''Barddas'' is a book of material compiled and written by the Welsh writer

Iolo Morganwg Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh people, Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celt ...

. Dressed as an authentic compilation of ancient Welsh bardic and

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Wh ...

ic theology and lore, its contents are largely Iolo's invention. It was posthumously published by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

for the Welsh Manuscripts Society in two volumes, in 1862 and 1874.

Publication

After

's death in 1826, his son Taliesin Williams set about collecting and publishing his unpublished manuscripts. This resulted in three volumes, including ''The Iolo Papers'' in 1848, published a year after Taliesin Williams' unexpected death. Subsequently, Iolo's papers were purchased by Benjamin and

Augusta Hall Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover (21 March 1802 – 17 January 1896), born Augusta Waddington, was a Welsh heiress, best known as a patron of the Welsh arts. Early life She was born on 21 March 1802, near Abergavenny, the youngest daughter of B ...

, who made them accessible to other scholars.

, alias "Ab Ithel", was among the first to take up the offer; he edited the two volumes now known as ''Barddas'' for the Welsh Manuscripts Society, which appeared in 1862 and 1874.

Williams claimed the ''Barddas'' material was based on authentic ancient manuscripts originally compiled by the 16th-century antiquarian Llywelyn Siôn. In fact it was almost all either Iolo's own work, or heavily edited by him. Volume I divides into three sections. The first, "Symbols", chiefly discusses " coelbren", a supposed Bardic

alphabet An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a s ...

devised by Iolo. The second, "Theology", is the most significant. It discusses Iolo's elaborate philosophy and cosmology, which he claimed was the actual belief system of the ancient bards, though it is really a variegation of Iolo's own unconventional Christian beliefs and interpretation of Welsh tradition.Matthews, p. xvi. This section includes a " catechism" in the form of a question-and-answer session on the cycle of re-incarnation. It discusses the "circles of being" from

Annwn Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn (in Middle Welsh, ''Annwvn'', ''Annwyn'', ''Annwyfn'', ''Annwvyn'', or ''Annwfyn'') is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn (or, in Arthurian literature, by Gwyn ap Nudd), it was essentially a world ...

(lowest state,

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

or Fairyland) through circles of Abred (probation state), Gwynfyd (perfect

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

) and Ceugant (infinity). It also has a number of "Triads" apparently derived from authentic

Welsh Triads The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ...

; according to the scholar

Rachel Bromwich Rachel Bromwich (30 July 1915 – 15 December 2010) born Rachel Sheldon Amos, was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and she taught Celtic Languages and Literature in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at ...

, this suggests Iolo had access to versions of the triads long before they were widely known or collected. The third section, "Wisdom", contains esoteric lore that may date from the 16th–17th centuries, though not from ancient druidic tradition as Iolo claims. Volume II was left unfinished at Williams' death; it is largely a guidebook for bards and

gorsedd A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton. When the term is used without qualification, it usually ...

Notes

References

* * * *{{Cite book , last1= Iolo Morganwg , last2= Matthews , first2= John (Foreword) , author-link= Iolo Morganwg , title=The Barddas of Iolo Morganwg , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EJrNcb-5dnEC&q=Barddas+Iolo+forgery , access-date= March 15, 2013 , year=2004 , publisher=Weiser Book , isbn=1609253787

External links

''Barddas'' Volume 1 on Sacred Texts
1862 books 1874 books Public domain books Catechisms Druidry Reincarnation Philosophy of mind Afterlife

Publication

Contents

Notes

References

External links