''The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales'' is a printed collection of

medieval Welsh literature Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing t ...

, published in three volumes by the

Gwyneddigion Society The Gwyneddigion Society ( cy, Cymdeithas y Gwyneddigion) was a London-based Welsh literary and cultural society. The original society was founded in 1770 and wound up in 1843. It was briefly revived in 1978. Its proceedings were conducted through ...

between 1801 and 1807. Until John Gwenogvryn Evans produced diplomatic editions of the important medieval Welsh manuscripts, the ''Myvyrian Archaiology'' provided the source text for many translators of medieval Welsh material.Mary Jones
"Y Myvyrian Archaiology"
''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia'', 2003, accessed 10 June 2009 It was founded, and funded, by

Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and left-wing activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'' and '' Tribune.'' He has two ...

, who engaged

William Owen Pughe William Owen Pughe (7 August 1759 – 4 June 1835) was a Welsh antiquarian and grammarian best known for his ''Welsh and English Dictionary'', published in 1803, but also known for his grammar books and "Pughisms" (neologisms)."The Inventio ...

as editor, and Edward Williams, better 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 ...

, to search Wales for manuscripts. The first volume, published in 1801, attempted to collect all Welsh poetry prior to 1370, with the exception of the work of

Dafydd ap Gwilym Dafydd ap Gwilym ( 1315/1320 – 1350/1370) is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Life R. Geraint Gruffydd suggests 1315- 1350 as the poet's dates; others place him a little ...

, which had already been published. Volume two, also published in 1801, contained the

Welsh Triads The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ...

, the chronicles (versions of the ''

Brut y Brenhinedd ''Brut y Brenhinedd'' ("Chronicle of the Kings") is a collection of variant Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. About 60 versions survive, with the earliest dating to the mid-13th century. Adaptat ...

'' and ''

Brut y Tywysogion ''Brut y Tywysogion'' ( en, Chronicle of the Princes) is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. ''Bru ...

'') and other prose documents of a historical nature. Volume three, which did not appear until 1807, contained didactic literature, laws and music. All three were reprinted in a single volume, with some additional material, in 1870. The majority of its material is genuine, although it does contain some of Iolo's forgeries, including the "third series" of Triads and two chronicles, the ''Brut Aberpergwm'' and the ''Brut Ieuan Brechfa'', in volume two, and the ''Doethineb y Cymry'' ("wisdom of the Welsh") in volume three.''The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales'' (1801-1807)
iolomorganwg.wales.ac.uk, accessed 11 June 2009

References

External links

* (all 3 volumes, with an index in English, and additional material) * * * 1801 books Book series introduced in 1801 Medieval Welsh literature Welsh-language literature {{Wales-stub