The National Library of Wales holds more than 40,000 manuscripts relating to Wales and the Welsh language. But did you know that our collections include what is thought to be one of the smallest manuscripts written entirely in Welsh?
This Plygain book (NLW MS 253A), produced in bound vellum and written between 1618 and 1622, measures just 85 x 70mm, making it not only one of the smallest manuscripts in Welsh but also one of the smallest in the Library. Written in the hand of Thomas Evans (fl. 1596-1633), Hendreforfudd, the volume includes mainly englynion and prayers, and an early edition of the Llyfr Plygain dating from 1618. Evans was an enthusiastic writer and scribe of not only prayer books but also poetry, pedigrees, and tracts on medicine, astrology, and astronomy. His hand can be seen in several other manuscripts, including NLW Peniarth MS 187, Peniarth MS 147, Peniarth MS 157, and NLW MSS 1553A and 1554A, among many others.
Like many manuscripts to have enjoyed such a long life, the volume was added to over the centuries as writers took advantage of any blank pages. In the 19th century it came into the ownership of the antiquarian and scholar Edgerton Phillimore (1856-1937), whose name written in the front cover of the manuscript bears the date 1887. Much of Phillimore’s collection later went to Sir John Williams, chief founder of the Library, who donated it to the NLW archives in 1907.
The tiny size of this manuscript made it very portable, and its slightly battered countenance certainly suggests that it was well travelled and used. We can just imagine it fitting into a pocket or small bag, and perhaps being brought out and its brass clasps snapped open to read a prayer or snippet of information. The tradition of canu Plygain, a Welsh carol service usually sung at Christmas, is still performed all over Wales as it was in Thomas Evans’ day, bringing to life the history preserved within this tiny volume.
Finally, we answer the question that archivists have pondered for years – what does a Christmas-elf sized manuscript look like? Here’s Wilff, the NLW Archives & Manuscripts Christmas intern, for scale.
Lucie Hobson
NLW Archives & Manuscripts
Category: Article