''Brut y Tywysogion'' ( en, Chronicle of the Princes) is one of the most important

primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...

s for

Welsh history The history of what is now Wales () begins with evidence of a Neanderthal presence from at least 230,000 years ago, while '' Homo sapiens'' arrived by about 31,000 BC. However, continuous habitation by modern humans dates from the period af ...

. It is an annalistic

chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and ...

that serves as a continuation of

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...

’s ''

Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ...

''. ''Brut y Tywysogion'' has survived as several

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

translations of an original

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

version, which has not itself survived. The most important versions are the one in Robert Vaughan's

Peniarth Peniarth is a village and community in Meifod, Powys, Wales. It is 87.1 miles (140.2 km) from Cardiff and 156.9 miles (252.5 km) from London. It is represented in the Senedd by Russell George (Conservative). It is part of the Mont ...

MS. 20 and the slightly less complete one in 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 pres ...

. The version entitled '' Brenhinoedd y Saeson'' (''Kings of the English'') combines material from the Welsh annals with material from an English source. The Peniarth MS. 20 version begins in 682 with a record of the death of

Cadwaladr Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (also spelled Cadwalader or Cadwallader in English) was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around 655 to 682 AD. Two devastating plagues happened during his reign, one in 664 and the other in 682; he himself was a victim of t ...

and ends in 1332. The entries for the earlier years are brief, usually records of deaths and events such as eclipses, plagues or earthquakes, but later entries are much more detailed. The main focus is on the rulers of the kingdoms of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, an ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

and

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House o ...

, but ecclesiastical events are also mentioned, such as the bringing of the date of celebrating

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

in the Welsh church into line with Rome by "Elbodius" ( Elfodd),

Bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Cathedral Church of Saint Deiniol. The ''Report of the Commissioners appointed ...

, in 768. Events in England, Ireland, Scotland and sometimes France are also briefly chronicled. The original

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...

annals are thought to have been written at

Strata Florida Abbey 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 o ...

, but may have been kept at the old abbey at Llanbadarn Fawr in the 11th century. Annals from other abbeys were also used in the composition. At least one of the Welsh translations is also thought to have been written at Strata Florida.

References

{{Reflist *

John Edward Lloyd Sir John Edward Lloyd (5 May 1861 – 20 June 1947) was a Welsh historian, He was the author of the first serious history of the country's formative years, ''A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest'' (1911). Ano ...

, ''The Welsh Chronicles'' (London: H. Milford, 1929) * Ian R. Jack, ''Medieval Wales'' (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972) * Thomas Jones, ed. ''Brut y Tywysogyon: Red Book of Hergest Version'' (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1973) * Thomas Jones, ed. ''Brut y Tywysogyon: Peniarth MS. 20 Version'' (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1952)

External links

Chronicle of the Princes

''Brut y Tywysogion'', Llyfr Coch Hergest/Red Book of Hergest Version

''Brut y Tywysogion'', Peniarth MS 20 Version

''Brut y Tywysogion''
14th-century history books Geoffrey of Monmouth 14th-century Latin books Medieval Welsh literature Welsh chronicles