Miscellaneous papers containing notes, transcripts, extracts, etc., in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg') bound together into one volume. The contents include pp. 1-16, extracts from the works of various Welsh bards under the superscription 'Bardic allusions to ancient usages, institutions, ideas, &c.'; 16, a list of the seven attributes of God ('Saith Angheneddyl Duw'); 16-17, a group of eight Welsh triads attributed to Syr Wiliam Herbert of Raglan; 18-19, a brief note on the Irish in Anglesey and North Wales; 19-20, Biblical allusions to the practice of writing on wood; 22-3, further extracts from the works of Welsh poets similar to those on pp. 1-16; 25, Welsh triads; 26, a transcript of an 'englyn' attributed to Evan Evans y Prydydd Hir; 27, three stanzas of a Welsh poem headed 'Pennillion Iolo Morganwg'; 34-5, a list of thirty-six 'Southwalian Gogynfeirdd'; 35, a brief note on Gruffudd ap Cynan's introduction of 'Scaldic Literature', etc., into Wales; 36-7, notes on the use of the 'englyn milwr' measure by 'Southwalian Bards', and on the meaning of the word 'anaw' and of the element 'chwyfan' in the name of the Flintshire antiquity 'Maen chwyfan'; 38-9, a list of 'Writers on the Art of Poetry now Extant' in South Wales and N[orth] Wales; 41, a query relating to 'the Caerwys Bards or Eisteddfod'; 41, a note on the Welsh bards' refusal to introduce fiction into poetry; 42-4, notes headed 'On Coelbren y Beirdd'; 45-50, notes headed 'Bards of the 11th to the 13th centuries' stressing the impact on Welsh poetry of the Scandinavian Scaldic influence introduced via the court of Gruffudd ap Cynan; 51-9, notes headed 'Bards of the 15th Century in S[outh] Wales' dealing mainly with the influence of Norman and Provencal poetry on the twelfth century Welsh poet Rhys Goch ap Rhys ap Rhiccart and other Welsh bards via the courts of the Norman lords in Glamorgan, its continuance in the work of Dafydd ap Gwilym, etc.; 60-73, notes headed 'Modern Poetry of North Wales' containing general, mainly derogatory comments on North Wales poetry from the seventeenth century onwards with references to Lewys Morris, Edward Morris, Hugh Moris, Rice Jones of Blaenau, Goronwy Owain, and other poets, the practice of borrowing or imitating metres from English songs and ballads, the results of the literary competitions inaugurated by the Gwyneddigion Society, etc.; 74-92 notes headed 'Modern South Walian Poetry' dealing mainly with the 'song writing' or 'popular poetry' tradition in South Wales as contrasted with North Wales; 93-6, notes relating largely to the tale called 'Cyfarwyddyd Einiawn ap Gwalchmai a Rhiain y Glasgoed'; 97-102, miscellanea headed 'Mân bethau perthynas (sic) i'r Beirdd a Barddoniaeth'; (continued)

104-08, notes relating to the society commonly known as 'Gwyr Cwm y Felin' which existed at Cwm y Felin in Betws Tir Iarll [co. Glamorgan], with references to its connection with the druidical and bardic tradition and its association with Lollardy in the past and Unitarianism in the present (see NLW MS 13121B above); 109, a transcript of three stanzas of Welsh verse headed 'Myned yn y maen. To take the chair. . .'; 110, notes on a theory that there were two poets called Dafydd Nanmor, the one a grandson of the other; 121, a list of seven rules headed 'Some Rules of Welsh versification'; 122, a 'scheme' or chapter headings for a 'History of the Bards'; 123-46, a short essay or article on the 'History of the Welsh Language' containing observations on the three main dialects, viz. Silurian, Demetian, and Venedotian, their use in Welsh literature, etc.; 147-9, lists of early bishops of Llandaf and of the bishops of Wales before the time of Garmon ('Escobion Cymru Cynog Amser Garmon'), and notes on the meaning of the words 'cor' and 'bangor'; 151-3, a pedigree of the ? Williams family of Aberpergwm; 163-88, notes and extracts relating to the manufacture of beet sugar, the cultivation of trees and potatoes, the making of varnishes, wines, etc., and medicinal recipes; 201-02, a note headed 'Bards secret and gripe'; 203, a list headed 'Proverbial and idiomatic expressions in Glamorgan'; 215-18, transcripts of miscellaneous Welsh verse including two 'englynion tawddgyrch cadwynog' attributed to Edward Evan 'o Aberdar' and Lewys Hopcin of the parish of Llandyfodwg [co. Glamorgan], an 'englyn' attributed to Siôn Tudur, and six stanzas headed 'Y Credadyn ar farw idd ei enaid' being reputedly a translation from Pope's ode entitled 'The dying Christian to his soul', and extracts from 'cywyddau' attributed to Edmund Prys; 228, notes headed 'Gwehelyth y Simwniaid'; 229, a note on madness in dogs; 240-41, a list of Welsh names of fruits; 247-53, extracts from The Monthly Review, 1790, vol. I, including a transcript of 'Robinson's Elegy on leaving Westminster College'; 278, a note referring to the tradition relating to the alleged Trojan colonization of Italy; 285-6, a ? draft of proposals for publishing a Welsh religious and literary journal to be called 'Goleugrawn Deheubarth Cymry', publication to be annually or quarterly, the first number to appear towards the beginning of 1817; 303- 05, an extract relating to 'healing wounded trees'; 310-11, notes on a proposed 'water wheel at ye present forge [at Kevan] . . ., 29 Jan. 1787'; 315-16, a horticultural note and a medicinal recipe; and 321-7, transcripts of three 'cywyddau' ? attributed to Dafydd ap Gwilym. Also found on various pages are groups or lists of Welsh words, miscellaneous Welsh triads, and other miscellaneous items. Some of the notes have been written on the blank verso or in the margins of copies of printed leaflets advertising 'Sea Bathing' and 'Genteel Lodgings' at the Ball, Swanbridge, seven miles from Cardiff, the wares of Tucketts and Fletcher, Bristol (Tucketts and Fletcher, grocers and tea-dealers, no. 11, Corn-Street, Bristol ([Bristol], [1795?], ESTC T230410)), and the wares of E. M. Downing at his 'Grand Musical Repository', Bristol, and a printed copy of 'An Elegy on the late Reverend John Wesley'.

