William Maurice (1620–1680) was a well-known seventeenth-century collector and transcriber of Welsh manuscripts and books from
Denbighshire, Wales.
Early life
Maurice was born around 1620 in the small community of Cefn-y-Braich in the parish of
Llansilin
Llansilin () is a village and local government community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, west of Oswestry. The community, which includes Llansilin village, a large rural area and the hamlets of Moelfre and Rhiwlas as well as the remote parish ...
in the historic county of Denbighshire in Wales. He owned land and lived most of his life in the area.
Mid life
Maurice collected Welsh literature. He had so many books and manuscripts that he built a three-storey
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
near his home in Cefn-y-Braich called "the Study" in which to store them. He spent much of his time there. His collection of books was a ''fac simile'' of Friar Baeon's Study, because his library was similar to
Roger Bacon's books and manuscripts. Maurice was associated with the antiquary
Robert Vaughan in the collecting and maintaining of these ancient Welsh manuscripts and books that ultimately became a collection of the Hengwrt-Peniarth library, an important part of the
National Library of Wales. Maurice cataloged the Hengwrt manuscript collection in 1658. Many manuscripts are in Maurice's own hand.
Genealogy
Maurice's father was Lewis Maurice, from the family line of Moeliwrch of
Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
, Wales. He is descended maternally from the sister of
Owain Glyndŵr. Maurice married Laetitia, a descendant of Glyndwr's opponent
Henry Bolinbroke
Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of Fran ...
. Maurice had a daughter named Laetitia (also known as Anne), who inherited his estate and married David Williams of Glan Kynlleth. Maurice's third great-grandchild was
John Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley of Alderley
John Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley of Alderley (26 November 1766 – 23 October 1850), known as Sir John Stanley, 7th Baronet, from 1807 to 1839, was a British peer and politician.
Life
Stanley was the son of Sir John Thomas Stanley FRSE (17 ...
. His ninth great-grandchild is
James Robert Bruce Ogilvy, founder of ''
Luxury Briefing'' (a magazine about luxury items).
The PEDIGREE of William (of Cefn-y-braich) MAURICE
/ref>
Death
Maurice died around 1680.
Works
Maurice wrote an historical account of the North Wales civil war, which was later reprinted in the journal Archaeologia Cambrensis
''Archaeologia Cambrensis'' is a Welsh archaeological and historical scholarly journal published annually by the Cambrian Archaeological Association. It contains historical essays, excavation reports, and book reviews, as well as society not ...
. He edited and republished Humphrey Llwyd
Humphrey Llwyd (also spelled Lhuyd) (1527–1568) was a Welsh cartographer, author, antiquary and Member of Parliament. He was a leading member of the Renaissance period in Wales along with other such men as Thomas Salisbury and William ...
's historical manuscript ''Cronica Walliae
'' Cronica Walliae '' (full title: ''Cronica Walliae a Rege Cadwalader ad annum 1294'') is a manuscript of chronological history by Humphrey Llwyd written in 1559. Llwyd translated versions of a medieval text about Wales' history, '' Brut y Tyw ...
'' that was previously published by David Powel's 1584 ''History of Cambria''.
See also
*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 a ...
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maurice, William
1620 births
1680 deaths
People from Denbighshire
Welsh antiquarians
Peniarth collection
Book and manuscript collectors