Breudwd Rhyddiaith Gymraeg 1300-1425
English

Pennyn y Fenter Amgodio Testunau (TEI) ar gyfer LlGC Llsgr. Peniarth 11

: 'Peniarth 11 (Hengwrt 49): An Electronic Edition' TEI header

: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Whitefriars, Lewins Mead, Bristol BS1 2AE 0117 987 6500

Principal Investigator: Peter Wynn Thomas

Transcribed and encoded by D. Mark Smith

Transcribed and encoded by Diana Luft

School of Welsh, Cardiff University Cardiff 2013 www.rhyddiaithganoloesol.caerdydd.ac.uk

  • : Aberystwyth
  • : National Library of Wales
  • : Peniarth 11
  • : Hengwrt 49

The manuscript contains a copy of Ystoriau Saint Greal, complete except for one missing folio. This manuscript was used by the Reverend Robert Williams as the single source for his 1870 edition of that text, Y Seint Greal. It was also the main source for Thomas Jones in his edition of the first part of the text, Ystoryaeu Seint Greal Rhan I: Y Keis, published in 1992.

Page Contents Hand
i r leaf giving the title of the text
i v blank
ii r note on the manuscript in a modern hand
ii v blank
iii r note on the manuscript in a modern hand
iii v blank
iv r note on the manuscript in a modern hand
iv v blank
v r missing note on the manuscript in a modern hand
v v blank
vi r - vii v letter from Thomas Stephens Thomas Stephens
1r-176v Ystoriau Saint Greal Hywel Fychan
177 folio missing
178r-280v Ystoriau Saint Greal Hywel Fychan
281r-281v notes and signatures in a number of hands, not transcribed ?

The following texts were consulted during the transcription of the manuscript:

  • Jones, Thomas. ed. 1992. Ystoryaeu Seint Greal Rhan I: Y Keis. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
  • Williams, Robert. ed. 1870. Y Seint Greal. London: T. Richards.

Supplied text in the present edition is drawn from Jones (1992).

Foliation is found in the top right corner of each recto page.

There are two folios labelled 50. The letter b has been inserted after the second instance by a later hand.

Folio 82 is misplaced in the manuscript: it should follow folio 80 instead of folio 81.

Folio 177 is missing.

There are two folios labelled 198. The letter b has been inserted after the second instance by a later hand.

There are two folios labelled 203. The letter b has been inserted after the second instance by a later hand.

There are two folios labelled 264. The letter b has been inserted after the second instance by a later hand.

Catchwords are occasionally found in the bottom right hand corner of the page; others may have been cut out later as a result of the process of binding. All catchwords are in the hand of the main scribe unless otherwise noted. Examples may be seen at 10v: yma y mae; 20v: fford da.; 30v: heb ef; 40v: y linyeu; 50a v: y losgi; 59v: na allei; 69v: a phany bei; 79v: yr oed; 89v: ymchoelut; 99v: llaỽd ar; 119v: mab; 129v: heb y; 139v: yd oed; 146v: ac ar hynny; 156v: glỽyd; 166v: gemeu; 187v: naỽt; 197v: ac os tydi; 214v: ac yd oedem; 224v: dyly; 234v: glỽyd; 244v: a uv iach; 254v: onys caffei; 264a v: hynny; 273v: varchaỽc

The manuscript is in good condition, although folio 177 is missing.

The text is written in a single column of 26 lines to each page.

The manuscript is written in the late-fourteenth-century rounded textura hand of Hywel Fychan. This scribe also penned Philadelphia 8680, which contains a copy of Ystoria Dared and Brut y Brenhinoedd, Oxford Jesus College 57 which contains a copy of Llyfr Blegywryd, parts of the Red Book of Hergest (Oxford Jesus College 111), and the three manuscripts which comprised the Red Book of Talgarth (Llanstephan 27, Peniarth 12 and pages 101-112 of Cardiff 3.242), a compendium of religious texts.
‘Hywel Fychan’

Though words are separated by clearly distinguishable spaces throughout most of the manuscript, in some places it is not clear whether items are to be taken to represent one word or two.

