Peniarth 109

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Peniarth 109 is a Welsh manuscript from the second half of the 15th century (c. 1425 - c. 1490), in the hand of the poet Lewis Glyn Cothi. It is part of the Peniarth Manuscripts Collection at the National Library of Wales. [1]

The Peniarth Manuscripts, also known as the Hengwrt–Peniarth Manuscripts, are a collection of medieval Welsh manuscripts now held by the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. The collection was originally assembled by Robert Vaughan (c.1592–1667) of Hengwrt, Merionethshire, and in the 19th century was housed in Peniarth Mansion, Llanegryn, Merioneth. It contains some of the oldest and most important Welsh manuscripts in existence.

National Library of Wales Grade II* listed building in Aberystwyth. Legal deposit library in Aberystwyth

The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the largest collections of archives, portraits, maps and photographic images in Wales. The Library is also home to the national collection of Welsh manuscripts, the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, and the most comprehensive collection of paintings and topographical prints in Wales. As the primary research library and archive in Wales and one of the largest research libraries in the United Kingdom, the National Library is a member of Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and the Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL).

The parchment manuscript measures 238 x 99 mm, and includes 96 leaves. It is an autograph by Lewis Glyn Cothi, one of the greatest poets of the Nobility, which contains 106 poems. The manuscript is decorated with many illustrations, some in colour, of a noble family crests Welsh, a fact that is testament to the poet's interest in heraldry and genealogy.

It is possible that it was produced in honour of Lord William Herbert (d. 1469), founder of the family of Herbert, as an ode to him is found in the early volumes, with another ode to his brother Richard following.

William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (died 1469) 15th-century English noble

William Herbert, 1st Earl of PembrokeKG, known as "Black William", was a Welsh nobleman, politician, and courtier. He was the son of William ap Thomas, founder of Raglan Castle, and Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam, and grandson of Dafydd Gam, an adherent of King Henry V of England.

There is no music that can be dated to the 1480s in the collection. The latest datable poems belong to the late 1470s, and it is fair to conclude that the manuscript was completed around this date.

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References

  1. Dafydd Johnston (gol.), Gwaith Lewys Glyn Cothi (Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru, 1995). Rhagymadrodd, t. xxviii.

Further reading