Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch (The White Book of Rhydderch)

Synonyms: Peniarth MS 5/Peniarth MS 5
Cym: The White Book of Rhydderch

The Llyfr Gwyn is the earliest extant version of the collection of Cymric tales generally known as the Mabinogion. It is currently housed in the Llyfrgell Cenedlaethol Cymru (National Library of Wales) and is available in image-form from their Digital Mirror project. It is the earliest compendium of Cymric texts (though it also contains some examples of early poetry, most notably copies of the Triads now gathered together in the Trioedd Ynys Prydein). Originally it was transcribed into a single volume, though it is now divided into two volumes: Peniarth MS 4 (containing the Mabinogion) and Peniarth MS 5 (religious prose and adaptations of tales from other languages [mostly Norman French and Latin into Cymric]). Fragments of poetry from this volume having been bound into Peniarth MS 12 (pp 117–132). A section (folios cclix—cclxvj) was lost circa 1573 though they appear to have been copied by Richard Longford, (however this copy has also been lost) and a copy of his copy exists in Peniarth MS 111 pp 117–169).

The order of the tales in Peniarth 4 being as follows [remember to downlaod and install my Mabinogi Celtic font before viewing the original Cymraeg Canol {middle Cymric} text otherwise the special characters won't appear]:


Cymraeg Canol	Cymraeg Cyfoes	English
Y Mabinogion	Y Mabinogion	The Mabinogion
Pedeir Keinc y Mabinogi	Pedeir Ceinc y Mabinogi	The Four Branches of the Mabinogi

Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet	Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed	Pwyll Chieftain of Dyfed
Branwen uerch Llyr	Branwen ferch Llŷr	Branwen Daughter of Llŷr
Manawyddan fab Llyr	Manawyddan fab Llŷr	Manawyddan son of Llŷr
Math vab Mathonuy	Math fab Mathonwy	Math son of Mathonwy
Kulhwch ac Olwen	Culhwch ac Olwen	Kulhwch and Olwen

Y Rhamantei	Y Rhamantau	The Romances

Historia Perredur vab Evrawc	Hanes Peredur fab Efrawg	The History of Peredur son of Efrawg
Breudwyt Maxen Wledic	Breuddwyd yr Ymherawdwr Macsen	The Dream of Emperor Maximus
Kyvranc Llud a Llevelis	Antur Lludd a Llefelys	The Adventure of Llydd and Llefelys
[Breudwyt Ronabwy]	[Breuddwyd Rhonabwy]	[The Dream of Rhonabwy]
Chwedyl Iarlles y Ffynnawn	Chwedl Iarlles y Ffynnon	The Tale of the Lady of the Lake
Chwedyl Gereint vab Erbin	Chwedl Gereint vab Erbin	The Tale of Gereint son of Erbin

Though the tale of 'The Dream of Rhonabwy' is missing from the extant copy of the White Book it has been proposed (most notably by J Gwenogvryn Evans in his diplomatic edition of Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch) that it was originally located between 'Lludd a Llefelys' and 'Owain' and so it should be restored to its rightful place amongst the Mabinogion; however this assertion is based on the fact that the Llyfr Coch version of this tale fits into the space in the Llyfr Gwyn and starts with Lludd a Llefelys and ends with Iarlles y Ffynon. As the Llyfr Coch seems to have been copied from the Llyfr Gwyn or a common ancestral volume this was a reasonable assertion. However, Breuddwyd Rhonabwy as a tale is quite different from the remainder of the Mabinogi. It is the only tale with a setting contempory with its writing (c 1250) by which time the early part of the Llyfr Gwyn had already been copied. As such it has been classed with the other Romances as tales which might well have been Brythonic in origin, but which have come to us as Norman-influenced stories. However, the dream sequence in Rhonabwy is very different from the other romances in that it presents an older, non-chivalric world and Rhonabwy may be a fusion of an old, native, Arthurian tale which is wrapped in a later Norman-influenced comic tale. Because of this older stratum to the tale it is included in my listing and translations of the Mabinogion.