Hywel Fychan uses both regular and medial <a>. The medial <a> often serves almost as a capital, and is commonly found at the beginning of names and clauses.

The difference between some of the capitals and small forms can be slight. This is especially so when the capital is simply a slightly larger version of the small form. Examples of such capitals are:

  • <J> 30r.25, 32r.25
  • <K> 32r.24
  • <V> 106v.16, 108v.11
  • <W> 11r.22, 29v.4, 132v.21, 275r.1
  • <Y> 3r.2, 3r.15, 30r.15 etc.

The orthography does not appear to differ substantially from expected forms.

The text contains a number of common abbreviations. These have been expanded in the transcription to the forms that are given elsewhere in the text itself rather than to standard or dictionary forms.

  • macron for <n>: alla[n] 2v.2; attu[n]t 16v.24; bre[n] 7r.4; bren[n] 13v.12; brenhi[n] 8v.26 etc.
  • macron for <m>: chy[m]meint 83v.23; gorchy[m]myn 83v.25; lly[m]maf 87r.7 etc.; y[m]ma 2v.4
  • <2> for <er>: amh[er]aỽdyr 149v.16; gorthrymd[er] 201v.8
  • <a> above a letter for <ra>: mileind[ra] 176r.23 ysg[ra]ff: 231v.6
  • <i> above a letter for <ri>: dist[ri]ywyaỽ 274r.22; d[ri]st 273v.8; g[ri]duan 175r.11; g[ri]st 15v.16, 109r.19; p[ri]odas 233r.25; ysg[ri]ue[n]nu 109v.22, 109v.23
  • <9> for <ur>: ant[ur] 203a v.10, 209v.12; arth[ur] 3r.19, 3v.15, 4r.20 etc.; phered[ur] 9v.6, 35r.24, 35v.18 etc.; ruth[ur] 168v.19; wneuth[ur] 1v.11, 2r.15, 109.24 etc.
  • <9> for <us>: bandymag[us] 11v.19, 13r.2; crevyd[us] 35v.22; uaspasian[us] 17r.2; lucan[us] 224v.10; mari[us] 137r.18; oval[us] 208v.4; pilat[us] 17r.6; tolome[us] 14r.2, 14v.12
  • <p> with a crossed tail for <per>: gosp[er] 6r.26; p[er]edur 35r.25

Hywel also abbreviates certain commonly occuring names and words:

  • <ar9> for <arthur> 203b.7, 203b.18
  • <dd> for <dauyd> 4r.3, 16v.10, 51r.13, 87r.7, 88r.15
  • <Jn> for <Jeuan> 149r.1, 149v.2
  • <laỽnsl[ot]> 1r.14
  • <laỽns[lot]> 161v.26, 162r.21, 162v.8, etc.
  • <orc> for <oruc> 120r.13, 148v.21, 168r.7, 271r.24, 276r.9

Punctuation consists of the punctus and the punctus elevatus.

In some cases the scribe has attempted to correct his work by adding a missing minim instead of an entire letter above the line. An example is at 11r2: <peniiaf> (for 'pennaf').

The decoration consists in the main of large decorated initials in red and green ink, as well as lively line-drawings in the bottom margins of some pages. Examples of line-drawings may be seen in the bottom margins at:

  • 8r: hand
  • 16v: dog with tongue out
  • 17r: hand
  • 20r: hand
  • 34r: hand
  • 46r: dog
  • 50a r: hand
  • 61v: hand
  • 72v: hand
  • 83r: hand
  • 86r: dog
  • 87r RM: hand
  • 93v: hand
  • 94r: hand
  • 121r: dog
  • 123v: hand
  • 126v: dog with tongue out
  • 147r: dog
  • 157r: dog
  • 184r: hand
  • 187r: dog

In some cases the drawings are associated with catchwords. Examples may be seen at:

