The Coelbren y Beirdd (English: "Bards' lot") is a

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

created in the late eighteenth century by the literary forger Edward Williams, best known as

Iolo Morganwg Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedi ...

. The alphabet system consisted of twenty letters and twenty other representations of elongated vowels that resembled

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

and could be carved on four-sided pieces of wood and fitted into a frame he called a "peithynen". Williams presented wooden druidic alphabets to friends and notables, and succeeded in persuading many of its authenticity. A Welsh

Bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

ic and

Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

ic essay, written by his son Taliesin Williams and published as a

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...

in 1840, defended the authenticity of the alphabet and won the Abergavenny Eisteddfod in 1838.Williams, Taliesin., (ab Iolo), Coelbren Y Beirdd; a Welsh Essay on the Bardic Alphabet, W. Rees, Llandovery, 1840. Taliesin Williams's book was written about other Coelbrennau'r Beirdd, which is the name of a Welsh language manuscript in the

Iolo Manuscripts Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclop ...

and two manuscripts in Barddas, one with the subtitle "yn dorredig a chyllell". Iolo Morganwg suggested they were originally the work of

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

s from

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

who had their manuscripts copied into collections stored at Plas y Fan,

Neath Abbey Neath Abbey ( cy, Abaty Nedd) was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath in South Wales, UK. It was once the largest abbey in Wales. Substantial ruins can still be seen, and are in the care of Cadw. Tudor historian ...

Margam Abbey Margam Abbey ( cy, Abaty Margam) was a Cistercian monastery, located in the village of Margam, a suburb of modern Port Talbot in Wales. History The abbey was founded in 1147 as a daughter house of Clairvaux by Robert, Earl of Gloucester ...

and Raglan Library, and compiled by

Meurig Dafydd Meurig Dafydd (–95) was a Welsh bard, genealogist and historian, at one time one of the leading literary figures in Glamorgan. However, his poetry was formal and uninspired. Life Meurig Dafydd was born at Llanishen near Cardiff around 1510. H ...

and

Lewys Morgannwg Lewys Morgannwg ( fl. 1520–65) was a Welsh language poet from Morgannwg, south Wales. He lived at St. Bride's Major Lewys was one of the foremost poets of the sixteenth century. Most of his poems that have survived are eulogies and elegies ...

, amongst others, in the 1700s. These were suggested to have again been transcribed by Edward Dafydd,

John Bradford John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English Reformer, prebendary of St. Paul's, and martyr. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for alleged crimes against Queen Mary I. He was burned at the stake on 1 July 1555. Life Bradford was born ...

and

Llywelyn Siôn Llywelyn Siôn (1540 – c. 1616) was a Welsh language poet and bard. His instructors included Meurig Dafydd and Thomas Llewelyn. Around 1575, he is mentioned under the name Lewelyn John by Sir Edward Mansel in his ''History of the Norman Conques ...

. Morganwg suggested that he had collected some of Siôn and Bradford's manuscripts, while the majority, including all of Lewys Morgannwg's sources, were lost. This claim to authenticity has been questioned by numerous scholars such as Glyn Cothi Lewis. Table of letters in ''Celtic Researches'' (1804) by Edward Davies (1756–1831): Celtic Researches (1804) page 272 plate 1

Celtic Researches (1804) page 272 plate 1

References

External links

Coelbren y Beirdd at the University of Wales

The People's Collection Wales, Coelbren y Beirdd – The Bardic Alphabet
{{Authority control Alphabets Constructed scripts Constructed languages Obsolete writing systems de:Coelbren

See also

References

External links