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
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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''.

References

Notes

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Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maurice, William 1620 births 1680 deaths People from Denbighshire Welsh antiquarians Peniarth collection Book and manuscript collectors