  • 10v: dog
  • 20v: dog with tongue out and hand
  • 30v: dog
  • 40v: two dog
  • 50a v: dog and hand
  • 59v: dog with tongue out
  • 69v: dog with tongue out
  • 79v: hand
  • 89v: dog
  • 99v: hand
  • 119v: hand
  • 129v: hand
  • 139v: hand
  • 146v: dog
  • 166v: dog
  • 187v: dog
  • 197v: hand
  • 224v: hand with fingers pointing
  • 234v: hand
  • 244v: dog
  • 254v: dog with tongue out
  • 264a v: hand
  • 273v: dog

In some places the scribe or decorator has drawn pictures, often of fish or human faces, into the decorated letters found at the tops of lines. Examples may be seen at:

  • 47r.1: <P> (fish)
  • 67v.1: <P> (fish)
  • 72v.1: <K> (face)
  • 117r.1: <A> (fish)
  • 135r.1: <A> (face)
  • 150v.1: <A> (face)
  • 151v.1: <A> (fish)
  • 152v.1: <A> (face)
  • 168r.1: <A> (face)
  • 168v.1: <A>: (face)
  • 169v.1: <A> (fish)
  • 170r.1: <V> (?)
  • 171v.1: <A> (face)
  • 173v.1: <Y> (face)
  • 175r.1: <Y>: (face)
  • 175v.1: <P> (fish)
  • 207v: <A>: (face)
  • 208v: <D> (fish)
  • 211v.1: <A> (face)
  • 212v.1: <A> (face)
  • 230v.1: <L> (bird's head)
  • 233r.1: <G> (?)
  • 269v.1: <P> (face)
  • 276r.1: <K> (face)

In many places where there are coloured initial letters, the scribe has indicated what the letter should be and this smaller form appears in the left margin. Examples are:

  • <N>: 87r.2
  • <P>: 89r.12
  • <M>: 113r.13, 128r.14
  • <A>: 114v.14, 123v.25

There are some marginalia in later hands in the manuscript which have not been included in the transcription.

