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The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru),
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
, is the national
legal deposit Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposit ...
library of
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and is one of the
Welsh Government sponsored bodies A Welsh Government sponsored body (WGSB) ( cy, Corff (plural: Cyrff) a Noddir gan Lywodraeth Cymru, CNLC) is a non-departmental public body directly funded by the Welsh Government. Under the Government of Wales Act 1998 the bodies were sponsored ...
. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the largest collections of archives, portraits, maps and photographic images in Wales. The Library is also home to the national collection of Welsh manuscripts, the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, and the most comprehensive collection of paintings and topographical prints in Wales. As the primary
research library A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects.(Young, 1983; p. 188) A research library will generally include an in-depth selection of materials on a particular topic or set of to ...
and archive in Wales and one of the largest research libraries in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, the National Library is a member of Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and the
Consortium of European Research Libraries The Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) is a consortium of research libraries, primarily in Europe, that facilitates access to historians with an interest in the history of the book by providing online resources. The organisation also ...
(CERL). At the very core of the National Library of Wales is the mission to collect and preserve materials related to Wales and Welsh life and those which can be utilised by the people of Wales for study and research.ournal1946>
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 ...
is the Library's main medium of communication but it does, however, aim to deliver all public services in Welsh and English. In January 2015 the Library, in partnership with Wikimedia UK, appointed a full-time
Wikipedian in Residence A Wikipedian in residence or Wikimedian in residence (WiR) is a Wikipedia editor, a Wikipedian (or Wikimedian), who accepts a placement with an institution, typically an art gallery, library, archive, museum, cultural institution, learned socie ...
with the aim of developing further its resources on an open licence, to a worldwide audience.


History

In 1873, a committee was set up to collect Welsh material and house it at
University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...
, Aberystwyth. In 1905, the government promised money in its budget to establish a National Library and a
National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
, and the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
appointed a committee to decide on the location of the two institutions.
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
, who later became Prime Minister, supported the effort to establish the National Library in Aberystwyth, which was selected as the location of the library after a bitter fight with
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, partly because a collection was already available in the College. Sir John Williams, physician and book collector, had also said he would present his collection (in particular, the Peniarth collection of manuscripts) to the library if it were established in Aberystwyth. He also eventually gave £20,000 to build and establish the library. Cardiff was eventually selected as the location of the National Museum of Wales. Funds for both the National Library and the National Museum were contributed by the subscriptions of the working classes, which was unusual in the establishment of such institutions. In a Prefatory Note to ''A List of Subscribers to the Building Fund'' (1924), the first librarian, John Ballinger, estimates that there were almost 110,000 contributors. The Library and Museum were established by
Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
on 19 March 1907. The Charter stipulated that if the National Library of Wales should be removed from Aberystwyth then the manuscripts donated by Sir John Williams will become the property of the University College. A new Royal Charter was granted in 2006. The National Library of Wales was granted the privilege of legal deposit under the
Copyright Act 1911 The Copyright Act 1911, also known as the Imperial Copyright Act of 1911, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (UK) which received Royal Assent on 16 December 1911. The act established copyright law in the UK and the British Empir ...
. Initially, however, the Library could only claim material deemed to be of Welsh and Celtic interest without any restrictions on expensive or limited edition publications. In 1987, the last of these restrictions were removed to make the legal deposit entitlement of the National Library of Wales equal to those of the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
,
Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...
,
Trinity College Library The Library of Trinity College Dublin () serves Trinity College and the University of Dublin. It is a legal deposit or "copyright library", under which, publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications there, without charge ...
, Dublin and the
National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...
. The first use of the
Library of Congress Classification The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress in the United States, which can be used for shelving books in a library. LCC is mainly used by large research and academic librar ...
by a library in Britain was at the National Library of Wales in 1913.


Buildings

On 15 July 1911
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
and Queen Mary laid the foundation stone of the National Library of Wales. Designed by architect
Sidney Greenslade Sidney Kyffin Greenslade (1867–1955), born in Exeter, was the first architect of the National Library of Wales, located in Aberystwyth. Whilst he was working on the building, he was approached by the Davies sisters of Gregynog to become curato ...
, who won the competition to design the building in 1909, the building at Grogythan, off Penglais Hill, was ready for occupation in August 1915 but the task of transferring the collections was not completed until 1 March 1916,
St David's Day Saint David's Day ( cy, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant or ; ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. The feast has been regularly celebr ...
. The central block, or ''
corps de logis In architecture, a ''corps de logis'' () is the principal block of a large, (usually Classical architecture, classical), mansion or palace. It contains the principal rooms, state apartments and an entry.Curl, James Stevens (2006). ''Oxford Dict ...
'', was added by
Charles Holden Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
to a modified version of Greenslade's design. It was completed in 1937 and is a
Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. The grounds (landscaping) of the National Library of Wales are also Grade II listed, and are seen as a significant part of the historical landscape of
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
with the landscaping both supporting, and playing a key part of the overall architectural design of the library building. The Library is faced with Portland stone on the upper storeys which contrasts with the Cornish granite below it.ournal1946 /> Restoration work was necessary in 1969 and 1983 due to the effects of weathering on the Portland stone. In recent years many changes have been made to the front part of the building. The large North Reading Room, where printed books are consulted, has "the proportions of a Gothic Cathedral", being 175 feet long, 47 feet wide and 33 feet high. There are galleries at three levels above the floor. The feasibility of installing a mezzanine floor to make better use of the space has been considered on two occasions. The South Reading Room is used for consulting archives, manuscripts, maps and other printed materials. Carved above the entrance is the room's original name the Print and Maps Room. Above it on the second floor of the south wing is the Gregynog Gallery where temporary and permanent exhibitions display the treasures of the Library's collections. A six-storey bookstack, which was completed in 1931, was built to increase storage space for the rapidly expanding book collection. A second bookstack was officially opened in March 1982. In 1996, the Third Library Building was opened, doubling the storage capacity of the Library. The second phase of the building was built by T. Alun Evans (Aberystwyth) Ltd. A fire on 26 April 2013 destroyed a section of roofing in an office area of the building. Restoration was assisted by a government grant of £625,000.


Wartime sanctuary

During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, many of Britain's most valuable artworks and manuscripts were stored in the National Library of Wales, which provided the evacuated treasures with a refuge from enemy bombing raids. The architect Charles Holden was instructed to design a tunnel for this purpose in the outcrop of rock close to the main building, with the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
sharing in the costs that this incurred. The tunnel was heated and ventilated to ensure the preservation of vellum, papyri and paper during its use from 18 July 1940 until 23 May 1945. In addition to an extensive consignment from the British Museum, which weighed over one hundred tons, the Library received forty-six boxes of manuscript and printed books from
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...
and over a thousand pictures, eighty-two boxes of books and twenty members of staff from the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
. The Library also received irreplaceable items from other prestigious institutions such as the
Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
, Oxford,
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
and
the Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
. A number of distinguished scholars from the British Museum accompanied the collections to Aberystwyth. Their senior member of staff was Deputy Keeper of Printed Books, Victor Scholderer, who responded to
letter
from the Director, Sir John Forsdyke, by insisting that he and his colleagues would continue to sleep in the Library so that the tunnel could be checked during the night to ensure that the air conditioning was functioning properly. Scholderer, an expert on
incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
, produced ''A Handlist of Incunabula in the National Library of Wales'' in gratitude to the hospitality that was afforded to them by the Library. Likewise, Arthur E. Popham, Keeper of Prints and Drawings, dedicated ''The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci'' ″To the Librarian and staff of the National Library of Wales″. Several other institutions donated funds to the Library as an expression of their gratitude and Mrs. David Sassoon, London presented two works by Cicero that were printed at Venice in the fifteenth century. The artefacts that spent World War II in the care of the National Library include the Magna Carta, drawings by
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
, paintings by
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
,
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
and Velásquez from
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
, letters of the kings and queens of England, and autographs belonging to
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
.


