Welsh Journals

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NEWS AND NOTES WELSH ALMANACKS. Although the collection of Welsh almanacks in the National Library is extensive it is by no means complete. Recently the Reverend Thomas Jones, Vicar of Traianglas, presented three interesting and well-preserved examples. One, dated 1725, was published by John Rhydderch, Shrewsbury, and the other two, dated 1739 and 1740 respectively, by John Jones (' Philomath '), Caerau, near Wrexham. Before the receipt of these copies there was no example of the 1740 Almanac in the Library, and only imperfect copies of those for 1725 and 1739 WM. WILLIAMS. SHREWSBURY SCHOOL MS. XI. Of this fifteenth century Welsh manuscript, which is described by J. Gwenogvryn Evans on pp. 1127-1128 of the first volume of his Reports for the Historical Manuscripts Commission, there is a facsimile in the National Library made in 1930 by courtesy of the authorities of Shrewsbury School and now accessioned as N.L.W. MS. 6984. The Shrews- bury manuscript, which contains Officium Beatae Marie, the Credo, the Spirit of Guido, The Gospel of Nicodemus, the Crucifixion, Elen's Finding of the Cross, the Vision of Paul, etc is closely related to Peniarth MS. 191, the bulk of which is also of the fifteenth century Evans (op. cit.) says that the Officium Beatae Marie in the Peniarth manuscript is a transcript of the Shrewsbury MS. or of the same original. There are lacunae in both MSS., but fortunately they do no occur in the same places." W. LL. DAVIBS. WELSH PRINTING IN MEXICO. The title of the first Welsh book printed in Mexico City is-Rubaiyát Omar Khayyam Trosiad Vr Gymraeg 0 gyfieithiad (neu aralleiriad os mynner) adnabyddus Edward Fitzgerald (argraffiad cyntaf) Argraffwyd yn Ninas Mecsico gan The American Book & Printing Co., S.A. 1939. It is a translation by Mr. T. Ifor Rees, His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General at Mexico City, of the first edition of Edward Fitzgerald's well-known version of the Rubaiyat of Omar The translator in his preface recalls the excellent trans- lation into Welsh made by Sir John Morris-Jones from the original Persian. He knows of no translation of Fitzgerald's version. At least two less successful Welsh translations of Fitzgerald's stanzas have, however, been published. Ap Ceredigion' (the Reverend D. Lewis) translated ninety stanzas which were printed in Cymru, Vol. xxiv, 1902. A selection of twenty-seven stanzas was translated by T. Marchant Williams and printed in The Nationalist, Vol. 11, 1908. Mr. Rees has printed the corresponding Fitzgerald stanzas opposite his own Welsh translation. The edition, which is for private circulation, is limited to three hundred copies. It is beautifully printed on a yellow-tinted paper, with initial letters in brownish red. There are illustrations by Mr. R. C. Hesketh of Mexico City, and the National Library's copy of the book is bound in marbled sheepskin with gilt lettering of the Welsh and Persian titles forming an effective design. The translator himself took a hand in the binding, and the work was done in a variety of styles. This is not the first literary enterprise of Mr. T. Ifor Rees. In 1933 he published a striking translation of Rene Bazin's La Terre qui meurt into his native North Cardigan- shire dialect under the title of Rousille neu y Tir yn Darfod. E. D. JONES.