  • 1r TM: 'Ca: 1' (modern hand)
  • 1r LM.23: 'Ca: 2' (modern hand)
  • 1r BM: pen trials
  • 1v BM: 'a gychỽynnaỽd' (16th century hand?)
  • 2v LM.24: 'Ca: 3' (modern hand)
  • 2v BM: 'ryfed' (16th century hand?)
  • 3v BM: 'a dywaỽt' (16th century hand?)
  • 4r RM.24: 'Ca: 4' (modern hand)
  • 4v BM: 'dymdeithyon' (16th century hand?)
  • 5r RM.22: 'Ca: 5' (modern hand)
  • 5v BM: 'mi' (16th century hand?)
  • 6v LM.14: 'dangos y greal llys arthur' (16th century hand?)
  • 7v LM.11: 'Ca: 6' (modern hand)
  • 9r RM.25: 'Ca: .7.' (modern hand)
  • 11r LM.11: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 12v LM.9: 'Ca: 9' (modern hand)
  • 13r RM.23: 'chỽedel y […]an periglu[…]' (16th century hand?)
  • 14r LM.20: 'Ca: 10' (modern hand)
  • 15v LM.4: 'Ca: 11' (modern hand)
  • 17r RM.18: 'Ca: 12' (modern hand)
  • 18r RM.1: 'antur me[…] a […]raithir' (modern hand?)
  • 19r RM.15: 'Ca: 13' (modern hand)
  • 20v LM.3: 'Ca: 14' (modern hand)
  • 20v LM.23: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 22v LM.18: 'Ca: 15' (modern hand)
  • 23v LM: '[…]chmen ac […]n o la6 vn […]choc' (16th century hand?)
  • 25r RM.10: 'Ca: 16' (modern hand)
  • 26v LM.13: 'Ca: 17.' (modern hand)
  • 27r RM.26: 'Ca: 18' (modern hand)
  • 28v LM.8: 'Ca: 19' (modern hand)
  • 29r RM.5: 'kyffes lawnsl[…]' (16th century hand?)
  • 29r RM.3: 'bychedic' (modern hand?)
  • 31v LM.5: 'Ca: 20' (modern hand)
  • 31v LM.12: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 31v LM.14: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 34r RM.20: 'Ca. 21' (modern hand)
  • 35v LM.18: 'Ca: 22' (modern hand)
  • 37v LM.3: 'Ca: 23' (modern hand)
  • 39v LM.21: 'Ca: 24' (modern hand)
  • 41v LM.10: 'Ca: 25' (modern hand)
  • 43v LM.24: 'Ca. 26' (modern hand)
  • 47r RM.8: 'Ca. 27' (modern hand)
  • 48r RM.25: 'Ca. 28' (modern hand)
  • 49r RM.23: 'Ca. 29' (modern hand)
  • 50b r LM.6: 'Ca. 30' (modern hand)
  • 51v LM.15: 'Ca. 31' (modern hand)
  • 53r RM.24: 'Ca. 32' (modern hand)
  • 54v LM.8: 'Ca. 33.' (modern hand)
  • 56v TM: 'llyma dechreu breudỽt gỽalchmey ac ector or corsyd' (16th century hand)
  • 56v LM.2: 'Ca. 34' (modern hand)
  • 59r RM.4: 'Naciens' (16th century hand)
  • 59v TM: 'a meudwy yn deall breudwyt gwalchmei ac ector' (16th century hand)
  • 62r inline.20: 'Tervyn ar vreudỽyt gỽalchmei ac ector' (16th century hand)
  • 85v LM.16: '[…] weles […]f nau […]byn ef […]ny ystogeb […] gibudic' (unclear, 16th century hand?)
  • 100r TM: 'greal' (16th century hand?)
  • 100r BM: 'ymdangossiat y greal y lawnslot de yr aberth' (16th century hand?)
  • 104v TM: 'greal' (16th century hand?)
  • 105r TM: 'seynt greal'
  • 105r TM: 'Iosep vab Ioseph o Arimathia' (16th century hand?)
  • 105v LM.14: 'greal' (16th century hand?)
  • 106r TM: 'greal' (16th century hand?)
  • 108r TM: 'greal' (16th century hand?)
  • 109r TM: 'Iosep esgop vab Ioseph o Arimathia […] galath. A […] y greal yn ymdangos y galaath' (16th century hand?)
  • 110r TM: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 111v LM.15: '[…]erllion […] wysk' (16th century hand?)
  • 121r BM: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 121v TM: 'kaer llion' (16th century hand?)
  • 144v TM: '[…] Seynt greal' (16th century hand?)
  • 149v TM: 'cledyf y lad […]' (16th century hand?)
  • 153r TM: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 156v TM: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 157v TM: 'ymdangossiat seint greal y walchmei' (16th century hand?)
  • 157r BM: 'greal' (16th century hand?)
  • 161r BM: 'laỽnslot […]' (16th century hand?)
  • 180r LM.3: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 189v TM: 'y goron drein' (16th century hand?)
  • 196v LM.14: '[…]din vab […]byn' (16th century hand?)
  • 203r RM.18: 'marvolae[…] arglwyd y korss' (16th century hand?)
  • 204v BM: 'y marchawg kachyat' (16th century hand?)
  • 205r TM: 'cachiat' (16th century hand?)
  • 205v TM: 'llyma […] y marchawg cachiat yn ddewr drwy gy[…] peredur' (16th century hand?)
  • 206r TM: 'kaerllion' (16th century hand?)
  • 207v LM.11: 'kylch eur' (16th century hand?)
  • 209r RM.18-19: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 210r BM: 'Marchawg y ddreig danllyd' (16th century hand?)
  • 211v BM: 'y kylch eur' (16th century hand?)
  • 221v TM: 'castell tindagyl […]' (16th century hand?)
  • 224v TM: 'y kylch eur' (16th century hand?)
  • 225v TM: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 229r TM: 'y kylch eur' (16th century hand?)
  • 230r TM: 'kaerllion' (16th century hand?)
  • 230v TM: 'greal' (16th century hand?)
  • 230v IL.3: 'yn dywedud' (16th century hand?)
  • 231r TM: 'ymdangosiat y greal y ?Arthur?' (16th century hand?)
  • 232r BM: 'kastell pelaur' (16th century hand?)
  • 238 RM.13-15: 'ysgrindu a llathe[…] vab Ag[…]hwyuar' (16th century hand?)
  • 239r LM.9: illegible (16th century hand?)
  • 240r TM: 'kaerllion ar wysk' (16th century hand?)
  • 243r TM: 'kaerllion' (16th century hand?)
  • 243v TM: 'kaerllion' (16th century hand?)
  • 280v BM: 'Gaude Virgo Mater [christ]i' (later hand?)
  • 280v BM: 'Gaude Gaude virgo mater [christ]i' (16th century hand?)
  • 280v BM: medical recipe for 'Colyke' in English (16th century hand?)