Librarians

* John Ballinger (1909–1930) *
William Llewelyn Davies Sir William Llewelyn Davies (born William Davies; 11 October 1887 – 11 November 1952) was a Welsh librarian who was chief librarian of the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth from 1930 until his death. Early life and education Davies was bor ...
(1930–1952) * Thomas Parry (1953–1958) * E. D. Jones (1958–1969) * David Jenkins (1969–1979) * R. Geraint Gruffydd (1980–1985) *
Brynley F. Roberts Brynley Francis Roberts (born 1931), known as Bryn Roberts, is a Welsh scholar and critic, who has written much on the Welsh language and Celts, Celtic history. He was Professor of Welsh Language and Literature at the University of Wales, Swansea ...
(1985–1994) * J. Lionel Madden (1994–1998) * Andrew M. Green (1998–2013) * Aled Gruffydd Jones (2013–2015) * Linda Tomos (2015–2019) * Pedr ap Llwyd (from 1 April 2019)


Library collections

The collections of the National Library of Wales include over 6.5 million printed volumes, including the first book printed in Welsh, ''
Yny lhyvyr hwnn ''Yny lhyvyr hwnn'' (In this book) was the first book to be printed in the Welsh language. It was written by Sir John Price of Brecon, a nobleman and secretary of the Council of Wales and the Marches. He was one of the most important Welsh manus ...
'' (1546). In addition to the printed book collections, there are about 25,000 manuscripts in the holdings. The archival collections at the Library include the Welsh Political Archive and National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales. The Library also keeps maps, photographs, paintings, topographical and landscape prints, periodicals and newspapers. In 2010, the Peniarth Manuscript collection and ''
The Life Story of David Lloyd George ''The Life Story of David Lloyd George'' (originally titled ''The Man Who Saved The Empire'')UK Memory of the World Register The UK Memory of the World Register is part of the Memory of the World Programme. The UK Register recognises documentary heritage of outstanding importance to the UK. Any documentary heritage can be nominated in a biennial application process. The ...
, a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
record of documentary heritage of cultural significance. Collection development is focused on materials relating to the people of Wales, those in the Welsh language and resources for
Celtic studies Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art histor ...
, but other materials are collected for the purposes of education and literary and scientific research. As a
legal deposit library Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposit ...
, the National Library is entitled to request a copy of every work published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This has allowed the Library to collect modern Welsh, Irish and Gaelic language books for its Celtic collection. The acquisition of material through legal deposit has been supplemented by purchases, international exchanges, donations and bequests. The Celtic collection includes works in all six Celtic languages. A representative collection of
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
books has been assembled, primarily through purchase of earlier publications, guided by the standard bibliographies, and, for books published after 1911, by legal deposit. Irish literature, which is far more extensive, has been collected through a similar combination of purchase and deposit. However, many collections purchased by or donated to the Library have contained rare Irish books. The Library of Dr E. C. Quiggin, which was received in 1921, contained a large Irish collection and many early
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...
books. Further Breton books have been purchased or were acquired in the libraries of Sir Edward Anwyl, Thomas Powel, Dr Thomas Gwynn Jones, Dr Paul Diverres and Llywarch Reynolds. The holdings of Cornish and Manx printed books include practically everything that has been published in those languages, with a few facsimiles. Th
online catalogue
of the National Library is available to search remotely or onsit

The Library's holdings can also be found in the
European Library The European Library is an Internet service that allows access to the resources of 49 European national libraries and an increasing number of research libraries. Searching is free and delivers metadata records as well as digital objects, mostly ...
and
Copac Copac (originally an acronym of Consortium of Online Public Access Catalogues) was a union catalogue which provided free access to the merged online catalogues of many major research libraries and specialist libraries in the United Kingdom and Ire ...
union catalogues.


Manuscripts

The National Library of Wales keeps many rare and important manuscripts, including 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 earliest surviving manuscript entirely in Welsh), 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
Hendregadredd Manuscript The Hendregadredd Manuscript ( cy, Llawysgrif Hendregadredd), is a medieval Welsh manuscript containing an anthology of the poetry of the "Poets of the Princes" (Gogynfeirdd); it was written between 1282 and 1350. The manuscript was long part of ...
, and an early manuscript of
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
. Around three hundred medieval manuscripts are deposited in the Library: about 100 are in Welsh. The manuscript collection amalgamated a number of entire collections that were acquired in the early years of the Library's existence, including the Hengwrt-Peniarth, Mostyn, Llanstephan, Panton, Cwrtmawr, Wrexham and Aberdare manuscripts. The Welsh manuscripts in these foundation collections were catalogued by Dr J. Gwenogvryn Evans in the ''Reports on manuscripts in the Welsh language'' that he compiled for the Historic Manuscripts Commission.


