Miscellanea,

Miscellaneous papers in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg') bound together in one volume. The contents (notes, extracts, lists, jottings, transcripts, etc.) are extremely varied and cover a multiplicity of topics. Included are notes or lists with the superscriptions 'Deg Rhan ymadrodd' (38), 'Llyma gof a son am gadeiriau prydyddion Morganwg a chof amcan eu hamserau' (72-3), 'Anecdotes of Merthyr' (83-4), 'Customs in Glam[organ]' (86-7), 'Rhywiau cerdd dafod parth arbenigrwyd[d] ansodd' (113), 'Llafar Gorsedd B[eirdd] Y[nys] P[rydain] yng nghadair Morganwg' (128-30), 'Trees that will flourish near the sea' (249), 'Llyma enwau'r llefydd lle arferai Feirdd Morganwg gynnal eisteddfod a Chadair' (252), 'Trees to be intermixed with fruit trees in an orchard' (264), 'Proper trees to [be] planted in an orchard' (265), 'Enwau Cymreig ar afalau ym Morganwg' (266-72), 'Enwau Gellyg Ynghymraeg' ( 275-6), 'Enwau Eirin a Phlemys ym Morganwg' (277-8), 'The names of the Norman Peers of Glamorgan and the names of their Castles. . .' (293), '[Names of the] months [in] Armoric [and] Cornish' (313), 'Rhif Carennydd' ( 340), 'List of Publications on the inconsistency of War with the Christian Religion' with comments ? by Edward Williams on the church and war (363-70 ), 'Ex Old Vocabulary at Hafod' (388), 'Hints for the Dissertation on the Welsh Language' (389-?90), 'Llymma son am Eisteddfod Beirdd a Phrydyddion a fu ym Marchwiail ym Maelor' (mention of 'eisteddfodau' held at Gwern y Cleppa, Marchwiail, and Baglan) (396-8), and 'Cyfarwydd am Dri Brodyr Marchwial' (mention of the same three 'eisteddfodau') (398-400); notes, sometimes very brief, on 'cynghanedd' (34), early Christianity in Britain ( 40), the use of the bardic alphabet amongst the Welsh for teaching purposes temp. Henry IV (42), the 'chair of Tir Iarll' (69 + 71), the original home of the Cymmry, i.e. Defrobani (119), weather conditions in March 1811 (175), the Welsh language (181-2), Pythagoras (188), 'englynion' (189), the Essenes (197), Druids (197), Druids and bards amongst the Celtic peoples (207-13), materials used as writing surfaces in ancient and medieval times with mention of a few medieval libraries (213-15), the Druids of Britain and Gaul (216-33), mortar making, garden terracing, and fruit planting (245-6), Welsh culinary recipes (247-9), brick making (254), the growing of trees and fruit near the coast in Glamorgan (262-3), Welsh metrical measures (279), Castletown house [co. Glamorgan] (283), the family of Berkrolles (302), and 'y Ford Gronn' (401); transcripts of Welsh poems including 'cywyddau' attributed to Dafydd ap Edmwnd and Gruff. ab Ifan ab Llywelyn Fychan, an incomplete poem (stanzas 1 and part of 2 missing) attributed to Thos. Llen. o Regoes, and part of a 'cywydd' attributed to Dafydd Alaw (95-109), a 'cywydd' attributed to Siôn Dafydd Rhys (255-6), and an 'englyn' attributed to Daf. Llwyd Bryn Llyfrith (309); transcripts of English verse including ? a translation from the Welsh with the superscription 'A prophecy by Thomas ap Evan ap Rhys in the time of Edw[ar]d the VI' (47-8), twenty-two stanzas entitled 'The Welsh Batchelor' s wish' attributed to the Revd. Mr. Christ. Roberts of St. Athan (289-92), and ten stanzas ? from . . . Bulmer: Pleasantness of Religion (307); miscellaneous items including miscellaneous triads (151-4), ? a draft of a title-page for an anthology of Welsh verse to be called Y Bardd Teulu (147 ), a draft of a prefatory letter, 1796, by Edward Williams to a proposed volume containing an anthology of Welsh prose and verse items, material relating to Welsh bardism, etc. (157-8), an incomplete triad