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Black Book of Carmarthen

 

 
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Black Book of Carmarthen
 
 
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The Black Book of Carmarthen (Welsh: Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin) is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript
Manuscript

A manuscript is any document that is written by hand, as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way. The term may also be used for information that is hand-recorded in other ways than writing, for example inscriptions that are chiselled upon a hard material or scratched as with a knife point in plaster or with a stylus on a wa...
 written entirely or substantially in Welsh
Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
. Written in around 1250, the book's name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen
Carmarthen

Carmarthen is the county town of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy and lays claim to being the oldest town in Wales. In 2001, the combined population of the town's three wards was 13,760....
, and is referred to as black due to the colour of its binding. It is currently part of the collection of the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales

The National Library of Wales is the national legal deposit library of Wales, located in Aberystwyth. It is one of the Assembly Government Sponsored Bodies....
, where it is also known as NLW Peniarth MS 1. The book contains a collection of poetry falling into various categories.






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The Black Book of Carmarthen (Welsh: Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin) is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript
Manuscript

A manuscript is any document that is written by hand, as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way. The term may also be used for information that is hand-recorded in other ways than writing, for example inscriptions that are chiselled upon a hard material or scratched as with a knife point in plaster or with a stylus on a wa...
 written entirely or substantially in Welsh
Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
. Written in around 1250, the book's name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen
Carmarthen

Carmarthen is the county town of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy and lays claim to being the oldest town in Wales. In 2001, the combined population of the town's three wards was 13,760....
, and is referred to as black due to the colour of its binding. It is currently part of the collection of the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales

The National Library of Wales is the national legal deposit library of Wales, located in Aberystwyth. It is one of the Assembly Government Sponsored Bodies....
, where it is also known as NLW Peniarth MS 1. The book contains a collection of poetry falling into various categories. There are poems with religious subjects and odes of praise and mourning. Of greater interest to scholars are the poems which draw on traditions relating to the Welsh
Welsh people

The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language. John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman withdrawal from Britain, although Celtic languages seem to have been spoken in Wales far longer....
 heroes associated with the Hen Ogledd
Hen Ogledd

Yr Hen Ogledd is a Welsh language term meaning 'The Old North' and referring to the Sub-Roman Britain Brythonic kingdoms located in what is now northern England and southern Scotland....
, and especially those connected with the legend of Arthur
King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary Britons leader who, according to medieval histories and Romance , led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century....
 and Myrddin, also known as Merlin. One of the poems refers to the Battle of Llongborth, the location of which can no longer be pinpointed, and mentions Arthur's involvement in the battle.

There has been a recent call from the editor of the Carmarthen Journal
Carmarthen Journal

The Carmarthen Journal is a newspaper founded in 1810 in Wales and now based in Carmarthen, the county town of Carmarthenshire, Wales. Published by Northcliffe Media, the regional newspaper arm of one of Europe's largest media companies, Daily Mail and General Trust, the building housing the Carmarthen Journal asserts that the Carmarthen Jour...
 newspaper to house the Black Book in its native Carmarthen, so that it might be seen by local Carmarthiens and tourists coming into the town.

Sources and references



  • Jarman, A. O. H. (Ed.) (1982), Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin. Caerdydd : Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru. ISBN 0-7083-0629-2. A diplomatic edition of the original text.


External links

  • at the National Library of Wales. Gives access to colour images of Peniarth MS 1.
  • at the Celtic Literature Collective. Uses Skene's
    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....
     incomplete and inaccurate translation from 1848.