Peniarth Manuscripts

The Peniarth Manuscripts collection is considered to be of global significance and the most important collection of manuscripts in the National Library of Wales. In 2010, it was included in the UK Memory of the World Register of documentary heritage. Of the 561 volumes of manuscripts in the Peniarth collection, some four-fifths were collected by Robert Vaughan (c. 1592–1667) for his library in Hengwrt, Meirioneth. Three of the
Four Ancient Books of Wales The Four Ancient Books of Wales is a term coined by William Forbes Skene to describe four important medieval manuscripts written in Middle Welsh and dating from the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. They contain primarily texts of poetry and prose, ...
are part of the Peniarth collection, and this is indicative of the overall quality of the manuscripts and their importance as part of Welsh heritage. There are, however, also manuscripts in Cornish, Latin and English that are themselves noteworthy. The collection includes: * 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 ...
(c. 1250), the earliest manuscript in Welsh (Peniarth MS 1). * 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 ...
(c. 1350–1400) contains the oldest Welsh verse by the sixth-century poet Taliesin (Peniarth MS 2). * The
White Book of Rhydderch The White Book of Rhydderch (Welsh: ''Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch'', National Library of Wales, Peniarth MS 4-5) is one of the most notable and celebrated surviving manuscripts in Welsh. Mostly written in southwest Wales in the middle of the 14th century ...
(c. 1350), a composite volume that contains the earliest version of the ''
Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...
'' (Peniarth MS 4). * The earliest fragments of ''Branwen and Manawydan'' and two fragments of ''Geraint ap Erbin'' comprise the four parts of Peniarth MS 6. * ''Ystoryaeu Seint Greal'' (Tales of the Holy Grail), transcribed by Hywel Fychan around the year 1300, is the finest in a series of Romance manuscripts. A letter addressed to
Lady Charlotte Guest Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest (née Bertie; 19 May 1812 – 15 January 1895), later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English aristocrat who is best known as the first publisher in modern print format of the '' Mabinogion'', the earliest prose l ...
concerning access to this text to have it copied is loose inside the volume (Peniarth MS 11). * The ''Chronicle of the Princes'' in Peniarth MS 20 (c. 1330) is one of the two main versions of ''
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 ...
'', the other being 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 ...
'', which is in the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
, Oxford. * ''History of the Kings'' (Peniarth MS 23C), is a copy of ''
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 ...
'', the Welsh translation of the ''
Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...
'' by
Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiograph ...
. It is a rare instance of an illustrated medieval Welsh manuscript. * The
Laws of Hywel Dda ''Cyfraith Hywel'' (; ''Laws of Hywel''), also known as Welsh law ( la, Leges Walliæ), was the system of law practised in medieval Wales before its final conquest by England. Subsequently, the Welsh law's criminal codes were superseded by t ...
(c. 1300–1350), the earliest extant text (in Latin) of native Welsh law ( Peniarth MS 28). More than 50% of the manuscripts known to contain the laws of
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 ...
are in the collections of the National Library, with the majority being in the Peniarth Collection (see the list of Welsh Law manuscripts). * ''Llyfr Du'r Waun'' (mid-13th century), also known as the
Black Book of Chirk The ''Black Book of Chirk'' ( cy, Llyfr Du o'r Waun) is a 13th-century Welsh-language manuscript, known also as the Chirk Codex. It is Peniarth 29 of the National Library of Wales, and deals with legal and historical matters. It contains also an e ...
, the earliest Welsh text of the laws of Hywel Dda (Peniarth MS 29). * Peniarth 32 is a 15th-century volume of the laws of Hywel Dda. * The Peniarth 51 manuscript contains poetry, Welsh grammar, vocabularies, and historical triads that was written, mostly in the hand of
Gwilym Tew Gwilym Tew (fl. 1460 – 1480) was a Welsh-language poet and manuscript copyist from Tir Iarll, Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeNa ...
, during the second half of the 15th century. * ''Barddoniaeth Hywel Dafi'' (c. 1483–1500), a volume of poetry most by and possibly in the hand of Howel Davi. Other poets included in this volume are Bedo Brwynllys, Dafydd Llwyd, Llywelyn ap Morgan, Dafydd ap Gwilym and Ieuan ap Howel. The assumption that this manuscript was written by Howel Davi is challenged by evidence, such as slips of the pen that occur in poems of Davi's composition, that suggest the scribe was copying these poems. With the exception of two sections (42 and 43), which are an attempt at transcription by an unskilled hand, the entire manuscript appears to be the work of one scribe (Peniarth MS 67). * ''
Beunans Meriasek (English: ''The Life of Saint Meriasek'') is a Cornish play completed in 1504. Its subject is the legends of the life of Saint Meriasek or Meriadoc, patron saint of Camborne, whose veneration was popular in Cornwall, Brittany, and elsewhere ...
'' (The Life of St
Meriasek Saint Meriasek ( br, Meriadeg) was a 6th-century Cornish and Breton saint. The legends of his life are known through ''Beunans Meriasek'', a Cornish language play known from a single surviving manuscript copy dated 1504, and a few other sources. ...
) (1504), the earliest surviving manuscript in the
Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a List of revived languages, revived language, having become Extinct language, extinct as a livin ...
(Peniarth MS 105B). It is believed to have been completed in 1504 by Radolphus Ton, who was a canon during the final efflorescence of Cornish literature at
Glasney College Glasney College ( kw, Kolji Glasneth) was founded in 1265 at Penryn, Cornwall, by Bishop Bronescombe and was a centre of ecclesiastical power in medieval Cornwall and probably the best known and most important of Cornwall's religious institut ...
, Penryn. This play, which is set in
Camborne Camborne ( kw, Kammbronn) is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth and Deadman's Cove. Camborne was formerl ...
, is a celebration of the life and work of
St Meriasek Saint Meriasek ( br, Meriadeg) was a 6th-century Cornish and Breton saint. The legends of his life are known through '' Beunans Meriasek'', a Cornish language play known from a single surviving manuscript copy dated 1504, and a few other sourc ...
that depicts the cultural links between
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
and
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
. ''Beunans Meriasek'' was rediscovered by W. W. E. Wynne in the 1860s among the volumes from the Hengwrt Library that had been bequeathed to him in 1859. It is the most important extant Cornish manuscript. * ''Cywyddau'' and other poems, written in the hand of
Lewys Glyn Cothi Lewys Glyn Cothi (c. 1420 – 1490), also known as Llywelyn y Glyn, was a prominent 15th century Welsh poet who composed numerous poems in the Welsh language. He is one of the most important representatives of the ''Beirdd yr Uchelwyr'' ("Poets of ...
, comprise the manuscript Peniarth 109. * '' Esboniadau ar Gyfraith Hywel Dda'' (Peniarth MS 164), is a volume of commentaries on the Laws of Hywel Dda from the early 15th century. * Peniarth Manuscript 259B is a version of the Laws of Hywel Dda from the mid-16th century. * The
Hengwrt Chaucer The Hengwrt Chaucer manuscript is an early-15th-century manuscript of the ''Canterbury Tales'', held in the National Library of Wales, in Aberystwyth. It is an important source for Chaucer's text, and was possibly written by someone with access to ...
(c. 1400–1410), a folio volume of ''
The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, ...
'', sometimes attributed to the scribe
Adam Pinkhurst Adam Pinkhurst is best known as a fourteenth-century English scribe whom Linne Mooney identified as the 'personal scribe' of Geoffrey Chaucer, although much recent scholarship has cast doubt on this connection. Biography There are records of an ' ...
. One of the treasures of the National Library of Wales and by far the most important of the Peniarth Manuscripts in English (Peniarth MS 392D). * The 15th-century volume comprising ''Disticha Catonis'', the Battles of Alexander the Great, and History of the Three Kings (
Peniarth 481 Peniarth 481D is a late 15th-century illuminated manuscript in its original binding that is held at the National Library of Wales. It is also known as ''The Battles of Alexander the Great'', a reference to the twenty-six miniatures that accompany ...
D), and the late 15th-century '' Vaux Passional'' (Peniarth 482), which was prepared for Henry VII, were acquired and deposited in the National Library by
Gwendoline Gwendoline is a feminine given name, a variant of Gwendolen. Notable people called Gwendoline *Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo (1879–1955), a British interior decorator * Gwendoline Butler (born 1922), an English writer of mystery fiction * Gwen ...
and
Margaret Davies Margaret Sidney Davies (14 December 1884 – 13 March 1963), was a Welsh art collector and patron of the arts. With her sister Gwendoline, she bequeathed a total of 260 works, particularly strong in Impressionist and 20th-century art, which form ...
in 1921. These two fine illuminated manuscripts were retained by W. R. M. Wynne when he sold the Peniarth Manuscripts to Sir John Williams. * A bound volume containing books by Giovanni Battista Palatino and
Ugo da Carpi Ugo da Carpi ( – ) was an Italian printmaker active between 1502 and 1532 in the cities of Venice, Rome and Bologna. He is known for his technical and stylistic contributions to the chiaroscuro woodcut, a printmaking technique using bloc ...
, both notable Italian masters of the 16th century, which is assumed to have been owned by
John Jones of Gellilyfdy John Jones of Gellilyfdy (c. 1578 - c. 1658) was a Welsh lawyer, antiquary, calligrapher, manuscript collector and scribe. He is particularly significant for his copying of many historic Welsh language manuscripts which would otherwise have been l ...
(Peniarth MS 522). *
Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
's ''De natura rerum'' (12th century), a copy of the scientific treatise in Latin that is believed to have been written in Wales. Contains decorative initials, including three that have a zoomorphic design similar to those found in Irish manuscripts from this time (Peniarth MS 540B). * Over forty manuscripts in the hand of John Jones of Gellilyfdy, embellished with initial capital letters and head- and tailpieces that demonstrate his calligraphic talent.


Llanstephan Manuscripts

The
Llanstephan Llansteffan, is a village and a community situated on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tywi, south of Carmarthen. Description The community includes Llanybri and is bordered by the communities of: L ...
Collection of manuscripts was donated to the National Library of Wales by Sir John Williams in 1909. It had been his personal collection, which he kept in the library of his home, Llanstephan mansion, Carmarthenshire. The collection is composed of the 154 manuscripts which had belonged to Moses Williams (1685–1742), that were purchased from
Shirburn Castle Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remodelled in the Georgian era by Thomas Parker, the fi ...
, Oxfordshire and other manuscripts of diverse origins collected by Sir John. Medieval Welsh prose is well represented in the Shirburn Castle collection, with chronicles, legends, fables, theological tracts and collections of works by eminent poets of the period. These manuscripts include a Welsh translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia'' from the 13th century, the
Gutun Owain Gutun Owain ( fl. 1456–1497) was a poet in the Welsh language. He was born near Oswestry in what is now north Shropshire and was a student of Dafydd ab Edmwnd. Gutun Owain was closely associated with the Cistercian abbey of Valle Crucis where ...
Manuscript and the Red Book of Talgarth.


Cwrtmawr Manuscripts

The Cwrtmawr Manuscripts are one of the significant manuscript collections that were transferred to the National Library of Wales in the early years of its existence. They are from the personal collection of
John Humphreys Davies John Humphreys Davies (15 April 1871 – 10 August 1926) was a Welsh lawyer, bibliographer and educator. He joined the movement to start a National Library of Wales. Family and schooling Born at Llangeitho, Ceredigion, he was the son of Robert ...
, who was the Principal of University College, Aberystwyth. Davies was a barrister and a keen book collector who acquired the manuscripts gradually from a number of sources. The largest group of manuscripts are those acquired from John Jones ('Myrddin Fardd'), but there are several other substantial groups including those from a Welsh clerical family, the Richards of Darowen,
Peter Bailey Williams Peter Bayley Williams (August 1763 – 22 November 1836) was a Welsh Anglican priest and amateur antiquarian. It is also claimed that he led the first rock climb recorded in the United Kingdom. Life Williams was the son of Peter Williams, one o ...
and his brother Rev. St George Armstrong Williams, William John Roberts ('Gwilym Cowlyd'), and
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 ...
.


