, pp. 470-565 (bottom section of pages). Pp. 37-135 contain one of the two known reputed transcripts by Edward Williams of the allegedly variant version of the aforesaid Welsh Chronicle of the Princes known as 'Brut Aberpergwm' or the 'Gwentian Brut'. The title or superscription reads 'Llyma Vrut y Tywysogion val y bu Ryfeloedd a Gweithredoedd enseiliaid a Dialeddau a Rhyfeddodau gwedi eu tynnu o'r hen gofion cadwedig a'u blynyddu'n drefnedig gan Garadawc Llancarfan', and the text was reputedly transcribed by [Edward Williams] 'Iorwerth Gwilym' in 1790 from one of the manuscripts of the Reverend Thomas Richards, curate of Llangrallo [co. Glamorgan], who, in turn, had reputedly copied the work in 1764 from a manuscript in the possession of George Wiliams of Aber Pergwm [co. Glamorgan] (see p. 135). For the other reputed transcript of this text allegedly from the same source see NLW MS 13113B (Llanover C. 26) above. Other items in the volume include pp. 13-18, variant versions of parts of the introductory section to Lewis Dwnn's Visitations (see S. R. Meyrick (ed.): Heraldic Visitations of Wales . . . by Lewys Dwnn (Llandovery, 1846), pp. 7 and 9); 18-20, a list of eleven Welsh writers who had recorded the genealogies and deeds of the Welsh ('sgrifennyddion a gadwasant gof am achau a gweithredoedd y Cymry') allegedly copied from a book in the possession of Ben Simon 'y Bardd o Borth Myrddin'; 20-24, a further list of twenty Welsh poets or writers who had written about Wales and the island of Britain ('Enwau'r Prydyddion Awdurdodol . . . a ysgrifenasant am Wlad Gymru ac am Ynys Prydain') (see IM, t. 308); 136-7, a note by [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' in 1801 on the attribution of works to ancient writers and poets such as Caradawc o Lancarfan, Taliesin, etc.; 138-57, another account of the quarrels between Iestin fab Gwrgan, lord of Glamorgan, and Rhys fab Tudur, prince of South Wales, and between the said Iestin and Einion ab Collwyn, the invitation to Sir Rhobert fab Hamon and the Norman knights to intervene, the consequent conquest of Glamorgan by the Normans, and the division of the country between Sir Rhobert and his twelve knights, with brief notes on the subsequent holders of the thirteen original divisions ('Hanes y Tri Marchog ar Ddeg a ddaethant i Forganwg yn Amser Iestin ab Gwrgan', allegedly transcribed from a volume in the possession of the Reverend Thos. Basset of Lann y Lai, co. Glamorgan); 158- 61, notes on variations in a second version of the account of the conquest of Glamorgan (pp. 138-57) to be found in the aforesaid Mr. Bassett's volume; 163-4, a list of Glamorgan bards with the places where they lived; 179 + 182, a brief chronicle of historical and pseudo-historical events in British history, 2nd - 5th century A.D.; 183, notes on an 'eisteddfod' held at Carmarthen in the time of Rhys ab Tewdur; 191-4, notes on Sir Robert Fitzhamon and his twelve knights and 'chronological notes from the Encyclopaedia Britanica'; 195-223, transcripts of three series of triads with the superscriptions 'Trioedd Ynys Prydain o'r Delyn Ledr ymha Lyfr yr oeddent wedi eu hysgrifennu o Lyfr Mr. Robert Vaughan o Hengwrt' (91), 'Trioedd y Meirch' (11), and 'Llyma ychwaneg o Drioedd Ynys Prydain allan o Lyfr Mr. Robert Vaughan o Hengwrt' (4); 224, an anecdote relating to Maelgwn Gwynedd; 225-31, transcripts of Welsh verse