Nota marks are to be found in the margins of many pages in the hand of the main scribe. Examples may be seen at 20r.1 and 207v.11.

Notes in a number of modern hands precede the manuscript and are bound with it.

  • inside front cover: Bookplate of 'R. Wmes. Vaughan, Hengwrt' with the signature of 'John Watkin Jeuan his book'
  • i r: leaf giving the title of the text – 'Ystoriau Saint Greal' – along with numerous signatures
  • i v: blank
  • ii r: note on the manuscript in a modern hand
  • ii v: blank
  • iii r: notes on the manuscript in a modern hand dated September 22, 1854
  • iii v: blank
  • iv r: notes on the manuscript in a modern hand
  • iv v: blank
  • v r: notes on the manuscript in a modern hand
  • v v: blank
  • vi r-vii v: letter from Thos. Stephens (Merthyr Tydfil, Feb. 6 1860)

The manuscript was produced at the end of the fourteenth or the beginning of the fifteenth century in Wales (Huws 2000: 60).

On the basis of an awdl to Hopcyn ap Tomas by Dafydd y Coed in the Red Book of Hergest (Oxford Jesus College 111), Thomas Jones suggested that Hopcyn might have comissioned this manuscript from Hywel Fychan. The awdl states that amongst the books to be found in Hopcyn’s court were ‘… y Lucidarius/ A’r Greal ar Ynyales/ A grym pob kyfreith ae gras (quoted in James 1993: 17). The ‘Greal’ in this verse could refer to Peniarth 11, which contains that text in the hand of a scribe known to have worked for Hopcyn (Jones 1943: xx). Hywel Fychan is known to have produced manuscripts for Hopcyn ap Tomas, as his colophon in Philadelphia 8680 attests: ‘y llyuyr hwnn a yscriuennwys howel vychan uab howel goch o uuellt yn llwyr onys gwnaeth agkof adaw geir neu lythyren. o arch a gorchymun y vaester nyt amgen Hopkyn uab thomas uab einawn’.

However a note in NLW Mostyn 184, which contains a copy of Ystoriau Saint Greal, claims that the text was copied from a manuscript owned by Trahaearn ab Ieuan ab Meurig: ‘Y copi kynttaf a ysgrivennod Mastir phylip dauyd o vnic lyfyr y vrdedic ewythr Trahaearn ab Ieuan ab Mauric. Ar llyfyr hwnn a beris syr rys vab th. i esgrifennu ar y gost e hun’ (quoted in Evans 1898-1910: 274). Is the Rhys ap Tomas mentioned here the same person as the Rhys ap Tomas ab Einiawn mentioned in the Latin prayers in Llanstephan 27 (The Red Book of Talgarth), which is also in the hand of Hywel Fychan? Brynley Roberts (1967: 224) suggested that Rhys ap Tomas ab Einiawn was brother to the Hopcyn ap Tomas ab Einiawn who commissioned Hywel Fychan and his collaborators to write the Red Book of Hergest, and that this same Rhys ap Tomas ab Einiawn was responsible for commissioning the translation of Ffordd y Brawd Odrig, according to a note appended to that text: 'Ac uelly y teruyna Siwrnei y Brawt Odoric yn India; yr hwnn a drossawd Syre Dafyd Bychein o Vorgannwc o arch a damunet Rys ap Thomas vab Einyawn, y veystyr ef' (quoted in James 1993: 30).