General Manuscript Collection

In addition to the Peniarth and Llanstephan manuscripts, the collection that Sir John Williams donated to the National Library included 500 manuscripts in the general collection (NLW MS 1–500). These manuscripts are an amalgamation of the various purchases that Sir John made between 1894 and 1899, including groups of manuscripts from the Welsh philologist Egerton Phillimore,
Sir Thomas Phillipps Sir Thomas Phillipps, 1st Baronet (2 July 1792 – 6 February 1872), was an English antiquary and book collector who amassed the largest collection of manuscript material in the 19th century. He was an illegitimate son of a textile manufacture ...
of Middle Hill, the Ashburn library and Sir Edmund Buckley of Plas Dinas Mawddwy. Descriptions of 446 of these manuscripts are provided by J. H. Davies in ''Additional Manuscripts in the Collections of Sir John Williams'', which the Library published in 1921. The manuscripts in the National Library which are not part of the foundation collections are the focus of the ''Handlist of manuscripts'', which was first published in 1941. All manuscripts acquired by donation or purchase are added to this open-ended series, either singly or in groups, if they are: a) in a format compatible with the collection, i.e. manuscript books or rolls, or unbound material that can be filed; and b) not integral to an archive or individual collection. There is, however, much archival material, most notably correspondence, held in the General Manuscript Collection. Individual manuscripts of particular interest include: *A volume of medieval astronomy texts is the oldest scientific manuscript in the National Library ( NLW MS 735C). The first section of the volume was written around 1000 and the second dates from c.1150. Both sections were copied in the
Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
region of France. The Latin text describes the constellations with the aid of diagrams and colour illustrations of Zodiac images. *The
Black Book of Basingwerk The Black Book of Basingwerk ( cy, Llyfr Du Basing) is an illuminated manuscript in the National Library of Wales (NLW MS 7006D) containing, among other texts, a Welsh translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae ''Histor ...
(NLW MS 7006D) is a 15th-century manuscript containing a version of ''Brut y Brenhinedd'', a Welsh translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''
Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...
''. Particular features of interest include the medieval wooden board binding and the decorated initials embellished with gold. *The Llywarch Reynolds Manuscripts (NLW MS 970 to 997) are the 28 volumes that Llywarch Owain Reynolds bequeathed to the Library in 1916. The most notable among them is the 17th century collection of Welsh poetry, ''Llyuyr Hir Llywarch Reynolds''. *The
Book of Llandaff The Book of Llandaff ( la, Liber Landavensis; cy, Llyfr Llandaf, ', or '), is the chartulary of the cathedral of Llandaff, a 12th-century compilation of documents relating to the history of the diocese of Llandaff in Wales. It is written prima ...
(NLW MS 17110E), also known as ''Liber Landavensis'', is an ecclesiastical manuscript written between 1120 and 1140. *The Llanbeblig Book of Hours (NLW MS 17520A) is a small manuscript book compiled around 1390. The manuscript has a number of entries in the calendar that connect it to Wales, including a celebration of the dedication of the church of Saint Peblig, Caernarfon. Isabella Godynogh (d. 1413) was possibly its original owner. The full-page miniatures, illuminated with gold, and the fine lettering indicate the value of the book. The Llanbeblig Hours is the only known illuminated manuscript that contains the iconographical Lily Crucifixion motif, and may be the earliest example of its use in any media. * NLW MS 20143A is a manuscript of the laws of Hywel Dda written in Welsh around 1350. It is unusual in that it retains a medieval binding. *The
Tintern Abbey Tintern Abbey ( cy, Abaty Tyndyrn ) was founded on 9 May 1131 by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow. It is situated adjacent to the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye, which at this location forms the bor ...
Bible (NLW MS 22631C) is a 13th-century Bible that has a known association with the medieval library of the Cistercian monastery at Tintern, Monmouthshire. It was purchased by the National Library for £30,000 in a
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
sale in December 1988 and is the second book known to have survived from the Tintern library. Under ultraviolet light the erased 15th-century inscription ''Ista biblia olim Abbathie de Tinternie'' (This Bible used to elong toTintern Abbey) is visible to confirm the provenance of the manuscript. *
Beunans Ke ''Bewnans Ke'' (''The Life of Saint Ke'') is a Middle Cornish play on the life of Saint Kea or Ke, who was venerated in Cornwall, Brittany and elsewhere. It was written around 1500 but survives only in an incomplete manuscript from the second ha ...
(NLW MS 23849D) is a 16th-century Cornish manuscript discovered among the papers of Professor J. E. Caerwyn Williams after they were deposited in the National Library in 2000. Groups of manuscripts in the general collection include:


Rare books

There are many rare books in the National Library of Wales including the three earliest books printed in Welsh, ''
Yny lhyvyr hwnn ''Yny lhyvyr hwnn'' (In this book) was the first book to be printed in the Welsh language. It was written by Sir John Price of Brecon, a nobleman and secretary of the Council of Wales and the Marches. He was one of the most important Welsh manus ...
'' (1546), Oll synnwyr pen Kembero ygyd (1547) and ''A Dictionary in Englyshe and Welshe'' (1547) by
William Salesbury William Salesbury also Salusbury (c. 1520 – c. 1584) was the leading Welsh scholar of the Renaissance and the principal translator of the 1567 Welsh New Testament. Early life Salesbury was born some time before 1520 (possibly as early as 1 ...
. The Library also holds the first Welsh translation of the complete Bible (1588). The National Library's rare books include collections of incunabula, sixteenth-century European imprints, private press publications, bindings and scientific works. Thanks to the collections of printed books that were donated by Sir John Williams, J. H. Davies and Edward Humphrey Owen, the Library has particularly strong holdings of publications in the Welsh language from before 1912. Of the two hundred and eighty-six Welsh books published between 1546 and 1710, the National Library possesses copies of two hundred and ten, and has facsimiles of others that exist as a unique copy in another institution. Many of the named collections of printed books include early or otherwise rare books:


Sir John Williams Collection

The Sir John Williams Collection forms the nucleus of the Library's printed books collection. The collection of approximately 23,360 volumes contains many items of importance to the history of Welsh printing, which were donated to the Library when it was established in 1907. Nineteen of the first twenty-two books published in Welsh are present, of which fourteen were acquired from the
Shirburn Castle Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remodelled in the Georgian era by Thomas Parker, the fi ...
library with the Llanstephan Manuscripts. The collection from Shirburn Castle comprises 193 printed books and pamphlets that were all printed before 1750; a superb miscellany of books from the first century of Welsh printing. Some of the particularly significant items that belonged to Sir John are: * n this book ...(1546) by Sir John Prise, the only known copy of the first book printed in Welsh. * by
Gruffudd Hiraethog Gruffudd Hiraethog (died 1564) was a 16th century Welsh language poet, born in Llangollen, north-east Wales. Gruffudd was one of the foremost poets of the sixteenth century to use the cywydd metre. He was a prolific author and gifted scholar. Tho ...
(1547). * William Salesbury's ''A Dictionary in Englyshe and Welshe'' (1547). * A translation of the New Testament by Salesbury (1567). The difficulty of reading Salesbury's pedantic translation prompted William Morgan, vicar of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, to begin his translation of the Bible in 1578. *
Y Drych Cristianogawl ''Y Drych Cristianogawl'' ( cy, Y Drych Cristnogol, The Christian Mirror) is a Welsh publication from the 16th century and the first book to have been printed in Wales. Whilst ''Y Drych Cristianogawl'' was not the first book to be printed in Welsh ...
he Christian Mirror He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
(1586–7), probably the earliest book printed in Wales. * The first Welsh translation of the complete Bible by William Morgan (1588). Morgan's Bible not only strengthened the hold of the Protestant faith in Wales, it also created a new and accessible prose. * John Penry's pamphlet of 1588, ''An exhortation unto the governours.'' * The Welsh translation of the first part of Canisius's ''Opus catechisticum'' by Rosier Smyth, published in Paris, 1609. * ''Cân o senn iw hên Feistr Tobacco'' Diatribe against Tobacco(1718), the only extant copy. * Early editions of
Morgan Llwyd Morgan Llwyd (1619 – 3 June 1659) was a Puritan Fifth Monarchist and Welsh language poet and prose author. Biography Morgan Llwyd was born to a cultured and influential family in the parish of Maentwrog, Gwynedd. His grandfather, Huw ...
,
Robert Recorde Robert Recorde () was an Anglo-Welsh physician and mathematician. He invented the equals sign (=) and also introduced the pre-existing plus and minus signs, plus sign (+) to English speakers in 1557. Biography Born around 1512, Robert Recorde w ...
, Henry and Thomas Vaughan, and the epigrammist John Owen. * A comprehensive collection of publications from the
Kelmscott Press The Kelmscott Press, founded by William Morris and Emery Walker, published fifty-three books in sixty-six volumes between 1891 and 1898. Each book was designed and ornamented by Morris and printed by hand in limited editions of around 300. Many ...
. * A 1488 edition of '' Lancelot du lac,'' part of a large Arthurian collection. * A Fourth Folio of Shakespeare (1685).