attributed to Lewys Môn, Taliesin, and Cattwg ddoeth; 231-3, lists of proverbial or wisdom sayings headed 'Llyma Gynghorion Cattwg ddoeth', 'Llymma Goreuau Cattwg Sant ab Gwynlliw', and 'Llymma Goreuau Meugant Bardd Cystenin Fendigaid'; 233-51, transcripts of series of triads with the superscriptions 'Llyma Drioedd a gant Iolo Morganwg', 'Trioedd Cattwg Sant', 'Llymma Drioedd a dalant eu hystyrio cyn gwreicca', 'Llymma Drioedd y Gwragedd priod', and 'Llyma Drioedd o hen Lyfr Lewys Hopcin'; 257-66, transcripts of Welsh poems and exemplary verse attributed to Mab claf i Lywarch, Y Cwtta Cyfarwydd, and Dafydd Nanmor; 271-5, an incomplete series of triads (5 + part of 6) with the superscription 'Llymma Drioedd Cof Cyfarwydd yn son am hynodion o wyr ac o betheu a fuant gynt yn Ynys Prydain . . .' (pp. 267-70, with p. 267 inscribed 'Trioedd Ynys Prydain o Lyfr Iaco ab Dewi gan Rys Thomas, Argraphydd, a fu gynt yn eiddo Twm Siôn Catti', were probably formerly the upper and lower covers of a home-made booklet intended to contain a version of the third series of 'Trioedd Ynys Prydain' of which the contents of pp. 271-5 are probably a fragmentary draft (see Rachel Bromwich: 'Trioedd Ynys Prydain' in Welsh Literature and Scholarship (Cardiff, 1969), p. 13)); 287-300, an alphabetical list of old Welsh words with modern equivalents; 303-09, brief notes headed 'Some account of the Welsh Bards'; 315-17, etymological and other miscellaneous notes; 318, transcripts of a short series of Welsh triads called 'Trioedd yr Addurneu' and of four 'englynion' attributed to [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg'; 319, a brief note relating to ? Nonconformist meetings associated with Blaen Gwrach [co. Glamorgan]; 327-34, a transcript of the poem 'Kad Goddeu' attributed to Taliesin; 335-8 notes relating to a Unitarian society called 'Gwyr Cwm y Felin' which allegedly flourished at Cwrn y Felin, co. Glamorgan, in the eighteenth century with a reference to Edward Williams's attitude to Unitarianism (see TLLM, tt. 215, 239, 314, and IM, t. 73); (continued)

339-47, notes relating to developments in Welsh metrics and literature to the late eighteenth century; 349-50, notes on the 'Cimmerii' or 'Cimbri', etc.; 351, a note on the connection between the freemasons and St. Alban; 352, a list of the princes of Glamorgan from the time of Aedd Mawr to the time of Iestin ap Gwrgan; 363-5, transcripts of two poems attributed to Morgan Talhai 'o Lansanffraid Fawr ym Morganwg'; 371-4, historical memoranda relating to Gower including an incomplete list of the lords of Gower from the time of Henry I onwards; 375-82, etymological and historical notes relating to the names and regions of Gwent / Essyllwg / Morganwg (mention of 'Ragland Castle Library, the best collection of old Welsh MSS. that ever existed'); 383-4, a note on the possible antiquity of the period of the formation of the Welsh language; 384-90, miscellaneous poetic and other extracts mainly Welsh, and lists of the names of the months in Armoric and Cornish; 393-4 a transcript of an eight-stanza English poem by Taliesin Williams 'written at the Lamb and Flag, Vale of Neath, 1816'; 401-03, a draft copy of an advertisement for the proposed publication of a Welsh quarterly magazine to be called 'Goleugrawn Deheubarth', the first issue to appear in June 1818; 407-11, extracts from [William] Coxe: [An Historical