re the 'bardd teulu' (196), a plan of the layout of a dwelling house with orchards, kitchen gardens, fruit gardens, etc. (274), historical anecdotes relating to the lordship and county of Glamorgan reputedly from a manuscript 'of the late William Roberts of St. Athan' (293-8), a list, with examples, of twenty classical metrical feet (306), a genealogical table showing descendants of Iestin, lord of Morgannwg (415-16), biographical notes on members of the Stradling family to the late sixteenth century ? from [ British Museum] Harleian MS 368 (417-22), and a plan of a stone circle 'at Field Marshal Conway's . . . near Henly upon Thames' (429); and extracts from a variety of printed sources including Cambrian, March 1819 ( Welsh speaking Indians) (131), The Monthly Review, February 1819 (132 + 134), the works of [Isaac] Watts (135-?43), . . . Priestley: Tablet of Memory (159-?74), Cambrian, September 1819 (a proposal 'to obtain an Act of Parliament for making and maintaining a Pier and Harbour at Newton in the Parish of Newton Nottage [co. Glamorgan]', etc. (281), [W. Wotton: Cyfreithjeu Hywel Dda . . ., London, 1730] (relating mainly to the Welsh bards) (343-52) and the Ecclesiastical Review, January 1817 (359-62). Interspersed throughout the volume are lists or groups of miscellaneous Welsh words sometimes with English definitions, proverbs, grammatical or etymological notes, poetic extracts, and other miscellanea. In some instances the blank verso or margins of the following have been utilised for writing notes - an undated holograph letter from Mr. Dunn from St. Athans to Ed. Williams, Flemingstone, re materials for the tomb of the writer's mother (in third person) (185-6, 199-200), copies of a printed circular, 16 August 1820, appealing for subscriptions towards the completion of a Unitarian chapel at Merthyr Tydfil, copies of a printed 'advertisement' and 'proposals' for publishing Edward Williams's two volumes of English verse Poems Lyric and Pastoral in 1792, a folded sheet containing a copy of a Welsh poem entitled 'Canwyll gogan y Cymru' attributed to 'Siôn ?Flay o Bentre'r Lai' (284-5, 300-01), a holograph letter, 30 September 1818, from G. Birley, Methodist Chapel, Cardiff, to Edw[ar]d Williams (forwarding a copy of the first volume of [John Hughes:] Horae Britannicae at the author's request) (315-16, 333-4), a copy of a printed circular, 6 December 1802, announcing literary competitions to be held under the auspices of the Gwyneddigion Society (320 + 329), and an undated holograph letter from Edward Williams to John Llewelyn, esq., Penlle'r Gaer [co. Glamorgan], concerning recipient's 'usual benefaction' to the writer (379-82).

Title based on contents.

Formerly known as Llanover C. 33.

Preferred citation: NLW MS 13120B.

The description is also available in the Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume IV (Aberystwyth, 1971).

Item: 1.1 Manuscript Volume (NLW MS 13120B). Action: Condition reviewed. Action identifier: 4989309. Date: 20060705. Authorization: Selected for conservation. Authorizing institution: NLW. Action agent: J. Thomas. Status: Manuscript Volume (NLW MS 13120B) : Water stains on some pages, some pages very acidic giving a reading pf pH 4.00, iron gall ink staining present, back board detached, missing both caps, cloth faded and week on spine, many leaves broken at edges. Institution: WlAbNL.
Item: 1.2 Manuscript Volume (NLW MS 13120B). Action: Conserved. Action identifier: 4989309. Date: 20060705. Authorizing institution: NLW. Action agent: A. Pugh. Status: Manuscript Volume (NLW MS 13120B) : Reattached board only as per curatorial instruction. Institution: WlAbNL.

Published