Ty Coch Collection

Purchased in 1910, the library of Edward Humphrey Owen (1850–1904), from Ty Coch, Caernarfon, is the third of the National Library of Wales' foundation collections. The 3,680 volumes are mainly of Welsh interest, with the 1567 New Testament and 1588 Bible to be found among some twenty books from the sixteenth century. Other items of interest are a first edition of Milton's ''Paradise lost'' (1668), numerous first editions of
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
and
George Borrow George Henry Borrow (5 July 1803 – 26 July 1881) was an English writer of novels and of travel based on personal experiences in Europe. His travels gave him a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe, who figure strongly in his work. Hi ...
, and books from the Baskerville and Strawberry Hill presses.


John Humphreys Davies Bequest

When John Humphreys Davies died on 10 August 1926 he bequeathed his collection of over 10,000 printed volumes to the National Library of Wales. Davies was a keen bibliographer who acquired multiple copies of some works for variants in the typography and accumulated an important collection of Welsh literature, discovering some previously unrecorded works in the process. Some of the early Welsh books that Davies collected contain leaves or signatures that were not in the copies that the National Library already possessed. The rare books include: * ''Annerch ir Cymru'' (1721) by Ellis Pugh was the first Welsh book to be printed in America. * A complete first edition of part one of ''Aleluja, neu, Casgliad o hymnau, ar amryw ystyriaethau'' (1744) by William Williams of Pantycelyn. * ''Testament Newydd'' (1567). * ''Y Bibl'' (1630). * (1661), Ellis Lewis' Welsh translation, from the English translation by Winterton, of Jeremias Drexel's ''De aeternitate considerationes.'' * A previously unrecorded large paper issue of ''Y Bibl'' (1690). * A copy of the 1688 edition of ilgrim's Progressis one of the seventy-three works by John Bunyan. * Eighty-three volumes of the works of William Williams of Pantycelyn. There are also substantial collections of pamphlets, elegies, almanacs, ballads, satires and tracts that Davies had collected.


Bourdillon Collection

In 1922 the National Library of Wales purchased the collection of French medieval literary texts and early illustrated books that had been assembled by
Francis William Bourdillon Francis William Bourdillon (22 March 1852 at Runcorn, Cheshire, England – 13 January 1921 at Buddington, Midhurst) was a British poet and translator. He is known also as a bibliophile. Life Born at Trinity Parsonage, Halton Road, Runcorn, Ches ...
(1852–1921). Bourdillon's library included twenty-three editions of the ''Roman de la Rose'' and an important group of works on the Arthurian legend. The 6,178 printed volumes include sixty-six incunabula, 180 ''
English short title catalogue The English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) is a union short-title catalogue of works published between 1473 and 1800, in Britain and its former colonies, notably those in North America, and primarily in English, drawing on the collections of the ...
'' books (1475–1800), including twenty-five ''STC'' and fifty ''Wing'' books. Further, there are 320 volumes that were printed in continental Europe during the sixteenth century, and another 260 items which date from the 17th and 18th centuries.


Incunabula

The National Library has a collection of about 250
incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
, which are predominantly German, Italian and French imprints. Sixty-six of the incunabula, including seven different editions of the ''Roman de la Rose,'' with the accepted first edition among them, are part of Francis William Bourdillon's collection that was purchased by the Library in 1922. At least three of the incunabula acquired from Bourdillon's library are not known in any other copy: a ''Quatre fils Aymon'', a ''Destruction de Jerusalem'', and a ''Vie de Ste. Catherine''. Sir Charles Thomas-Stanford presented or bequeathed eighteen incunabula in total, half of which were printed in Germany. Three examples of early English printing were donated to the Library by Gwendoline and Margaret Davies of Gregynog in 1921. Two of these books were printed by
William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...
: ''Speculum Vitae Christi'' of 1488, and the copy of Ranulf Higden's ''Polychronicon'' (1482) that had previously been the property of Higden's Monastery, St. Werburgh's Abbey at Chester. The third is another copy of the Polychronicon, printed by Caxton's successor
Wynkyn de Worde Wynkyn de Worde (died 1534) was a printer and publisher in London known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognised as the first to popularise the products of the printing press in England. Name Wynkyn de Worde was a German immigr ...
in 1495. Nine specimens of early printed books (three German, five Italian and one printed in Ghent) were deposited by Lord Harlech between 1938 and 1941. Other notable incunabula in the Library are the ''Astronomica'' by
Marcus Manilius Marcus Manilius (fl. 1st century AD) was a Roman poet, astrologer, and author of a poem in five books called '' Astronomica''. The ''Astronomica'' The author of ''Astronomica'' is neither quoted nor mentioned by any ancient writer. Even his ...
(1474) with illuminated initials and borders, and
Hartmann Schedel Hartmann Schedel (13 February 1440 – 28 November 1514) was a German historian, physician, humanist, and one of the first cartographers to use the printing press. He was born and died in Nuremberg. Matheolus Perusinus served as his tutor. ...
's ''Liber Chronicarum'' (1493). During the time that the incunabula expert, Dr. Victor Scholderer, Deputy-Keeper in the Department of Printed Books at the British Museum, spent in Aberystwyth during the Second World War, he took an interest in the National Library's small collection of fifteenth-century printed books and produced a ''Hand-list of incunabula'' that was published as a supplement to the ''National Library of Wales Journal.'' The hand-list and its addenda and corrigenda describes 129 books, mostly printed in Germany, Italy and France, although examples from the Netherlands and England were also listed. Scholderer noted that some of the forty-five books printed in France, particularly those in the vernacular, were very rare.


Sixteenth-century imprints

There are approximately 2,500 sixteenth-century European imprints in the Library. Works from the leading scholar-printers of the early sixteenth-century are represented in the collection, which covers a broad array of subjects. These include Johann Froben (Basle),
Jodocus Badius __NOTOC__ Jodocus Badius (french: Josse Bade; es, Jodoco del Badia; 1462–1535), also known as , , and , was a pioneer of the printing industry, a renowned grammarian, and a pedagogue. Life Josse Badius was born in the village of Asse (form ...
(Lyons and Paris),
Robert Estienne The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
(Paris) and
Aldus Manutius Aldus Pius Manutius (; it, Aldo Pio Manuzio; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preserv ...
(Venice). Aldus Manutius of Venice, who is known for his dolphin and anchor printer's device, was the finest of the Italian printers of this period and about a hundred examples of his works, known as Aldines, are in the National Library. The Library's also owns works from the sixteenth-century Antwerp press of
Christophe Plantin Christophe Plantin ( nl, Christoffel Plantijn; – 1 July 1589) was a French Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher who resided and worked in Antwerp. Life Plantin was born in France, probably in Saint-Avertin, near the city of ...
and his son-in-law,
Balthasar Moretus Balthasar Moretus or Balthasar I Moretus (23 July 1574 – 6 July 1641) was a Flemish printer and head of the Plantin Press, Officina Plantiniana, the printing company established by his grandfather Christophe Plantin in Antwerp in 1555. He was the ...
, who published De Symbolis Heroicis (1634) with its title-page designed by
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
. The collection of French medieval romances and editions of the ''Roman de la rose'' from the library of F. W. Bourdillon and the Aldines, which are from the collection of J. Burleigh James, are important features. The National Library of Wales has one of the two copies of the 1539 edition of Miles Coverdale's
Great Bible The Great Bible of 1539 was the first authorised edition of the Bible in English, authorised by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. The Great Bible was prepared by Myles Coverdale, worki ...
, that were printed on vellum and illuminated throughout. The other copy is in the library of
St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...
.


