The Coelbren y Beirdd (English: "Bards' lot") is a script created in the late eighteenth century by the Welsh

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

and literary forger Edward Williams, best known as Iolo Morganwg. The script, an

alphabet An alphabet is a standard set of letter (alphabet), letters written to represent particular sounds in a spoken language. Specifically, letters largely correspond to phonemes as the smallest sound segments that can distinguish one word from a ...

compared to that of

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

by Welsh writer Jane Williams, consisted of forty letters – twenty base letters, and a further twenty devoted to long vowels and consonant mutations. It could be carved on four-sided pieces of wood and fitted into a frame called a "peithynen". Morganwg presented wooden druidic alphabets to friends and notables, and succeeded in persuading many of its authenticity. A Welsh

Bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

ic and

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

ic essay, written by his son Taliesin Williams and published as a

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...

in 1840, defended the authenticity of the alphabet and won the Abergavenny Eisteddfod in 1838.Williams, Taliesin., (ab Iolo), Coelbren Y Beirdd; a Welsh Essay on the Bardic Alphabet, W. Rees, Llandovery, 1840. Taliesin Williams's book was written about other Coelbrennau'r Beirdd, which is the name of a Welsh language manuscript in the Iolo Manuscripts and two manuscripts in Barddas, one with the subtitle "yn dorredig a chyllell". Iolo Morganwg suggested they were originally the work of

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

s from

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

who had their manuscripts copied into collections stored at Plas y Fan,

Neath Abbey Neath Abbey () was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath in South Wales, United Kingdom, UK. It was once the largest abbey in Wales. Substantial ruins can still be seen, and are in the care of Cadw. Tudor period, Tudo ...

, Margam Abbey and Raglan Library, and compiled by

Meurig Dafydd Meurig Dafydd (–1595) was a Welsh bard, genealogist and historian, at one time one of the leading literary figures in Glamorgan. However, his poetry was formal and uninspired. Life Meurig Dafydd was born at Llanishen near Cardiff around 1510. ...

and Lewys Morgannwg, amongst others, in the 1700s. These were suggested to have again been transcribed by Edward Dafydd,

John Bradford John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English English Reformation, Reformer, prebendary of Old St Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul's, and martyr. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for alleged crimes against Queen Mary I. He was burned at the stak ...

and

Llywelyn Siôn Llywelyn Siôn (1540 – c. 1616) was a Welsh language poet and bard. His instructors included Meurig Dafydd and Thomas Llewelyn. Around 1575, he is mentioned under the name Lewelyn John by Sir Edward Mansel in his ''History of the Norman Conque ...

. Morganwg suggested that he had collected some of Siôn and Bradford's manuscripts, while the majority, including all of Lewys Morgannwg's sources, were lost. Numerous scholars, such as Glyn Cothi Lewis, concluded that the script was a hoax. Table of letters in ''Celtic Researches'' (1804) by Edward Davies (1756–1831):

References

External links

Coelbren y Beirdd at the University of Wales

The People's Collection Wales, Coelbren y Beirdd – The Bardic Alphabet
{{Authority control Alphabets Constructed scripts Constructed languages Iolo Morganwg Writing systems introduced in the 18th century Pseudo-runes Runiform scripts Modern runic writing de:Coelbren

See also

References

External links