Judging from the language and orthography the White Book was copied over a period extending from the late 1290s to the 1370s. It is not known for certain who the copyists were nor in which scriptorium they worked. However, the judging by the language used by one of the five hands in the manuscripts it seems likely that he originated from Dyfed and that he may possibly have been working in the monastery of Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) [or at least a Cistercian monastery]. The manuscript itself was produced in stages with the first component (the Mabinogion, Ystorya Bown De Hampwn and the Trioedd Ynys Prydein being completed by 1350. A further segment including Delw y Byd, Ystorya de Carolo Magno, Purdan Padrig and many other religious tracts were added between 1350 and 1375. Somewhere around the 1380s the copy came into the possession of Rhydderch ab Ieuan Llwyd ab Ieuan ap Gruffudd Foel (c 1325–1400). Rhydderch came from a family with long traditions of literary patronage and, holding posts under the English crown was considered the 'most important' in Ceredigion at the time. He was also an authority of native Cymric law and a collector of manuscripts. Rhydderch's home was only some sixteen kilometres from the monastery of Ystrad Fflur and during the corresponding time (c 1362–1381) the abbot of the monastery there was a cultured man, Llywelyn Fychan ap Llywelyn Caplan; a patron of a number of the gogynfeirdd. It has been proposed that he gifted Rhydderch with the Llyfr Gwyn; Llywelyn Fychan is immortalized in Llywelyn Goch's awdl to him found in the Llyfr Coch Hergest.

It is assumed that the volume's name refers to its original binding and to its first attested owner. However, the volume was split and re-bound by Robert Vaughan c 1658 and partially re-unified and re-bound by William Watkin Edward Wynne c 1859 (and it is his re-binding that we have today). However, during one of these re-bindings the leaves were cropped, rendering the manuscript smaller and far less imposing than it would originally have been.

After Rhydderch's death the manuscript fell into the hands of his daughter, Tangwystyl and her husband Einion o Gorsygedol. Here the MSS was fortunate in that it moved north to Ardudwy and into the hands of a noble family who were also patrons of the arts. Though nothing is known of the manuscript between 1490–1550 it seems to have been safe in the possession of Einion's descendants. This is an important period as it marks a time when interest in the old texts waned and it is during this period that the original sources from which the Llyfr Gwyn was copied were lost.

The tale of the manuscript can be picked-up again during the period of the enlightenment (c 1550–1658) when certain landowners became scholars with interests in language, grammar and history. It seems that there was a cluster of such men in Powys and they recognized the importance of and made transcripts from the volume (which by this time [1550] was in Rhiwedog, near Bala) as witness the transcripts they made from it: Richard Langford of Trefalun in 1573, Roger Morris (c. 1580-1607) from Coedytalwrn, Sir Thomas Wiliems, in about 1594, and Jasper Gryffyth (d. 1614). By about 1634 the manuscript was in the hands of the famous antiquary and copyist, John Jones of Gellilyfdy (Ysgyfeiliog, Fflint). Some time after 1634 the pioneering lexicographer Dr John Davies of Mallwyd made a list of its contents, which reveals that some of its leaves had already been lost. When John Jones died (c 1658) he bequeathed the volume to his friend and benefactor, Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt.

Robert Vaughan incorporated the volume into his famous library at Hengwrt, Meirionydd and there it remained for two centuries. In 1859 the library was transferred to the possession of WWE Wynne of Peniarth. The Peniarth library was purchased in 1905 on behalf of the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth and formed the founding collection of the library. In 1940 it was decided to re-bind the volume in goatskin and it was split into two parts once more (Peniarth 4 and Peniarth 5) at the same time the leaves lost to Peniarth 12 were re-incorporated and additional paper leaves from J Gwenogvryn Evans' published version of the MSS were incorporated to fill-in the gaps in the tales of Lludd a Llefelys, Iarlles y Ffynnawn and Culhwch ac Olwen; this being the state of the manuscript to this day.

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