Private presses

The Library has a substantial private press collection, some 1,800 volumes in total, with representative examples from all of the important British presses. The holdings of ordinary and special bindings of the
Gregynog Press The Gregynog Press, also known as Gwasg Gregynog, is a printing press and charity located at Gregynog Hall near Newtown in Powys, Wales. Early years Founded in 1922 by the sisters and art patrons Margaret and Gwendoline Davies, guided by Thom ...
books are comprehensive and along with the reference collection from Gregynog, form the core of the National Library's collection of private press editions. However, the Library also has a complete set of the
Kelmscott Press The Kelmscott Press, founded by William Morris and Emery Walker, published fifty-three books in sixty-six volumes between 1891 and 1898. Each book was designed and ornamented by Morris and printed by hand in limited editions of around 300. Many ...
publications that Sir John Williams collected, including ''The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer'' (1896). The private press collection has been developed through further acquisitions by donation, purchase and legal deposit, and contains examples of the productions by the
Doves Press The Doves Press was a private press based in Hammersmith, London. During nearly seventeen years of operation, the Doves Press produced notable examples of twentieth-century typography. A distinguishing feature of its books was a specially-devised ...
, Ashendene Press and the
Roxburghe Club The Roxburghe Club is a bibliophilic and publishing society based in the United Kingdom. Origins The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the Duke of Roxburghe (who had died in 1804), which took place over 46 days ...
. Works from foreign presses have been collected and include many publications of the
Grolier Club The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, Tre ...
, the Bremer Presse edition of Luther's Bible (1926–8) and ''Eclogues'' of Virgil (1927) from the Cranach Press


Fine bindings

The National Library has many examples of books with fine bindings in its holdings. These include under-painted vellum, Victorian carved wood and papier-mâché bindings, French art nouveau bookbinding and bindings by Bernard C. Middleton and the Gregynog Press binder, George Fisher. In the late 1970s, the library acquired an archive recording the work of the Birdsall bindery, Northampton. Bourdillon's library includes books printed before 1600 in their original pigskin or stamped calf bindings and some examples of modern fine binding. Examples of fore-edge paintings that depict topographical scenes in Wales have been collected by the National Library, including a view of Conway Castle and Bridge on a 1795 copy of ''The Poetical Works of John Cunningham'', a rural view, stated to be Wales, painted on a 1795 edition of Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' bound by Edwards of Halifax, and an 1823 English-Welsh bilingual edition of ''The Book of Common Prayer'' with a double fore-edge painting of (1) Bangor and (2) Bangor Cathedral. Other locations in Wales include Barmouth and Neath Abbey, both painted on books published during the nineteenth century. The earliest volume with a fore-edge painting owned by the Library is the 1669 Book of Common Prayer with a depiction of the Crucifixion.


The Euclid Collection

The National Library's collection of works ascribed to Euclid contains more than 300 volumes, representing 270 editions, and is considered to be an important reference point for Euclidean bibliographical studies. The collection has been developed through additions to the initial thirty-nine volumes of early editions of the ''Elements'' that Sir Charles Thomas-Stanford donated in 1927, including further eleven volumes from Sir Charles in 1928. With the subsequent additions the collection covers all of Euclid's works, including ''Data, Phaenomena, Optica'' and ''Catoptrica'' along with numerous editions of the ''Elements,'' in many languages. There are two incunabula (Erhard Ratdolt, Venice, 1482 and Leonardus de Basilea & Gulielmus de Papia, Vicenza, 1491) in the collection, as well as seventy-three volumes from the sixteenth century, including the first English (Reynold Wolfe, London, 1551) and Arabic (Typographia Medicea, Rome, 1594) editions.


Archives

The National Library of Wales is home to the largest collection of archival material in Wales. Around 2,500 archives of various sizes have been collected since the library was founded. These archives contain many different types of document, such as charters, estate records, correspondence, literary drafts and digital materials, which range from the medieval to contemporary periods. Many of the earlier archives are those of the landed gentry and their estates, which developed over many centuries, but these are supplemented by corporate archives including the Church of Wales archive and the archive of the Court of Great Sessions that the Library has received. The Library collects corporate archives, which are the records of institutions, societies and public bodies, and the personal archives of individuals who have played a significant role in the life of the nation. Personal archives contain a variety of material that is related to the life and work of notable individuals and families. For example, the papers of Celtic scholar
Sir Idris Foster Sir Idris Llewelyn Foster (23 July 1911 – 18 June 1984) was a Welsh people, Welsh scholar and Jesus Professor of Celtic at the University of Oxford from 1947 until 1978. He was born in Carneddi, Bethesda, Wales, Bethesda, Caernarfonshire, Wales ...
include correspondence, personal papers, scholarly and academic notes, and papers relating to organisations and societies, such as the
Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion ( cy, Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion), often called simply the Cymmrodorion, is a London-based Welsh learned society, with membership open to all. It was first established in 1751 as a social, cultural ...
, the University of Wales and the Church in Wales.


The Welsh Political Archive

All materials concerning politics in Wales are kept in the Welsh Political Archive that the National Library established in 1983. This archive coordinates the collection of manuscript, printed and audiovisual records relating to the major political parties active in Wales, with the largest party archive being Plaid Cymru, and notable politicians including Lloyd George. The records of organisations including the Welsh National Council of the United Nations Association and the Association of Welsh Local Authorities also to be found in this archive, as are papers generated by the Parliament for Wales Campaign 1953–6, and several nationalist pressure groups. Some of the political archives cannot be accessed due to their embargo status.


Modern Literary Archives

The Modern Literary Archives are home to the work of some of the most important Welsh poets and authors. An insight into the creation of prose and poetry is provided by the letters, manuscript and typescript drafts, notebooks, proofs and other personal papers of 20th and 21st century writers. Archives belonging to Welsh-language authors, Welsh authors writing in English and literary organisations are deposited in the National Library. Papers and manuscripts belonging to Welsh authors who achieved their fame during the 20th century have been collected by the Library. The Archives of Welsh Authors include the work of authors, poets, playwrights, scholars, journalists and
archdruid Archdruid () is the title used by the presiding official of the Gorsedd. The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, the award of the and the Chairing of the ...
s of the Gorsedd. Significant holding from these archives include draft copies of novels: ''Cysgod y Cryman'' he Shadow of the Sickleby
Islwyn Ffowc Elis Islwyn Ffowc Elis (; 17 November 1924 – 22 January 2004) was one of Wales's most popular Welsh-language writers. Born Islwyn Ffoulkes Ellis in Wrexham and raised in Glyn Ceiriog, Elis was educated at the University of Wales colleges of Bangor ...
, ''Y Stafell Ddirgel'' he Secret Roomby
Marion Eames Marion Eames (born Gwladys Marion Griffith Eames, 5 February 1921 – 3 April 2007)Dictionary of Welsh BiographRetrieved 29 September 2018./ref> was a Welsh novelist writing mainly in Welsh. She was also a talented musician. Biography Marion was ...
and ''Cyfres Rwdlan'' by
Angharad Tomos Angharad Tomos (born 19 July 1958) is a Welsh author and prominent language activist. She is a recipient of the Tir na n-Og Award. Biography Tomos was born in Bangor, Gwynedd, in 1958, and raised with her four sisters in Llanwnda near Caerna ...
;
Saunders Lewis Saunders Lewis (born John Saunders Lewis) (15 October 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Welsh politician, poet, dramatist, Medievalist, and literary critic. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist, supporter of Welsh independence and was a co-found ...
's letters, and the correspondence between
Rhydwen Williams Robert Rhydwenfro Williams (29 August 1916 – 2 August 1997) was a Welsh poet, novelist and Baptist minister. His work is mainly written in his native Welsh language, and is noted for adapting the established style and context of Welsh poetry from ...
and Alwyn D. Rees; the diaries of
Caradog Prichard Caradog Prichard (3 November 1904 – 25 February 1980) was a Welsh poet and novelist writing in Welsh. His daughter, Mari Prichard, was married to the late Humphrey Carpenter. Caradog Prichard was born and grew up in the Gwynedd slate-quarrying ...
and
Euros Bowen Euros Bowen (12 September 1904 – 2 April 1988) was a Welsh language poet and priest. Born in Treorchy, and a brother of the poet Geraint Bowen, he was educated at the Presbyterian College, Carmarthen, and later at the University of Wales (initi ...
; and, manuscript copies of poetry, such as ''Y Mynach'' by
Gwenallt David James Jones (18 May 1899 – 24 December 1968), commonly known by his bardic name Gwenallt, was a Welsh poet, critic, and scholar, and one of the most important figures of 20th-century Welsh-language literature. He created his bardic n ...
, ''Y Mynydd'' by
T. H. Parry-Williams Sir Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams (21 September 1887 – 3 March 1975) was a Welsh poet, author and academic. Parry-Williams was born at Tŷ'r Ysgol (''the Schoolhouse'') in Rhyd Ddu, Caernarfonshire, Wales. He was educated at the University ...
and ''Cerddi'r Gaeaf'' by
R. Williams Parry Robert Williams Parry (6 March 1884 – 4 January 1956) was one of Wales's most notable 20th-century poets writing in Welsh. Life R. Williams Parry was born in Tal-y-sarn, in Dyffryn Nantlle, a first cousin to the writers T. H. Parry-Williams ...
. Parry-Williams and Williams Parry were both first cousins of Thomas Parry, the National Librarian. Dylan Thomas is the most prominent name amongst the Anglo-Welsh authors and the Library has a large collection of his papers. Other important items in the Archives of Welsh Writers in English are Raymond Williams' drafts of the novels ''Border Country'' and ''People of the Black Mountains'' and the papers of David Jones, which include draft copies of ''In Parenthesis'' and ''The Anathemata.'' Prominent holdings in the Archives of Literary Organisations, Journals and Publishers are the
National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...
,
BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...
, the
Welsh Arts Council The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts C ...
and the
Welsh Academy Literature Wales is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers, existing to promote Welsh-language and English-language literature in Wales. It offers bursaries for writing projects, runs literary events and lectures ...
. The archive of the National Eisteddfod of Wales contains the central office records, compositions, adjudications and criticisms from 1886 onwards. The Eisteddfod is a unique institution and an important part of the literary tradition of Wales that celebrates poetry, song and the Welsh language. The substantial archive of BBC Wales includes radio drama scripts and talks by well-known authors. A further collection of Welsh authors archives is available in the papers of the Welsh Arts Council.


