The Black Book of Carmarthen, Book of Taliesin, Book of Aneirin and Red Book of Hergest manuscripts were displayed together during the 4 Books: Welsh Icons United exhibition at the National Library of Wales between 12 October 2013 and 15 March 2014.[1]
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. They contain primarily texts of poetry and prose, some of which are contemporary and others which may have originated from traditions dating back to as early as the sixth and seventh centuries. These also contain some of the earliest native Welsh references to King Arthur.
The four books included by Skene in his list are:
The Black Book of Carmarthen
The Book of Taliesin
The Book of Aneirin
The Red Book of Hergest
The principal texts of the Four Ancient Books of Wales were edited and translated in a two volume compilation by William Forbes Skene in 1868. By the standards of modern scholarship the edition is seriously flawed with numerous transcription errors and consequently inaccurate translating. Skene was assisted by Daniel Silvan Evans who was probably responsible for most of the translations.[2]
Images from the manuscripts
Facsimile of a page from the Black Book of Carmarthen
Facsimile of a page from the Book of Aneirin
Facsimile of a page from the Book of Taliesin (Folio 13)
Facsimile of Part of Column 579 from the Red Book of Hergest
^"4 Books: Welsh Icons United". www.llgc.org.uk. Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru - The National Library of Wales. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
^Meic Stephens (ed.), Companion to Welsh Literature. Article: 'The Four Ancient Books of Wales'.
and 24 Related for: Four Ancient Books of Wales information
The FourAncientBooksofWales is a term coined by William Forbes Skene to describe four important medieval manuscripts written in Middle Welsh and dating...
Caerfyrddin was described by William Forbes Skene (1809–92) as one of the FourAncientBooksofWales. Written before 1250, the manuscript is a small (170 mm ×...
William Forbes (1868), "BBC XXXI What man is the porter?", The FourAncientBooksofWales, vol. 1, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, pp. 261–264; II pp...
in The FourAncientBooksofWales (1868), noting that the Avon rises in the place still known as Slamannan Moor (i.e. Sliabhmannan, the Moor of Manann)...
Book of Hergest XIII", The FourAncientBooksofWales, vol. I, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, pp. 584–585; in English Rees 1840:354, The Book of Llandaff...
(1951), The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford University Press. Skene, WF (1868), The FourAncientBooksofWales. Edmonston & Douglas. Children's...
FourAncientBooksofWales, vol. I, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (published 1868) pp. 436–442. Skene, William Forbes (1868b), The FourAncient Books...
(1868), The FourAncientBooksofWales (Google), vol. 2, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas Triads re Arthur p. 457-,Canu y Meirch (Book of Taliesin XXV)...
Mwynfawr in one of the Trioedd y Meirch (English: Triads of the Horses) of the Welsh Triads. Skene 1868:175, The FourAncientBooksofWales Owen 1841:105...
Skene, William F (August 1868). "The FourAncientBooksofWales, Containing the Cymric Poems attributed to the Bards of the Sixth Century". The Dublin University...
History and Chronicles of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1831), pp. 103-104. Skene, William Forbes (1868). The fourancientbooksofWales : containing the Cymric...
I did I should never have done. --"The First Song of Yscolan", from The FourAncientBooksofWales, by W. F. Skene, 1868 "Gwerz Skolan" is a gwerz with...
"Armes Prydein Vawr : The Prophecy of Prydein the Great : Book of Taliesin VI : From The FourAncientBooksofWales". Webcitation.org. Archived from the...
Wales (Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəm.rɨ] ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the...
Hen Ffuglith Gymreig. In 1868 his translation of William Forbes Skene's The FourAncientBooksofWales appeared. He edited "Gwilym Lleyn" in the Cambrian...
Global Information
Facsimile of a page from the Black Book of Carmarthen
Facsimile of a page from the Book of Aneirin
Facsimile of a page from the Book of Taliesin (Folio 13)
Facsimile of Part of Column 579 from the Red Book of Hergest
