Welsh Journals

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bindings made a reappearance in Victorian times, especially for presentation copies. Attractive though a velvet binding may be in its pristine state, it does not as a rule wear well and Peniarth 481D is no exception to the rule. The pile has worn thin all over and inevitably the joints are cracked. The volume was acquired by the Library through the munificence of the Misses Davies of Gregynog, who bought it from Peniarth, Merionethshire and presented it to the Library in 1921. At one time a paper label bearing the original Peniarth press-mark 'Peniarth M.SS No: 38' was pasted onto the leather strip on the spine. The volume was previously in the Penbedw library, which came to Peniarth through the marriage of William Wynne (1774-1834) to Elizabeth Puleston, heiress to the Penbedw estate. The bookplate of Watkin Williams of Penbedw (d. 1808) appears inside the upper cover. The Penbedw Library owed much of its glory to Richard Mostyn (1658-1735) who, when he married the grand-daughter of Sir Kenelm Digby, acquired some of Sir Kenelm's books. On the flyleaf is an English quatrain in an Elizabethan hand signed 'Jhon Cutts' and on f.1 is a latin note referring to 'Thomas Gaudy.' Mr. Daniel Huws has tentatively identified the gentle- men as Sir John Cutts of Childerly, Cambridgeshire (d. 1615) and Thomas Gawdy of Snitterton, Norfolk. I am deeply indebted to Mr Daniel Huws, Keeper of Manuscripts & Records, who enabled me to compile this note by allowing me access to his detailed description of Peniarth 481D. Eiluned Rees Aberystwyth BOOKBINDINGS IN THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES 4. An early 16th century gold-tooled binding NLW ADD. MS. 17520A is a late 14th century illuminated Book of Hours, mainly of Sarum Use, written on vellum. The Kalendar contains four entries of Welsh interest and it has been suggested that the manuscript may have been written at Llanbeblig, the Parish Church of Caernarfon, for Isabella Godynogh, whose obit on 23 April 1413 has been added to the Kalendar in a later hand. Since very few illuminated manuscripts have survived that can confidently be associated with Wales, the Book of Hours is of special interest, even if the seven full-page miniatures, the decorated initials and the borders are not of great artistic merit. Inlaid in the 19th century calf binding are the calf covers of a gold-tooled early 16th century binding. Both covers have a centre panel containing two shields, an upper shield bearing the arms of King Henry VIII and a lower shield bearing the arms of Katherine of Aragon, each surmounted by a crown and separated by two roses. The panels are surrounded by a floral roll. The gilding on the upper cover has virtually disappeared but enough remains on the lower cover to indicate that the panel was blocked in gold. The binding must have been executed before the annulment of Henry's marriage to Katherine of Aragon, 1532, and the suggested date of c. 1525 seems reasonable.