Iolo Morganwg
Encyclopedia
Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name
Iolo Morganwg (ˈjolo morˈɡanuɡ), (10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826) was an influential Welsh
antiquarian
, poet, collector, and literary forger
. He was widely considered a leading collector and expert on medieval Welsh literature in his day, but after his death it was revealed that he had forged a large number of his manuscripts. Regardless, he had a lasting impact on Welsh culture, seen most notably in his foundation of the Gorsedd
, and the philosophy he developed in his forgeries had a huge impact on the early neo-druid
movement. His bardic name is Welsh
for "Iolo of Glamorgan
" (the county's name is spelt "Morgannwg" in modern Welsh). Iolo is the diminutive of "Iorwerth
", a Welsh name often seen as equivalent to "Edward
", although neither name is a translation of the other.
in Glamorgan
, Wales
, and was raised in the village of Flemingston (or Flimston; Trefflemin in Welsh). He followed his father into a career as a stonemason. In Glamorgan he took an interest in manuscript collection, and learned to compose Welsh poetry from poets such as Lewis Hopkin, Rhys Morgan, and especially Siôn Bradford
. In 1773 he moved to London
where the antiquary Owen Jones
introduced him to the city's Welsh literary community. In 1777 he returned to Wales, where he married and tried his hand at farming, but evidently met with no success. It was during this time that he produced his first forgeries.
Williams's son, Taliesin, whom he had named after the early medieval bard Taliesin
, later went on to collect his manuscripts.
ic tradition had survived the Roman conquest
, the conversion of the populace to Christianity
, the persecution of the bards under King Edward I
, and other adversities. In his forgeries he develops an elaborate mystical philosophy which he claimed represented a direct continuation of ancient druidic practice. Williams's reported heavy use of laudanum
may have been a contributing factor.
Williams first came to public notice in 1789 when he produced Barddoniaeth Dafydd ab Gwilym, a collection of the poetry of the 14th-century Dafydd ap Gwilym
. Included in this edition was a large number of previously unknown poems by Dafydd that he claimed to have discovered; these poems are regarded as Williams's first forgeries. His success led him to return to London
in 1791. There he founded the Gorsedd
, a community of Welsh bard
s, at a ceremony on 21 June 1792 at Primrose Hill
. He organised the proceedings, which he claimed were based on ancient druidic rites. In 1794 he published some of his own poetry, which was later collected in the two-volume Poems, Lyric and Pastoral. Essentially his only genuine work, it proved quite popular.
Williams worked with Owen Jones
and William Owen Pughe
on The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales
, a three-volume collection of medieval Welsh literature published between 1801 and 1807. The Myvyrian Archaiology relied partially on manuscripts in Williams's collection, some of which included his forgeries. Forged material included a false Brut chronicle and a book attributed to Saint Cadoc
. The second volume, which collected the Welsh Triads
, contained an additional "third series" of forged triads, as well as Williams's alterations to the authentic ones.
After Williams's death some of his collection was compiled into The Iolo Manuscripts by his son, Taliesin Williams. His papers were used by many later scholars and translators, and were used for reference by Lady Charlotte Guest
as she was translating the prose collection Mabinogion
. Guest did not, however, rely on William's editions of the tales themselves except for Hanes Taliesin. Later still, more of Williams's forgeries were published in the text known as Barddas. This work, published in two volumes in 1862 and 1874, was claimed to have been a translation of works by Llywelyn Siôn
detailing the history of the Welsh bardic system from its ancient origins to the present day. Though it contains nothing of authentic druidic lore, it is the fullest account of the mystical cosmology Williams developed. Other works by Williams include the "Druid's Prayer
", still used by the Gorsedd and by neo-druid groups; a treatise on Welsh metrics
called Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys Prydain ("The Mystery of the Bards of the Isle of Britain"), published posthumously in 1828; and a series of hymn
s published as Salmau yr Eglwys yn yr Anialwch in 1812.
