Welsh Journals

Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd (The Edward Llwyd Society), Gardd Edward Lhuyd (Edward Lhuyd's memorial garden at Oriel Eryri, Llanberis, opened in 1984), and an increasing number of lectures and studies on various aspects of his work, perhaps we should no longer speak of him as a forgotten genius. There remain a few minor printing errors in the text of the book: p.6, line 24, 'te' for 'to'; p. 13, line 18, 'the' for 'them'; p.21, line 19, 'mouth' for 'mouths'; p.26, line 11, 'sighed' for 'signed'; p.31, line 2, 'of' for 'or'; p.35, note 36, 'o.' for 'op.' The place- names in the quotation on page 30 have been amended (Morva in the Archaeologia Britannica becomes Marva, Tewednok becomes Trewednok, and Gylval becomes Gyval). This short study of one aspect of Lhuyd's work will be welcomed by all those who are interested in his career. It is a readable and lively account of Lhuyd's attempt to discover Cornwall at first hand. RHISIART HINCKS Aberystwyth THE WELSH LANGUAGE. By Janet Davies. University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 1993. Pp. vi, 121. £ 7.95. In this historical survey of the Welsh language, the author produces a thoroughly interesting and lively account which is well illustrated with pertinent maps and figures. These are coupled with special panels of information that supplement and enhance points raised in the general text. The approach taken is to relate chronologically the origins and progress of the language and describe its dilemmas during the modern era. Indeed, it is inevitable that, at times, the author says more about the progress of English in Wales than about the struggles of the native tongue. Welsh was itself the outcome of struggle and invasion by various peoples, superimposing their influence on the original Celtic language. The author presents evidence of these linguistic borrowings, including from Early English, with admirable clarity, as indeed she does in the following section in which the status of Middle Welsh as a vibrant conduit for literary activity is shown. The author seems to be less effective, because there has been less overall research, on the impact of English in later medieval Wales. The challenge to the Welsh language is put down to political and institutional change after 1282, whereas, in fact, it may have been equally due to independent societal transformations. Similarly, the interpretation of the history of Welsh in the early modern period is very traditional, with the Acts of Union and the self-interest of the gentry regarded as the chief forces for anglicization. Again, there may well have been other independent influences-irrespective of the political-in operation, notably population shifts, inadequate urbanization, and the literally massive growth of culture and knowledge through the renaissance press. To be fair to the author, the amount of space available to speculate on such matters is brief, for most of the book is devoted to the period after 1750. Factually, the breadth