NLW Mostyn 184 is a copy of Peniarth 11. According to the note in the text quoted above, it was copied from a book in the possession of Trahaearn ab Ieuan ab Meurig, apparently by his nephew, who calls himself ‘Mastir Phylip Dauyd’. Ifor Williams (1939: 362) identified this Trahaearn with Trahaearn ab Ieuan ap Meurig ap Hywel Gam of Penrhos Fwrdios in the vicinity of Caerleon. Christine James (1993: 304) follows Williams in suggesting that Peniarth 11 is the manuscript referred to by Guto’r Glyn in his request to Trahaearn ab Ieuan ap Meurig to borrow ‘Y Greal’ for Dafydd abbot of Valle Crucis, in poem CXVIII (43), ‘I Erchi Llyfr y Greal’: ‘Echwynrawr oedd iwch anfor/ Y Greal teg i’r wlad hon,/ A llyfr y gwaed, llyfrau gwŷr,/ Lle syrthiodd yn llys Arthur./ Llyfr enwog o farchogion,/ Llyfr at grefft yr holl Ford Gron…./ Benthig hwn, bennaeth y côr/ A gais Dafydd gost Ifor’.

Peniarth 11 was acquired by Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt (1592-1667). It is not known how Vaughan came by most of his manuscripts, but according to a story in the writings of Edward Lhuyd he inherited those in the possession of John Jones of Gellilyfdy on Jones's death about 1658 (Tibbott 1943: iv). The Hengwrt manuscripts were catalogued in 1658 by William Maurice of Cefnybraich, Llansilin (Jones 1943: xvi). The manuscript was bequeathed by Sir Robert Williames Vaughan (d. 1859), the last baronet of Hengwrt, to his friend William Watkin Edward Wynne (1801-1880) of Peniarth in 1859, along with the rest of the Hengwrt collection (Tibbott 1943: viii).

The Hengwrt catalogue was revised first by Aneurin Owen (d. 1851), and then by William Watkin Wynne. This catalogue was published in Archaeologia Cambrensis 1869-1871 (Jones 1943: xv). It was catalogued and re-numbered by J. Gwenogvryn Evans when he examined the collection for the Historical Manuscripts Commission along with the rest of the Peniarth manuscripts, while it was in the possession of W.W.E. Wynne’s son, William Robert Maurice Wynne (d. 1909).

The Peniarth collection was secured for the nascent National Library of Wales by Sir John Williams who, in 1904, paid the Wynne brothers a sum to ensure the reversion of the collection to the Library upon the death of both brothers. The manuscript passed, along with the rest of the collection, to the Library in 1909 (Tibbott 1943: viii).

Information on the dating and hand of this manuscript is based on the following authorities:

  • Evans, J. Gwenogvryn. 1898-1910. Peniarth 11. Report on manuscripts in the Welsh Language 1. London: HMSO. 321-2.
  • Huws, Daniel. 2000. Medieval Welsh Manuscripts. Cardiff and Aberystwyth: University of Wales Press and the National Library of Wales.
  • Huws, Daniel. A Repertory of Welsh Manuscripts and Scribes. draft.
  • James, Christine. 1993. 'Llwyr Wybodau, Llên a Llyfrau': Hopcyn ap Tomas a’r Traddodiad Llenyddol Cymraeg. Hywel Teifi Edwards. ed. Cwm Tawe. Llandysul: Gwasg Gomer. 4-44.
  • Jones, E. D. 1943. Old Catalogues of the Hengwrt Manuscripts. Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales 1. Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales. xv-xxiii.
  • Jones, Thomas. ed. 1992. Ystoryaeu Seint Greal Rhan I: Y Keis. Cardiff: University of Wales Press
  • Morgan, Prys. 1978. Glamorgan and the Red Book. Morgannwg 22. 42-60.
  • Roberts, Brynley. 1967. Un o lawysgrifau Hopcyn ab Tomas o Ynys Dawe. BBCS 22. 223-7.
  • Tibbot, Gildas. 1943. A Brief History of the Hengwrt-Peniarth Collection. Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales 1. Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales. i-xiv
  • Williams, Ifor. ed. 1939. Gwaith Guto’r Glyn. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.

