The Four Ancient Books of Wales is a term coined by

William Forbes Skene William Forbes Skene Writer to the Signet, WS FRSE Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA(Scot) Doctor of Civil Law, DCL Legum Doctor, LLD (7 June 1809 – 29 August 1892), was a Scotland, Scottish lawyer, historian and antiquary. He co-founde ...

to describe four important

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s written in

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...

and dating from the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. They contain primarily texts of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

, some of which are contemporary and others which may have originated from traditions dating back to as early as the sixth and seventh centuries. These also contain some of the earliest native

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

references to

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

. The four books included by Skene in his list are: * ''The

Black Book of Carmarthen The Black Book of Carmarthen ( cy, Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin) is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book dates from the mid-13th century; its name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Ev ...

'' * ''The

Book of Taliesin The Book of Taliesin ( cy, Llyfr Taliesin) is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century or before ...

'' * ''The

Book of Aneirin The Book of Aneirin ( cy, Llyfr Aneirin) is a late 13th century Welsh manuscript containing Old and Middle Welsh poetry attributed to the late 6th century Northern Brythonic poet, Aneirin, who is believed to have lived in present-day Scotland. Th ...

'' * ''The

Red Book of Hergest The ''Red Book of Hergest'' ( cy, Llyfr Coch Hergest, Oxford, Jesus College, MS 111) is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preser ...

'' The principal texts of the ''Four Ancient Books of Wales'' were edited and translated in a two volume compilation by

in 1868. By the standards of modern scholarship the edition is seriously flawed with numerous transcription errors and consequently inaccurate translating. Skene was assisted by

Daniel Silvan Evans Daniel Silvan Evans (11 January 1818 – 12 April 1903) was a Welsh clergyman, scholar and lexicographer. Educated at the Independent College in Brecon, Silvan Evans worked as a schoolmaster for five years. On marriage he conformed to the Est ...

who was probably responsible for most of the translations.Meic Stephens (ed.), ''Companion to Welsh Literature''. Article: 'The Four Ancient Books of Wales'. Image:Black Book of Carmarthen (f.4.r).jpg, Facsimile of a page from the ''Black Book of Carmarthen'' Image:Book.of.Aneirin.facsimile.png, Facsimile of a page from the ''Book of Aneirin'' Image:Book.of.Taliesin.facsimile.png, Facsimile of a page from the ''Book of Taliesin'' (Folio 13) Image:Red.Book.of.Hergest.facsimile.png, Facsimile of Part of Column 579 from the ''Red Book of Hergest''

References

External links

* * 14th-century books Welsh manuscripts Medieval Welsh literature Welsh-language literature Arthurian literature in Welsh Welsh mythology Taliesin {{Wales-stub