Tour in] Mon[mouth]shire . . . (London, 1801), part 11, appendix 1; 415-18, a copy of a tale relating to King Arthur and his knights sleeping in a cave full of treasure at Craig y Ddinas; 419-22, extracts from [P. H.] Mallet [: Northern Antiquities . . .] and the works of Caedmon; 423-30, notes headed 'Plan of the Analytical Dissertation on the Welsh Language by E[dward] W[illiams]'; 431-5, brief notes relating to the cultivation of literary languages and 'the mode of examining or investigating the principles on which any language has been formed'; 436, a brief list of the 'numerous names of God' in Welsh; 440 + 453, notes relating to ? earth tremors in the area between Cowbridge and the sea in July and August 1809; 445-8, notes headed 'Preface to History of the Bards - hints', with references to the work of [Edward] Jones ['Bardd y Brenin']; 455-7, extracts from [George] Lytte[l]ton : [The] History of [the Life of King] Henry the Second; 457-9, miscellaneous triads; 460-61, extracts from poems by Tudur Aled and G[uto'r] Glyn to abbots of Lanegwystl; 471-82, two sets of notes headed 'On Welsh Literature. Miscellaneous' and 'Cardigan and North Pembroke Dialects' containing general observations on the nature, etc., of Welsh literature and the Welsh language with references to classes held for learning to read Welsh; 482-6, notes on a reputed Welsh bard 'Keraint Vardd Glas otherwise Y Bardd Glas Keraint seemingly the Glaskerion of Chaucer'; 487-91, copies of two rhetorical prose exercises in the form of two love-letters in Welsh addressed by a member of the Powel family of Llwydiarth [co. Glamorgan] to a young lady; 491-500, a brief sketch in Welsh of the history of Morgannwg from the time of Morgan Mwynfawr to the time of the Tudors reputedly from a volume once in the possession of the Reverend Mr. Gamais (Gamage), vicar of St. Athan [co. Glamorgan], and then in the possession of Mr. John Spencer of the same parish; 501-05, transcripts of two letters reputedly exchanged between the sixteenth century poets Siôn Mowddwy and Meirig Dafydd concerning criticism by the latter of the former's verse, mention being made by Meirig Dafydd of the rival Welsh strict-metre systems of Dafydd Emwnt and the bards of Morgannwg (for references to manuscript and published versions of these letters see IMCY, t. 167, and TLLM, t. 86, n. 26-7, and for the opinion that Meirig Dafydd's reply was composed by Edward Williams himself see TLLM, t. 78, n. 6, and t. 86); 505, 'Llyma bump Tywysawglwyth Cymru'; 507- 12, an incomplete list of twenty four early kings of Britain recounting their feats and accomplishments ('Hanes Pedwar Brenin ar hugain a varnwyd yn henna ac yn wrola o'r Brutaniaid i Ddeiliaid ag i Gwncwerio'); 513-16, notes on the lineage of Iestyn ap Gwrgan ('Llyma wehelyth Iestyn ap Gwrgan un o bump Brenhinllwyth Cymru a Phen hynaif Tywysogion Ynys Prydain' reputedly 'o Lyfr Thomas Hopkin o Langrallo'); etc. In three instances notes have been written on the blank verso or margins of printed copies of the following - an abstract of a report on a meeting, May 1820, of the governors and friends of the medical charitable organisation known as the Welsh Dispensary (171-8), proposals for publishing Edward Williams's two volumes of English verse Poems Lyric and Pastoral in 1792 (180-81), and an advertisement for letting 'a desirable family residence' in Cardiff (184-5).