National Screen and Sound Archive

The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales contains ''
The Life Story of David Lloyd George ''The Life Story of David Lloyd George'' (originally titled ''The Man Who Saved The Empire'')Against the Dying of the Light'', was produced about the work of the Archive.


Penrice and Margam Estate Records

This extensive collection of estate and family records that was preserved at Penrice Castle in the possession of Miss Talbot of Margam contains manuscript material from the twelfth to nineteenth centuries. This includes the
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 ...
archive which is one of the fullest surviving British monastic archives with charters from the period of the initial foundation of the Abbey at Pendar, its relocation to Margam, and the dissolution of the monastery. Along with the manuscripts are numerous seal impressions which are themselves of historic importance. A collection of more than 30,000 seal impressions dating from the twelfth century onwards is preserved in the National Library of Wales, with examples including the seals of Welsh princes, ecclesiastic and papal seals, and in a variety of designs.


Pictures

The charter of the National Library of Wales states that pictures should be collected which portray places in Wales or people of Welsh background. Images in a number of different media are collected including paintings, drawings, prints and digital formats. The collection contains over 4000 framed paintings and drawings including paintings of
Dolbadarn Castle Dolbadarn Castle ( ; cy, Castell Dolbadarn ) is a fortification built by the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great during the early 13th century, at the base of the Llanberis Pass, in northern Wales. The castle was important both militarily and a ...
and Aberdulais Mill by J. M. W. Turner and examples of the work of the landscape artist Richard Wilson, who influenced Turner, and Wilson's pupil, Thomas Jones of Pencerrig. A set of original drawings of Welsh scenes that
Thomas Rowlandson Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 175721 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual social an ...
made during his 1797 tour of Wales with Henry Wigstead, and a set of original drawings of castles, abbeys and cities by
Samuel and Nathaniel Buck Samuel Buck (1696 – 17 August 1779) and his brother Nathaniel Buck (died 1759/1774) were English engraving, engravers and printmaking, printmakers, best known for their ''Buck's Antiquities'', depictions of ancient castles and monasterie ...
were donated by Sir John Williams. The Library also has some two hundred original watercolour drawings of Welsh landscapes by
John Warwick Smith John "Warwick" Smith (26 July 1749 – 22 March 1831) was a British watercolour landscape painter and illustrator. Life and work Smith was born at Irthington, near Carlisle, Cumbria, Carlisle, Cumberland, the son of a gardener to the ...
, and collections of original drawings of Welsh interest by Philip J. de Loutherbourg and S. H. Grimm. The collection of engraved prints illustrate a wide variety of Welsh topography and aspects of Welsh culture, and also show the development of the art of engraving. Every method of engraving is represented in the collection, which also contains examples of the work of famous engravers. There are around 15,000 Welsh portraits in various media and a further 50,000 photographs and negatives in the Library's collection. Portraits include the National Library's main benefactors, Sir John Williams, Sir John Herbert Lewis, Lord Rendel, and Lord Davies of Llandinam; prominent Welsh individuals including David Lloyd George and Hwfa Môn; and, those by artists with a connection to Wales, such as Hugh Hughes, William Roos and Christopher Williams. Self-portraits by modern Welsh artists are also collected and include Keith Andrew, David Jones,
Charles Tunnicliffe Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe, OBE, RA (1 December 1901 – 7 February 1979) was an internationally renowned naturalistic painter of British birds and other wildlife. He spent most of his working life on the Isle of Anglesey. He is popularly ...
and
Kyffin Williams Sir John Kyffin Williams, (9 May 1918 – 1 September 2006) was a Welsh landscape painter who lived at Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, on the Island of Anglesey. Williams is widely regarded as the defining artist of Wales during the 20th century. Pe ...
. There are also many photographic portraits of Welsh individuals in the 1880s and 1890s that were taken by John Thomas. There is a large collection of the iconic work of
Kyffin Williams Sir John Kyffin Williams, (9 May 1918 – 1 September 2006) was a Welsh landscape painter who lived at Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, on the Island of Anglesey. Williams is widely regarded as the defining artist of Wales during the 20th century. Pe ...
in the Library, which includes his paintings of north Wales, sketches and watercolours of the Welsh colony in Patagonia and caricature portraits. Kyffin Williams bequeathed a significant part of his estate, including his own works and archives, to the National Library when he died in 2006.


Photographs

The Library holds a collection of more than 800,000 photographs, including the earliest-known photograph in Wales. The
daguerreotype Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...
of
Margam Castle Margam Castle, Margam, Port Talbot, Wales, is a late Georgian country house built for Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot. Designed by Thomas Hopper, the castle was constructed in a Tudor Revival style over a five-year period, from 1830 to 1835. ...
, made by Reverend Calvert Richard Jones, dates from 1841. Many other examples of photography from the 1840s and 1850s, such as the early Swansea photography of the Dillwyn Llewelyn family, are kept in the National Collection of Welsh Photographs. This collection also contains mounted portraits by high-street photographers, topographic views and portraits by John Thomas and scenic postcard photography by
Francis Frith Francis Frith (also spelled Frances Frith, 7 October 1822 – 25 February 1898) was an English photographer of the Middle East and many towns in the United Kingdom. Frith was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, attending Quaker schools at Ackwort ...
that are connected to Wales. During his career as a photojournalist, Geoff Charles produced a photographic archive that records life in Wales from the 1930s until the 1970s. The Geoff Charles Photographic Collection is the largest individual collection in the Library with 120,000 negatives. This unique contribution to Welsh photography is being preserved and digitised with sponsorship from the Big Lottery Fund.


Maps

There are over a million maps in the Library's collections. There are maps on paper, parchment, cloth, wood, metal and digital media. These formats include a range of material such as globles, manuscript items, a 15th-century woodcut print, copper printing plates, carpet-sized map of Britain and
Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...
digital data. The Ordnance Survey Maps Collection includes near-to-complete coverage for Wales, beginning with photocopies of the Ordnance Surveyor's drawings that formed the basis of the first edition of the one-inch-to-the-mile map which was published in 1818. The collection of antiquarian printed mapping is substantial and includes examples of Humphrey Llwyd's ''
Cambriae typus ''Cambriae Typus'', the "model image of Wales", is the earliest published map of Wales as a separate country from the rest of Great Britain. Made by Elizabethan polymath Humphrey Llwyd in 1573, the map shows Wales stretching to the River Severn, ...
'' (1574), the first printed map specifically of Wales, and the first county maps of Wales. In 2000, Peter Bellwood stole at least fifty antique maps from the Library, which were sold to private collectors for £70,000. Arrested in 2004, he was jailed for four and a half years. A complete set of
tithe map The term tithe map is usually applied to a map of an English or Welsh parish or township, prepared following the Tithe Commutation Act 1836. This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods. The map and its accompanying schedule gave ...
s, covering almost the whole of Wales, is housed in the National Library. The Welsh Church Commission Collection, which, in 1944, was deposited in the Library, includes the diocesan copies of the tithe maps that were transferred to the Commission in 1920 following the disestablishment of the Church of Wales. They are an important source for the study of mid-nineteenth century Wales and, therefore, are the most frequently used collection of maps and one of the most consulted categories of documents in the Library. The Cynefin Project is digitising over 1100 tithe maps and transcribing the appointment documents to link them together. The project is planned for completion in September 2016. Other holdings in the maps collection include: manuscript estate maps, enclosure maps, estate sale catalogues, railway plans, architectural drawings, mining plans, and nautical and aeronautical charts.