A manuscript consisting of a number of ? home-made note-books or booklets containing material in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg') bound together into one volume. P. 1 (which with pp. 2, 47-8 formed the covers of booklet 1) is inscribed 'Cymreigyddyn Rhif I, Silurian Words and others, miscellaneous'. The contents of pp. 3-24, 45-7 (other pages blank) of this booklet consist almost entirely of groups or lists of miscellaneous Welsh words with, variantly, English or Welsh equivalents or definitions, explanatory notes, phrases or poetic extracts to illustrate usage or meaning, etc. Also included is a list of words and phrases illustrating differences of usage in the Silurian and Venedotian dialects. P. 49 (which with pp. 50, 67-8 formed the covers of a second booklet) is inscribed 'Cymreigyddyn Rhif II. Casgliadau Llythyregawl' and (in the hand of Taliesin Williams) 'Poets and Poetry appertaining to Merthyr Tydvil Promiscuously inserted Mai 13, 1831', but the booklet is blank except for p. 68 which contains a note on the language and style of the Gogynfeirdd and the probability that such a poetic style had been introduced into Welsh poetry through Gruffudd ap Cynan's connection with Icelandic sources. P. 69 (which with pp. 70, 119-20 formed the covers of a third booklet) is inscribed 'Cymreigyddyn Rhif V (To go with the Salmau London proof paper)' and (in the hand of Taliesin Williams) 'Bannau'r flwyddyn. Tynghedfen Taliesin'. Most of this section is blank but pp. 71-5, 78-9 contain material similar to that which is found on pp. 3-24, 45-7, and also some verse attributed to Taliesin. P. 121 (which with pp. 122, 169-70 formed the covers of a fourth booklet) is inscribed 'Cymreigyddyn Rhif VI', but the section is blank except for pp. 122-9 which contain material similar to that on pp. 3-24, 45-7, 71-5, 78-9. P. 171 (which with pp. 172, 221-2 formed the covers of a fifth booklet) is inscribed 'Extracts from E. Llwyd's MS. in Mr. Nichol's possession', 'Topographical Anecdotes of Glamorgan, & c.', 'Gallia Togata, Celtica, & Braccata from Littleton. Last page of this book', and (in the hand of Taliesin Williams) 'Pit Falls and Subterranean Rivers in Glamorgan'. The greater part of this section is blank but pp. 173-9, 181-5 contain lists or groups of Welsh words with notes such as those noted in the preceding sections (some being associated with specified areas) and of names of dwellings or topographical features in specified parishes or counties in Wales, a sketch plan relating to a cross in Cowbridge churchyard, a brief note relating to Edward Llwyd, and a geological note, pp. 187-8, notes headed 'Topographical Anecdotes of Glamorgan', and pp. 220-21, a list of Latin proper names, etc., relating to Gaul, the Celts, the Cimmeri, etc., 'from Littlelton's Dictionary'. Frequently interspersed amongst the material on pp. 173-9, 181-5 is the name of Edward Llwyd and this material may have been extracted from one of his manuscripts as indicated on the cover to the section (p. 171). P. 223 ( which with pp. 224, 271-2 formed the covers of a sixth booklet) is inscribed '1. Extracts from Ystatut Rhuddlan. 2. Extracts from Hywel Dda end of this book reversed. 3. Historical Fragments from various MSS. Welsh'. The greater part of the section is blank but pp. 226-30 contain legal words, phrases, and extracts from a Welsh version of the Statute of Rhuddlan and ? other sources with English equivalents or definitions of the words and phrases, and pp. 269-70 miscellaneous extracts naming early, some legendary, Welsh poets, etc., and a transcript of the explicit of a copy of a version of the laws of Hywel Dda transcribed by 'Dafydd sgrifennydd i Iorwerth vab Llywelyn vab Tudur' giving the pedigree in direct line of the said Llywelyn. Pp. 273-84 (without previous covers) contain extracts from, or comments on statements in, [Theophilus Jones: A History of the County of Brecknock, vol. 1, Brecknock, 1805]. P. 285 (which may have been one of the covers of the booklet now paginated 293-340) is inscribed 'Philology - Bardism. Historical Anecdotes, &c., a few proverbs Glam. Gwasgargerdd Iolo Morganwg. Criticisms by E. Wms.', and (in the hand of Taliesin Williams) 'Pennillion Arwest. cynghanedd copied but not the pennillion (several)'. The greater part of the section is blank but pp. 292-308 contain Welsh words with notes of a varying nature thereon, poetic extracts to illustrate some of these words or quoted in connection therewith including transcripts of 'englynion' attributed to Raff ab Robert, Gwerfyl Mechain, Syr Siôn Gruffydd, and Thomas Llywelyn, a list of Welsh words which in Monmouth usage had an initial G but which in Glamorgan were used without this initial consonant, notes on stones called variously Maen Meian, Maen Gorchest, Maen Ambor, Maen Gobaith, and Gwal y Filast, seven four-line stanzas of Welsh free-metre verse by [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg', further stanzas of Welsh free-metre verse, brief notes relating to mutations in Welsh compound words, etc.