Miscellanea,

A volume containing miscellaneous notes, jottings, etc., in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg'). The contents include, pagination in brackets, notes relating to William de Brewis [13th cent.], the chaplaincy of Thirlesbury Martin in the parish of Lantwit [co. Glamorgan], and the formation of the parish of Eglwys Brewis from this chaplaincy (15-16); a reference to the conquest of the lordship of Brecon by Bernard Newmarch in 1087, a copy of an inscription on a cross in the parish of Vaenor [co. Brecknock], and a note on a cromlech at Ty Illtud in the parish of Llanhammwlch (sic) [co. Brecknock] [extracted from William Camden's Brittania] (16-17); notes, historical and geographical, relating to Glamorgan including extracts from Camden's Britannia (18-27); copies of two memorial inscriptions in Clyrow churchyard, co. Radnor, one recording an age of 219, with a comment [by Edward Williams] relating to this (28); an anecdote relating to an attack by Edgar, King of London ('Brenin Llundain'), upon Morgan Mawr in Morgannwg (31 + 34); a genealogy tracing the descent of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn in direct line from Eneas Ysgwyddwyn (35- 6); genealogical and other data relating to Llywelyn Bren, Senghenydd, Lewysaid (sic) y Fann [co. Glamorgan], Llywelyn Bren ieuanc, Lewys Rhaglan ' o Lys y Vronydd', the Gawntlo family of Tregawntlo [co. Glamorgan], and Iestin ap Gwrgan (36-40); a sketch plan of, and a brief note on, 'Gallt Cawrdaf. An[cien]t Monastery', a note on a measure called Miskyn Measure, notes on the site of the 'old church' and on the 'present parish church' at Marcross [co. Glamorgan], and notes relating to land called Nash orchards and land adjacent to it in Nash [co. Glamorgan] (43-5); a note relating to relations between Edgar [king of England] and Morgan Hen [of Morgannwg] circa 967, and the alliance between Iestin ab Gwrgan and the Danes and Irish, late 11th cent. (58); a chronicle of events in Welsh history but relating mainly to South Wales, late 10th-11th cent. (59-71); brief notes relating to events in the reigns of Edward II and Edward III based upon Froissart's Chronicles (75-7); (continued)

Genealogical notes relating to the Gamage family up to the second half of the sixteenth century 'Ex Harl. Lib. No. 368' (85-6); a list of fifteen subject or chapter headings relating to Welsh poetry headed 'Topics for the History of the Bards' (91); a further list of eighteen subject or chapter headings relating to Welsh literature, bardism, music, etc. (92); miscellanea including a medicinal recipe extracted from the Monthly Review, a list of ecumenical councils, 314-551 [A.D.], specifications and a sketch relating to a settee or couch with drawers and a book shelf, etc. (93-6); a list of places in co. Glamorgan where fairs were held noting the main items sold (97-9); brief notes relating to John Hopkins of Neath 'the versifier of the psalms, died 1541', and his ancestor Hopkin Thomas, fl. 1350, who 'wrote the Greal' ( 100); notes on meteorological predictions made by the Prelate Luders of Glucksburg in 1785 and his theories re the influence on climate of ice floes floating down from northern seas (101-02); a list of nine subject or chapter headings relating to Welsh literature, bardism, language, etc., headed 'History of the Bards' (103); miscellanea including eight lines of English verse translated from Welsh by E[dward] Williams, a brief note on tradition by Edward Williams, brief notes relating to sheep and cattle in Glamorgan, genealogies of the bard Taliesin and an anecdote relating to him, etc. (104-08); a brief list of Welsh words with observations on Welsh polysyllabic words whose roots are unknown (122); lists of proverbs, proverbial expressions, and rhyming proverbial couplets, some connected expressly with Glamorgan, a list of nine Welsh words with notes on most, formulae of 'common cries', examples of crude set 'question and