The Hendregadredd Manuscript ( cy, Llawysgrif Hendregadredd), is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Welsh

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

containing an anthology of the poetry of the "Poets of the Princes" (

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

); it was written between 1282 and 1350. Hendregadredd Manuscript-small

The manuscript was long part of the library at Hengwrt, assembled by the antiquary Robert Vaughan (d.1667). A catalogue of the library made in the early 1800s failed to find the manuscript, it having likely been taken in 1778 by the Anglican priest and scholar Richard Thomas (1753–80), who is notorious for removing important medieval manuscripts from libraries and not returning them.Guy, R. "A Lost Medieval Manuscript from North Wales: Hengwrt 33", ''Studia Celtica'' L (2016), 75. Thomas probably also removed Hengwrt 33, the ''Hanesyn Hen'', from the library at the same time; it has not been seen since. The manuscript then disappeared for over a century. It was unexpectedly rediscovered in 1910 in a cupboard in a disused bedroom of the mansion of Hendregadredd near

Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ff ...

: a note found inside, written by the Archdeacon of

Merioneth , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

, Richard Newcombe (1779-1857), stated "I have long been in possession of this Welsh MS. but forget where or how I obtained it".Breeze, Andrew R.: ''Medieval Welsh Literature'', Four Courts Press, 1997, p.30 – It is now part of the collection of the National Library of Wales with catalogue number NLW MS 6680B. The manuscript is the earliest witness of the works of the Gogynfeirdd, the Welsh court poets who were active from the early 12th century until the 14th century. It is especially valuable as the only other major source of their work is 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 ...

. The Hendregadredd Manuscript was probably written at the Cistercian abbey of

Strata Florida Strata Florida Abbey ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Fflur) () is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. is a Latinisation of the Welsh ; 'Valley of ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...

. Work began on this collection of poetry sometime after 1282 - first by one main scribe, perhaps the original architect of the volume - but nearly forty different hands were involved in two further strata of scribal activity, working well into the mid-14th century. About 1330 a number of poems by contemporary poets were added, including a poem possibly in the hand of

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

himself, the most famous poet of the day.The Hendregadredd Manuscript
National Library of Wales He had close associations with Strata Florida and tradition has it that he was buried there. Parts of the Hendregadredd Manuscript were copied in 1617 by the scholar

John Davies (Mallwyd) John Davies, Mallwyd ( – 1644) was one of Wales's leading scholars of the late Renaissance. He wrote a Welsh grammar and dictionary. He was also a translator and editor and an ordained minister of the Church of England. Born in Llanferre ...

. Early copies of sections of the manuscript show that some portions of the original have since been lost.

References

External links

The Hendregadredd Manuscript
at th
National Library of Wales
''Includes full colour images of the complete manuscript.'' 14th-century books Welsh manuscripts Medieval Welsh literature Welsh poetry Welsh-language literature National Library of Wales collections {{Wales-stub