and Arthurian influences, a romanticism comparable to that of William Blake
and the Scottish poet and forger James MacPherson
, the revived antiquarian
enthusiasm for all things "Celtic
", and such elements of bardic heritage as had genuinely survived among Welsh-language poets. Part of his aim was to assert the Welshness of South Wales
, particularly his home region of Glamorgan, against the prevalent idea that North Wales
represented the purest survival of Welsh traditions. The metaphysics
elucidated in his forgeries and other works proposed a theory of concentric "rings of existence", proceeding outward from Annwn
(the Otherworld
) through Abred and Ceugant to Gwynfyd (purity or Heaven
).
By 1799, he had become a Unitarian and he was the leading spirit when a Unitarian Association was formed in South Wales in 1802; it was he who drew up the Rheolau a Threfniadau of that body published in 1803.
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Iolo Morganwg developed his own runic system, in Welsh Coelbren y Beirdd ("the Bardic Alphabet"). It was said to be the alphabetic system of the ancient druids. It consisted of 20 main letters, and 20 others "to represent elongated vowels and mutations." These symbols were to be represented in a wooden frame, known as peithynen.
Bardic name
A bardic name is a pseudonym, used in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement....
Iolo Morganwg (ˈjolo morˈɡanuɡ), (10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826) was an influential Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
antiquarian
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 objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
, poet, collector, and literary forger
Literary forgery
Literary forgery refers to writing, such as a manuscript or a literary work either deliberately misattributed to a historical or invented author, or a purported memoir presented as genuine.- History :The common, or popularly known, instance of literary forgery may involve for example the work of a...
. He was widely considered a leading collector and expert on medieval Welsh literature in his day, but after his death it was revealed that he had forged a large number of his manuscripts. Regardless, he had a lasting impact on Welsh culture, seen most notably in his foundation of the Gorsedd
Gorsedd
A gorsedd plural gorseddau, is a community or coming together of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is occasionally spelled gorsedh , or goursez in Brittany....
, and the philosophy he developed in his forgeries had a huge impact on the early neo-druid
Neo-Druidism
Neo-Druidism or Neo-Druidry, commonly referred to as Druidism or Druidry by its adherents, is a form of modern spirituality or religion that generally promotes harmony and worship of nature, and respect for all beings, including the environment...
movement. His bardic name is Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
for "Iolo of Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
" (the county's name is spelt "Morgannwg" in modern Welsh). Iolo is the diminutive of "Iorwerth
Iorwerth
Iorwerth may refer to:*Iorwerth ap Bleddyn , a prince of Powys in eastern Wales*Iorwerth Beli , a Welsh language poet*Iorwerth Drwyndwn , son of Owain Gwynedd, king of Gwynedd...
", a Welsh name often seen as equivalent to "Edward
Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from Old English words ead and weard...
", although neither name is a translation of the other.
Early life
Edward Williams was born at Pen-onn, near LlancarfanLlancarfan
Llancarfan is a rural village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The village, located west of Barry near Cowbridge, has a pub and a well-known parish church, the site of Saint Cadoc's 6th-century abbey, famed for its learning...
in Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and was raised in the village of Flemingston (or Flimston; Trefflemin in Welsh). He followed his father into a career as a stonemason. In Glamorgan he took an interest in manuscript collection, and learned to compose Welsh poetry from poets such as Lewis Hopkin, Rhys Morgan, and especially Siôn Bradford
Siôn Bradford
Siôn Bradford was a Welsh language poet, from Betws, Tir Iarll, Glamorgan, in south Wales.Although a minor poet himself he is important as the poetic teacher of Edward Williams , and collaborated with him in his sometimes extravagant antiquarian researches.-References:....
