The ''Encyclopaedia Cambrensis'' or ''Y Gwyddoniadur Cymreig'' was the most ambitious

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

. It was published in ten volumes between 1854 and 1879 by

Thomas Gee Thomas Gee (24 January 181528 September 1898), was a Welsh Nonconformist preacher, journalist and publisher. Gee was born in Denbigh, Wales. At the age of fourteen he went into his father's printing office, Gwasg Gee, but continued to attend ...

on his press in the town of

Denbigh Denbigh (; cy, Dinbych; ) is a market town and a community in Denbighshire, Wales. Formerly, the county town, the Welsh name translates to "Little Fortress"; a reference to its historic castle. Denbigh lies near the Clwydian Hills. History ...

Gwasg Gee Gwasg Gee was a publishing firm founded by a printer, Thomas Gee, in 1808 and taken over by his son, a more famous Thomas Gee, during the 1830s and based in Denbigh, Wales. The name means "Gee Press". In 1914, the business passed out of the hands ...

. The general editor was John Parry, Gee's brother in-law and lecturer at the College of Bala. It remains the largest paper publication in Welsh today. The project cost for Gee was about £20,000 ().

Description

The ''Encyclopaedia Cambrensis'' includes nearly 9,000 pages in double columns. While the number of articles relating to the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and theology is significantly higher than expected in such a reference work today, it also includes a large number of biographical articles, articles on

Welsh history The history of what is now Wales () begins with evidence of a Neanderthal presence from at least 230,000 years ago, while ''Homo sapiens'' arrived by about 31,000 BC. However, continuous habitation by modern humans dates from the period after ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

and other

Celtic nations The Celtic nations are a cultural area and collection of geographical regions in Northwestern Europe where the Celtic languages and cultural traits have survived. The term ''nation'' is used in its original sense to mean a people who shar ...

. Among the numerous contributors were

Owen Morgan Edwards Sir Owen Morgan Edwards (26 December 1858 – 15 May 1920) was a Welsh historian, educationalist and writer. He is often known as O. M. Edwards. Biography Owen Edwards was born in Llanuwchllyn near Bala, the eldest son of Owen and Beti Edw ...

and

John Morris-Jones Sir John Morris-Jones (17 October 1864 – 16 April 1929) was a Welsh grammarian, academic and Welsh-language poet. Morris-Jones was born John Jones, at Trefor in the parish of Llandrygarn, Anglesey the son of Morris Jones first a schoolmaster ...

. The article that the latter contributed on the Welsh language was used as a basis for his ''A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative''.

References

{{Authority control 1854 books Welsh-language encyclopedias 19th-century encyclopedias National encyclopedias