answer' pieces, etc. (123-32); notes relating to the sense of apartness of the people of Glamorgan and Monmouth as opposed to the rest of Wales, traces of the Silurian dialect of Welsh in Anglesea and its use by the 'Northwalian Bards of the middle ages' whose 'poetic dialect' was ' demonstratively founded on the Silurian', etc. (133-5); a list of personal ' names . . . still very common in Glam. & Monm.' (136); a further list of Welsh proverbs or proverbial expressions (136-8); geological notes relating to ? the coast of Glamorgan (138); extracts from [John Shore, Baron] Teignmouth: [Memoirs of the] Life . . . of Sir William Jones [philologist and jurist, 1746-94], and a quotation from [ ] Diderot (139- 41); a list of Welsh names of ? villages, farms, etc., and a brief note on Rhys Ddu, temp. Owen Glyndwr (144-6); incomplete notes with the superscription 'Some Account of the Ancient Town of Lantwit Major (Wallice Llanulltud fawr) in the County of Glamorgan' recounting legends concerning Saint Illtud and his monastery and school (147-60); incomplete notes relating to the divisions of Gwlad Forgan in the time of Iestin ab Gwrgan [ late 11th cent.], conflicts between Morgannwg and Deheubarth previous to the time of Iestin, Rhys ap Tewdwr's seizure of the lands of Einon ab Collwyn [late 11th cent.], etc. (163-5); brief notes relating to the history of the Welsh strict-metre poetic system (171-2); brief notes relating to Ewenny Abbey and Ewenny village (173); transcripts of 'englynion' attributed to Llywelyn ab Ifan 'o'r Rhaglan', John David Rhys, Morgan Llywelyn 'o Gastell Nedd', Rhys Morgan 'Pencraig Nedd', and Edward Efan, 'cywyddau' attributed to Lewis Hopcin, a stanza attributed to Wil. Hopcin, and a stanza of unattributed verse (175-86); notes relating to the fifteenth century poet Llawdden or Ieuan Llawdden, his compendium of Welsh bardic laws and arrangement of Welsh strict poetic metres approved at a session of bards held at Caermarthen in 1451 and ratified and confirmed at a second such session of bards also held at Caermarthen in 1460 or 1461, the protest made by Glamorgan bards against these, their researches concerning the bardic laws and institutes, the systematic arrangement of the results of these researches by Gwilym Tew, Lewys Morganwg, and Llen. Siôn 'o Langewydd' successively, and an assembly of Glamorgan bards held at Beaupre Castle circa 1670 for the purpose of 'reviving or recognizing' the ancient institutes, etc. (187-90); reflections concerning the probable origin of the 'gwyddoniaid', the wise men or teachers of the ancient Cymmry, the growth of this body into a more formal system or institution, and its role as 'Parent of the Bardic or Druidic Instit[ut]ion' (190-94); (continued)

Extracts from the poems of Cynddelw referring to 'Derwyddon' (194); notes relating to an assembly held at Caerllion ar wysg under King Arthur to promulgate laws, to the arrangement of the Welsh strict poetic metres, and to the five basic elements (200-01); notes on a few Welsh words with illustrative excerpts from poems (202); a reference to 'Llyfr Cyfarwyddyd ar achoedd o waith Ieuan Brechfa' with the lineage of the said Ieuan Brechfa, a list headed 'Llyma enwau y nawnyn a diriwys yn gyntaf yn fforest Glyn Cothi', and other miscellanea (203-04); a list of twenty-four knights at King Arthur's court divided into eight groups of three, each group possessing particular attributes (205-07); extracts from Welsh poems attributed to, or single stanzas or 'englynion' attributed to Edmund Prys, Siôn Philip, 'N'., Iaco ab Dewi, Thos. Ll'n 'o Regoes', and Ll'n Thomas (208-11); an anecdote relating to the composition by Rhisiart ab Iorwerth Fynglwyd of an 'englyn' containing the names of several objects referred to in a conversation at an 'eisteddfod' (212); copies of the memorial inscriptions on the tombstones of the Reverend Samuel Jones, Bryn Llywarch, ob. 1697, and his wife, ob. 1676, in Llangynwyd churchyard [co. Glamorgan], and a stanza of Welsh verse by [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' (213-14, 241-2); a transcript of eight stanzas containing Welsh triads in verse form attributed to Iolo Pen y Lan (215-16); a version of the Welsh prose tale 'Hwedl Rhitta Gawr' (217-20); the title and first words of another prose tale, viz. 