. In 1773 he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where the antiquary Owen Jones
Owen Jones (antiquary)
Owen Jones was a Welsh antiquary.He was born on the Llanfihangel Glyn y Myfyr in Denbighshire. In 1760 he entered the service of a London firm of furriers, to whose business he ultimately succeeded....
introduced him to the city's Welsh literary community. In 1777 he returned to Wales, where he married and tried his hand at farming, but evidently met with no success. It was during this time that he produced his first forgeries.
Williams's son, Taliesin, whom he had named after the early medieval bard Taliesin
Taliesin
Taliesin was an early British poet of the post-Roman period whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin...
, later went on to collect his manuscripts.
Literary career
From an early date Williams was concerned with preserving, and maintaining, the literary and cultural traditions of Wales. To this end he produced a large number of manuscripts as evidence for his claims that ancient druidDruid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
ic tradition had survived the Roman conquest
Roman conquest of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain was a gradual process, beginning effectively in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, whose general Aulus Plautius served as first governor of Britannia. Great Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and...
, the conversion of the populace to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, the persecution of the bards under King Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
, and other adversities. In his forgeries he develops an elaborate mystical philosophy which he claimed represented a direct continuation of ancient druidic practice. Williams's reported heavy use of laudanum
Laudanum
Laudanum , also known as Tincture of Opium, is an alcoholic herbal preparation containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight ....
may have been a contributing factor.
Williams first came to public notice in 1789 when he produced Barddoniaeth Dafydd ab Gwilym, a collection of the poetry of the 14th-century Dafydd ap Gwilym
Dafydd ap Gwilym
Dafydd ap Gwilym , is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Dafydd ap Gwilym (c. 1315/1320 – c. 1350/1370), is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Dafydd ap Gwilym...
. Included in this edition was a large number of previously unknown poems by Dafydd that he claimed to have discovered; these poems are regarded as Williams's first forgeries. His success led him to return to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1791. There he founded the Gorsedd
Gorsedd
A gorsedd plural gorseddau, is a community or coming together of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is occasionally spelled gorsedh , or goursez in Brittany....
, a community of Welsh bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
s, at a ceremony on 21 June 1792 at Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is a hill of located on the north side of Regent's Park in London, England, and also the name for the surrounding district. The hill has a clear view of central London to the south-east, as well as Belsize Park and Hampstead to the north...
. He organised the proceedings, which he claimed were based on ancient druidic rites. In 1794 he published some of his own poetry, which was later collected in the two-volume Poems, Lyric and Pastoral. Essentially his only genuine work, it proved quite popular.
Williams worked with Owen Jones
Owen Jones (antiquary)
Owen Jones was a Welsh antiquary.He was born on the Llanfihangel Glyn y Myfyr in Denbighshire. In 1760 he entered the service of a London firm of furriers, to whose business he ultimately succeeded....
and William Owen Pughe
William Owen Pughe
William Owen Pughe was a Welsh antiquarian and grammarian best known for his Welsh and English Dictionary, published in 1803, but also known for his grammar books and 'Pughisms' ....
on The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales
The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales
The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales is a printed collection of medieval Welsh literature, published in three volumes between 1801 and 1807. Until John Gwenogvryn Evans produced diplomatic editions of the important medieval Welsh manuscripts, the Myvyrian Archaiology provided the source text for many...
, a three-volume collection of medieval Welsh literature published between 1801 and 1807. The Myvyrian Archaiology relied partially on manuscripts in Williams's collection, some of which included his forgeries. Forged material included a false Brut chronicle and a book attributed to Saint Cadoc
Cadoc
Saint Cadoc , Abbot of Llancarfan, was one of the 6th century British Christian saints. His vita twice mentions King Arthur. The Abbey of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorganshire, which he founded circa 518, became famous as a centre of learning...
. The second volume, which collected the Welsh Triads
Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads 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 rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness...
, contained an additional "third series" of forged triads, as well as Williams's alterations to the authentic ones.