The Welsh Prose 1350-1425 website is the product of an AHRC funded research project undertaken by staff at the School of Welsh, Cardiff University from 2004 through 2007 called Corff Electronig o Ryddiaith Cymraeg Canol. The aim of this project was to produce machine-readable editions of all the medieval Welsh prose texts which have been preserved in manuscripts dating from c.1350 to c.1425.

The project is a continuation and a development of two previous projects funded by the University of Wales which transcribed the Welsh prose in manuscripts dated to c.1250-c.1350.

The intention is to give scholars access not only to texts that have hitherto remained unedited but also to the different versions of texts that have been the subject of critical editions.

Certain decorative features have been encoded: these may trigger further study of the original manuscripts. Primarily, however, the resource provides detail which it is hoped will further the study of the language and literature of the period.

In producing this edition, the editors have attempted to fulfil two different and often non-complementary if not opposing goals: to present a minimally edited edition of the text, and to represent as many visual features of the manuscript as possible.

Visual features of the text such as layout, and rubrication may prove to be as essential in textual interpretation as features such as punctuation, letter forms, capitalisation and word division, which are more usually invoked by scholars in the field.

The orthography of the original text has been maintained, even where it is idiosyncratic, as the unique characteristics of the scribe's spelling may shed light upon the language of the period as he, his audience, or patron used it. Where the scribe's orthography seems to merit particular attention, an editorial gloss has been added to indicate what the editors believe to have been the target form.

In some places, especially where the manuscript is damaged, the editors have supplied text. This serves the two-fold purpose of presenting a complete text and, perhaps more importantly, of indicating the size of the damaged area.

In order to make editorial intervention as transparent as possible, supplied text is clearly marked off from the manuscript text by a different font. Also in the spirit of editorial transparency, the editors have wherever possible used published editions for supplied text. Text supplied from published editions may suffer from obvious errors or significant differences in orthography from the manuscript text. The editors have refrained from imposing our own editorial actions on such features.

The transcription of this manuscript, as well as the information in this TEI header is based on the microfilm reproduction of the manuscript produced by the National Library of Wales in 1995. As the editors have not checked the transcription against the original, information on the scribal hands, foliation, accompanying materials, colour scheme and ornamentation should be treated as provisional.

  • 24-Feb-2011 DL: edited TEI header
  • 15-Aug-2007 PWT: edited TEI header
  • 28-Jul-2006 – 13-Dec-2006 PWT: edited XML encoded files, produced table of corrections and amended where necessary
  • 13-Apr-2006 DL: converted Word files with shortcuts into XML files and corrected them
  • 28-Oct-2005 – 16-Dec-2005 DMS: corrected electronic transcription of folios 70r-176v, 178r-214v
  • 26-Oct-2005 – 16-Dec-2005 DL: checked DMS's transcript of folios 70r-176v, 178r-214v against prints
  • 25-Oct-2005 – 14-Dec-2005 DMS: transcribed folios 70r-176v, 178r-214v with shortcuts
  • 24-Oct-2005 – 16-Dec-2005 DL: corrected electronic transcription of folios 1r-69v, 215r-280v
  • 24-Oct-2005 – 15-Dec-2004 DMS: checked DL's transcript of folios 1r-69v, 215r-280v against prints
  • 19-Oct-2005 – 11-Dec-2005 DL: transcribed folios 1r-69v, 215r-280v with shortcuts

The material has been transcribed separately.