'Hwedl fel y llosgwys Cenfigen ei pherchen' (221) followed by fifteen blank pages obviously intended for a copy of this and possibly other similar tales; a transcript of a five-stanza poem entitled 'Syrthiad y Dail' attributed to Thomas Glyn Cothi (238-9); notes headed 'The antiquities of Lantwit Major, Corn. Glamorgan' relating to Saint Illtud, the monastic church founded at Llanilltud, and the early abbots of that church, and attributed to David Nicholls, 1729 (243-55; see also NLW MS 13153A above and references there to NLW MSS 13114B, 13116B); extracts from [Thomas] Carte [: A General] History of England [vol. I, pp. 185-6] relating to St. Germain's mission to Britain in 448, his founding of schools under Dubricius and Iltutus, and the influence of these schools ( 256-61); brief notes referring to Paulinus, Dubricius, and Iltutus, and an anecdote relating to Edgar, king of England, stealing the bell of Lantwit Church in 975 A.D. (261-3); extracts from [John] Leland's Itinerary relating to the 'West Thawan' area of Glamorganshire including Llan Iltuit ( 264-5); notes allegedly from Welsh manuscript sources relating to St. Iltutus and his monastery and school at Llanilltud (266-70); notes relating to the town and parish of Lantwit [Major] referring to a tradition concerning a charter drawn up in the time of William, earl of Pembroke [1551-70], 'for the incorporation of Lantwit', a quay at Cohugh and additions to the town hall built by the said earl, a custom whereby newly-married couples dined in the town hall on their wedding day, rooms under the town hall, the county gaol nearby, the town hall itself, the houses in the town, the soil in the parish, the corn grown, the sheep and cattle reared, the brooks and the river Colhugh, the sea shore, the shell and other fish to be found, the limestone of the cliffs and rocks, etc. (270-80); a further note on 'Illtud Sant . . . a wnaeth Fangor deg a Bangor Illtud ai gelwid' (281); notes referring to Germanus's mission to Britain and the schools and pupils of Dubricius and Iltutus ? 'From Goadby's History of England printed at Sherborn, 1752' (283-5); an incomplete note on Dubricius from 'Sir Harry Spelman . . . in his Councils' (285); notes on traditions relating to sixteenth and seventeenth century non-conformity in Wales, more particularly south-east Wales, with (a) references to the influence or activities of Siôn Penri, W[illia]m Erbri, vicar of the parish of St. Mary's, Cardiff, Syr Hywel Ychan, curate at Y Rhath (Roath) under William Erbri, and Thos. Llewelyn 'o Regoes' [co. Glamorgan], (b) mention of the last named's congregations at Rhegoes, Llangyfelach, and Llanfabon, his translations of sections of the English Bible into Welsh, his licence from Archbishop Grindal to preach in Welsh, and his alleged correspondence with the 'hen ficcar o Landdyfri' [Rhys Prichard], and (c) comments on the ideas of the aforementioned persons and others with regard to infant or adult baptism and forms of church government incorporating a suggestion [by Edward Williams himself] that contemporary Methodists would eventually find it necessary to secede from the Anglican Church (299-309; for comments on the data relating to Thos. Llewelyn see TLLM, tt. 127-8); (continued)