After Williams's death some of his collection was compiled into The Iolo Manuscripts by his son, Taliesin Williams. His papers were used by many later scholars and translators, and were used for reference by Lady Charlotte Guest
Lady Charlotte Guest
Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest, , later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English businesswoman and translator...
as she was translating the prose collection Mabinogion
Mabinogion
The Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
. Guest did not, however, rely on William's editions of the tales themselves except for Hanes Taliesin. Later still, more of Williams's forgeries were published in the text known as Barddas. This work, published in two volumes in 1862 and 1874, was claimed to have been a translation of works by Llywelyn Siôn
Llywelyn Siôn
Llywelyn Siôn was a Welsh language poet.Although remembered as a poet, he was also a professional manuscript copyist. Iolo Morganwg claimed he was the author of Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys Prydain, used by the Welsh Gorsedd, but it is now known that Iolo himself was the author of that work...
detailing the history of the Welsh bardic system from its ancient origins to the present day. Though it contains nothing of authentic druidic lore, it is the fullest account of the mystical cosmology Williams developed. Other works by Williams include the "Druid's Prayer
Druid's Prayer
The "Druid's Prayer" or "Gorsedd Prayer" is a prayer composed by Iolo Morganwg which is still a staple in the ritual of both gorseddau and Neo-Druidism...
", still used by the Gorsedd and by neo-druid groups; a treatise on Welsh metrics
Meter (poetry)
In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...
called Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys Prydain ("The Mystery of the Bards of the Isle of Britain"), published posthumously in 1828; and a series of hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s published as Salmau yr Eglwys yn yr Anialwch in 1812.
Philosophy
Iolo's philosophy represented a fusion of ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and Arthurian influences, a romanticism comparable to that of William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
and the Scottish poet and forger James MacPherson
James Macpherson
James Macpherson was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of poems.-Early life:...
, the revived antiquarian
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 objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
enthusiasm for all things "Celtic
Modern Celts
A Celtic identity emerged in the "Celtic" nations of Western Europe, following the identification of the native peoples of the Atlantic fringe as "Celts" by Edward Lhuyd in the 18th century and during the course of the 19th-century Celtic Revival, taking the form of ethnic nationalism particularly...
", and such elements of bardic heritage as had genuinely survived among Welsh-language poets. Part of his aim was to assert the Welshness of South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, particularly his home region of Glamorgan, against the prevalent idea that North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
represented the purest survival of Welsh traditions. The metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
elucidated in his forgeries and other works proposed a theory of concentric "rings of existence", proceeding outward from Annwn
Annwn
Annwn or Annwfn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwyn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. It later became Christianised and identified with the land of souls that had departed...
(the Otherworld
Otherworld
Otherworld, or the Celtic Otherworld, is a concept in Celtic mythology that refers to the home of the deities or spirits, or a realm of the dead.Otherworld may also refer to:In film and television:...
) through Abred and Ceugant to Gwynfyd (purity or Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
).
By 1799, he had become a Unitarian and he was the leading spirit when a Unitarian Association was formed in South Wales in 1802; it was he who drew up the Rheolau a Threfniadau of that body published in 1803.
Bardic alphabet
Further reading
- Jenkins, Geraint (ed.) (2005), A Rattleskull Genius: the Many Faces of Iolo Morganwg. Cardiff: University of Wales Press
- Morgan, Prys (1975) Iolo Morganwg, (Writers of Wales). Cardiff: University of Wales Press
- Williams, G. J. (1956) Iolo Morganwg. Y Gyfrol Gyntaf, Cardiff: University of Wales Press
- Williams, G. J. (1926) Iolo Morganwg a Chywyddau'r Ychwanegiad. Cardiff: University of Wales Press
External links
- Iolo Morganwg and the Romantic Tradition in Wales Project at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, University of Wales
- The Barddas of Iolo Morganwg, vol. 1 (English text only) at The Internet Sacred Text Archive
- The Barddas of Iolo Morganwg, vol. 2 (English text only) at The Internet Sacred Text Archive
- Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, Antiquaries in Wales