On his visit to the National Library for the series Cyfrinachau'r Llyfrgell, the naturalist Iolo Williams is shown a number of treasures from the Printed Books collections. One of the earliest books he looks at is A relation of some yeares travaile, begunne anno 1626. Into Afrique and the greater Asia, especially the territories of the Persian monarchie: and some parts of the Orientall Indies, and iles adiacent, published in London in 1634. The author is named on the title page as "T.H. Esquier", but his full name was Sir Thomas Herbert, a relative of the family of the Earls of Pembroke and a member of the court of King Charles I.
Herbert went on his journey to Africa and Asia in the company of Sir Robert Shirley and Sir Dodmore Cotton, who had been appointed as ambassador to Persia. In the book he describes the different countries they visited, as well as their inhabitants and wildlife.
On the island of Mauritius he saw a large bird which could not fly, and which is given here, for the first time, the name dodo. By the end of the century it was extinct. Herbert describes the dodo as "reputed of more for wonder then food ... of no nourishment" and it is likely that its extinction was caused not by hunting but by the competition of other animals.
Herbert also recounts the story of the discovery of America by Madog ab Owain Gwynedd in the 12th century. This legend has been repeated in numerous books through the centuries, including O-kee-pa: a religious ceremony; and other customs of the Mandans by George Catlin (1867), which the Library has recently bought.
If you haven’t seen the episode yet, you can watch it on BBC iPlayer (with English subtitles).
Timothy Cutts
Rare Books Librarian
Category: Article