A note relating to a sixteenth/seventeenth century dissenting congregation at Blaen Cannaid [co. Glamorgan], its 'classification' as presbyterian or baptist, the part played in its history by Thos. Llewelyn 'o Regoes' and Hywel Lewys and possibly [John] Penri and [William] Erbri with a transcript of an 'englyn' attributed to the said Hywel Lewys (310-11; see James and Evans: op. cit., pp. 219-20); a note on a tradition relating to the opinions of the aforementioned [William] Erburi and of Walter Cradog concerning baptism (312; see James and Evans: op. cit., p. 220); transcripts of 'englynion' attributed to Iolo Goch and Daf[ydd] ab Gwilym ( 315-17); notes headed 'Coffadwriaeth am Feirdd a Phrydyddion . . .' containing anecdotes relating to 'eisteddfodau' held at Gwern y Cleppa, y Ddol Goch yn Emlyn and Marchwiail . . . yin Mhowys', ? all temp. Edward III, and referring to the poets Dafydd ap Gwilym, the three brothers Llywelyn, Ednyfed, and Madoc ap Gruffudd of Marchwiail, Siôn y Cent, Rhys Goch o Eryri, Iolo Goch, and Llywelyn ap Gwilym (319-20); a note relating mainly to the examination of the Welsh musical measures and the various grades of musicians at the first 'eisteddfod' held at Caerwys [co. Flint] (321); a note relating to the poetic form known as 'cerdd arwest' or 'cerdd deuluaidd' (322); a copy of a 'Prospectus of Y Bardd Teulu neu Dywenydd Morganwg, a Quarterly Welsh Magazine to be printed at Merthyr Tydvil' describing topics to be included, giving indications as to editorial policy, etc. (329-32; see NLW MS 13089E above and the references noted there); notes relating to the poet Bedo Brwynllys, mid 15th cent., a collection of the poems of Dafydd ap Gwilym made by the said Bedo, a ? copy of this collection formerly in the library at Raglan Castle which had been destroyed in the time of Oliver Cromwell ('the largest and most valuable [library] in Wales at the time it was formed . . . the largest collections of Welsh Manuscripts that ever were made'), two other copies of Bedo Brwynllys's collection surviving in South Wales, the Herberts of Raglan's patronage of Welsh literature, Sir William Herbert's connection with the printing of Gruffydd Roberts's Welsh grammar in 1540, the publication of Dafydd ap Gwilym's work 'about 20 years ago . . . at the expence of Owen Jones' [Barddoniaeth Dafydd ab Gwilym, Llundain, 1789], the printing of this volume 'chiefly' from North Wales manuscripts which were inferior to those preserved in South Wales, Dr. [John] Davies [of Mallwyd]'s opinion of the language of Dafydd ap Gwilym's poetry, the formation of the 'modern [Welsh] literary dialect . . . chiefly . . . from the language of this bard' (333-5); notes defining the poetic terms 'gwasgargerdd', 'deifregdawd', and 'gosteg [o englynion]' (341); a list of the mottoes ('gair cysswyn') of various bardic chairs (342-3); a note relating to a ceremony to re-establish a bardic 'cadair wrth gerdd dafod' held in Castell Nedd and the quarrel that occurred there between Rhys ap Tewdwr and Iestin [ap Gwrgan] (343-4; marginal note in the hand of [Taliesin] ab Iolo); further notes relating to the quarrel and fighting between Rhys ab Tewdwr and Iestyn ab Gwrgan (345-7); a brief note on the poetic form 'cerdd arwest' (349); and notes relating to the ignorance concerning the Welsh bardic craft prevalent in the time of Syr Gruff. ap Nicolas, the attempts by Dafydd ap Edmwnt and Guttyn Owam after the second [Carmarthen] 'eisteddfod' to name the Welsh strict metres ('rhoi enwau ar y mesurau'), the ensuing controversy between the bards of Morgannwg and those of Gwynedd, the arrangement of the twenty-four [strict] metres by Guttyn Owain, the acceptance of this system in North Wales, knowledge of this system in South Wales through the medium of Siôn Daf[ydd] Rhys's grammar, a manuscript work [on the Welsh bardic metres and system] compiled by Ll[ywely]n Siôn then in the writer's [i.e. Edward Williams's] possession, his showing of this manuscript to Syr Risiart Basset of Bewpyr [co. Glamorgan], Syr Risiart's decision to call a bardic convention, according to the old rites of the Glamorgan bards, in connection therewith, and the boundaries of the bardic Morgannwg (349-52). In one instance notes have been written on the verso of a printed leaflet announcing the printing of Edward Williams's two volumes of English verse entitled Poems Lyric and Pastoral.