Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch

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Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch [ ɬivr gwin 'ŗeðerx ] ( English : White Book of Rhydderch ; German : White Book of Rhydderch ) is one of the most famous compilations in the Middle Cymrian language. Written in the first half of the 14th century, it is one of the earliest collections of Welsh prose, but it also contains some examples of early Welsh poetry. The manuscript is now in the collections of the Welsh National Library in Aberystwyth .

History and content

The earlier one-volume manuscript is now bound in two volumes called Peniarth MS 4 and Peniarth MS 5. Peniarth MS 4 contains the Welsh tales known as Peder Keinc y Mabinogi ("The Four Branches of Mabinogi") (with the exception of Breuddwyd Rhonabwy , "Rhonabwy's Dream"), Peniarth MS 5 (the first part of the original manuscript) contains religious texts in Welsh, mostly translated from Latin . Templates were the world chronicle Imago Mundi by Honorius von Autun , as well as apocryphal (like the pseudo-Matthew Gospel ) and hagiographic writings.

The White Book was copied in the middle of the 14th century, probably for Rhydderch from Ieuan Llwyd (* around 1325, † around 1400) from Parcrhydderch from the Llangeitho parish in Ceredigion . Rhydderch, who came from a family with a long history of literary patronage , held offices under the English crown and was an authority on Welsh law. The manuscript bears the handwriting of five scribes, presumably from Strata Florida Abbey , which is not far from Rhydderch's home.

See also

literature

  • Helmut Birkhan : Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. 2nd, corrected and enlarged edition. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-2609-3 .
  • Bernhard Maier : Lexicon of Celtic Religion and Culture (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 466). Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-46601-5 .
  • Thomas Parry: A History of Welsh Literature. Translated by H. Idris Bell. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1955.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bernhard Maier: Lexicon of the Celtic religion and culture . P. 211.
  2. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 473.