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The Boston Manuscript of the Laws of
Sotherby's
by the
National Library Wales catalogue entry
.
The manuscript contains a text of th
Blegywrd
redaction of medieval Welsh laws and was used as a working 'legal textbook', perhaps by itinerant Welsh legal professionals.
The manuscript was then taken to the United States, probably by Welsh settlers in the eighteenth century, and ended up in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston.
At some point in the later eighteenth or early nineteenth century,
several leaves were lost and damage was done to the manuscript. It was
conserved, rebound and digitised in 2012-3
Digital images
an
transcriptions
of the manuscript are available online. It is now on display in Whitland, Carmarthenshire.
Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda, sometimes anglicised as Howel the Good, or Hywel ap Cadell (died 949/950) was a king of Deheubarth who eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllwg in 920 and shortly thereafter established Deheubarth ...
is a Welsh manuscript created in south-west Wales c.1350-1400 and added to by other scribes in the later Middle Ages. The complex composition of the manuscript has been mapped by archivists at the National library Wales. It is 99 vellum leaves and 98mm by 50mm and is not illuminated, although it does use some coloured inks. It was acquired at auction aSotherby's
by the
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), 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 boo ...
in 2012 for £541,250 and is now part of the General Manuscript CollectionNational Library Wales catalogue entry
.
Contents
The manuscript contains a text of thBlegywrd
redaction of medieval Welsh laws and was used as a working 'legal textbook', perhaps by itinerant Welsh legal professionals.
History and ownership
William Philips ofBrecon
Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...
(d.1686) and his son William (d.1721) owned the manuscript and several antiquarians including Edward Lhyud consulted it and made transcriptions in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. William Philip's daughter Ann inherited her father's library and probably the manuscript when he died in 1721.
The manuscript was then taken to the United States, probably by Welsh settlers in the eighteenth century, and ended up in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston.
At some point in the later eighteenth or early nineteenth century,
several leaves were lost and damage was done to the manuscript. It was
conserved, rebound and digitised in 2012-3Digital images
an
transcriptions
of the manuscript are available online. It is now on display in Whitland, Carmarthenshire.
References
{{reflist Welsh law Medieval Wales Welsh-language manuscripts National Library of Wales collections