Publications

The National Library of Wales has published a series of books about its history and collections, including manuscript catalogues, a bibliography of Welsh publications, Parish Registers of Wales, and academic studies of
Gwen John Gwendolen Mary John (22 June 1876 – 18 September 1939) was a Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely related tones. Although s ...
,
Kyffin Williams Sir John Kyffin Williams, (9 May 1918 – 1 September 2006) was a Welsh landscape painter who lived at Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, on the Island of Anglesey. Williams is widely regarded as the defining artist of Wales during the 20th century. Pe ...
and others. The Library also publishes the ''
National Library of Wales Journal The ''National Library of Wales Journal'' (Cylchgrawn Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru) is an annual academic journal containing scholarly articles on historical topics relating to the Library's collections, covering Welsh medieval and local history, ...
''. Between 1909 and 1984, the Library published ''Bibliotheca Celtica'' in fulfilment of the terms of its charter to keep a register of books printed in Welsh and other Celtic languages or relating to Wales and the Celtic nations. In 1985 ''Bibliotheca Celtica'' was merged with the ''Subject Index to Welsh Periodicals'' to form ''A Bibliography of Wales (Llyfryddiaeth Cymru)''. In 1987, the retrospective bibliography ''Libri Walliae: a catalogue of Welsh books and books printed in Wales 1546–1820'' was published.


Digital content

Many of the most important manuscripts and books at the Library have been digitised and made freely available to view on the library's website in its "Digital Mirror". In April 2012, the Library made a policy decision not to claim ownership of copyright in digital reproductions. This meant that the rights information attached to digital representations of works would reflect the copyright status of the original (i.e., that originals in the public domain would remain in the public domain in their digital form). The Library has applied this policy to projects delivered since then (the Welsh Journals Online and Cymru1914) and is still in the process of updating rights information for its pre-2012 projects. Metadata are released into the public domain using the CC0 licence. The Library has experience of sharing content from its collections under open content licences on platforms such as Wikipedia (e.g., the John Thomas photographic collection) and Flickr. In February 2013, the Library contributed 50 images relating to Monmouthshire to Wikipedia, a successful pilot project with
Wikimedia UK Wikimedia UK (WMUK) is a registered charity established to support volunteers in the United Kingdom who work on Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia. As such, it is a Wikimedia chapter approved by the Wikimedia Foundation, which owns and hosts ...
. The following month, they became one of the cultural heritage organisations that partnered with
Wikimedia Nederland Wikimedia chapters are national or sub-national not-for-profit organizations created to promote the interests of Wikimedia projects locally. Chapters are legally independent of the Wikimedia Foundation, entering into an agreement with the founda ...
, Wikimedia UK and
Wikimedia France Wikimedia chapters are national or sub-national not-for-profit organizations created to promote the interests of Wikimedia projects locally. Chapters are legally independent of the Wikimedia Foundation, entering into an agreement with the founda ...
, together with
Europeana Europeana is a web portal created by the European Union containing digitised cultural heritage collections of more than 3,000 institutions across Europe. It includes records of over 50 million cultural and scientific artefacts, brought togethe ...
, to be part of their collaboration to provide a set of tools to mass upload material from GLAM institutions to Wikimedia Commons. Also in 2013, the Library was awarded the Wikimedia UK 'GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) of the Year Award', for being 'a reliable supporter of the Wikimedia movement aims.' By January 2016 almost 8,000 images had been made available for free download. The 'Cynefin: Mapping Wales' Sense of Place' project has created a unified tithe map of Wales by digitising over a thousand tithe maps. Cynefin is a partnership between Archives Wales, the National Library of Wales and People’s Collection Wales that was launched in November 2014. A valuable online tool for historical research is being produced by crowdsourcing the contributions of volunteers through the Cynefin website to transcribe the apportionment documents and link them to the digitised tithe maps. The Kyffin Williams Bequest Project was set up to catalogue and digitise the material that Kyffin Williams bequeathed to the National Library of Wales on his death in 2006. In addition to the collection of artwork, the bequest also included funds to cover this project. The cataloguing work began in 2008 and the digitisation started in 2009. Aberdyfi regatta NLW3362782.jpg, A group of men and boys standing on the quayside, Aberdyfi. Aberdyfi Regatta. John Thomas c. 1885 Chwarel Sets, Trefor NLW3363410.jpg, Chwarel Sets, at Trefor; John Thomas c. 1875 An old Gateway at Monmouth (3375361).jpg, Thomas Christopher Hofland's 'An old gateway at Monmouth' lithograph; 1825 Beatrice Street Church, Oswestry, Sunday School trip to Rhyl (7837615146).jpg, An image from the Geoff Charles (1909-2002) Collection: a Sunday school trip to Rhyl; Geoff Charles 20 July 1955 Dick Pugh NLW3362662.jpg, Dick Puw; John Thomas c. 1875 Festiniog and Blaenau Railway viaduct.jpg, Viaduct on the Festiniog and Blaenau Railway, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales; John Thomas c. 1875


Welsh Journals Online

The National Library of Wales has digitised the back-numbers of 50 journals relating to Wales, in Welsh and English, in the Welsh Journals Online project funded by
Jisc Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit company that provides network and IT services and digital resources in support of further and higher education institutions and research as well as not-for-profits and the public sector. History T ...
. It forms the largest body of Welsh text on the Web, and as well as allowing free access for all to scholarly articles on history, literature and science, and poems and book reviews. OCR of the page scans was undertaken to create TEI searchable text versions. The website contains a total of 400,000 pages. It is intended to add new issues of the titles as they emerge from the embargo period agreed with the publisher. The fifty titles include:


Welsh Newspapers Online

Welsh Newspapers Online Welsh Newspapers Online is the searchable digital archive of historic Welsh newspaper holdings of the National Library of Wales. It is a work in progress and, , over 1,100,000 newspaper pages from 120 newspapers were available free online, compris ...
is an open access database of Welsh regional newspapers that has been created from the National Library of Wales' collection of historical newspapers. The database includes nearly 120 newspapers titles and provides access to over 1,100,000 pages from the years before 1919. Content relating to the First World War that has been digitised is also included in the database. The following publications are included:


See also

*
Books in the United Kingdom History In 1477 William Caxton in Westminster printed '' The Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres,'' considered "the first dated book printed in England." The history of the book in the United Kingdom has been studied from a variety of cult ...


References


Further reading

* Davies, J. H. (1921) ''The National Library of Wales: Catalogue of Manuscripts Vol. 1. Additional Manuscripts in the Collections of Sir John Williams.'' Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales. * Fishlock, Trevor (2007) ''In this place: The National Library of Wales.'' Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales. * ''Handlist of manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume I'' (1943). Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales. * ''Handlist of manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume II'' (1951). Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales. * Jenkins, David (2002) ''A Refuge in Peace and War: The National Library of Wales to 1952.'' Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales. * Scholderer, V. (1940) ''Hand-list of incunabula in the National Library of Wales,'' National Library of Wales Journal Supplement, Series 1 (1); and,(1941) ''Hand-list ... Addenda & Corrigenda,'' National Library of Wales Journal Supplement, 1 (2). *
Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru ''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (GPC)'' (''The University of Wales Dictionary'') is the only standard historical dictionary of the Welsh language, aspiring to be "comparable in method and scope to the ''Oxford English Dictionary''". Vocabulary is defi ...
(the University of Wales ''Dictionary of the Welsh Language'')


External links

*
National Library of Wales: Collections
Key to LLGC collections, including digitised
The National Screen and Sound Archive of WalesWelsh Newspapers OnlineWelsh Journals OnlineWelsh Tithe Maps - Places of Wales
UK & Ireland Genealogy (Genuki) {{DEFAULTSORT:National Library Of Wales Welsh Government sponsored bodies Archives in Wales Libraries in Wales
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
Organisations based in Wales with royal patronage Buildings and structures in Aberystwyth British digital libraries Charles Holden buildings 1907 establishments in Wales Libraries established in 1907 Library buildings completed in 1916 Deposit libraries Organisations based in Aberystwyth Grade II* listed buildings in Ceredigion