Welsh Journals

rhyngddo ef a'r hyn a geir ym mhumed bennod Datblygiad yr Iaith Gymraeg bydd gan fyfyrwyr twf yr iaith, heblaw amgyffred o ddatblygiad ei seiniau, ddigonedd o wybodaeth eang am ei dyled ddirfawr i un o brif ieithoedd y byd a natur gyfoethog yr eirfa a ddeilliodd inni ohoni. Gobeithiaf hefyd y caiff y Dr. Henry Lewis, pan ddaw rhyw fath o drefn ar yr hen fyd yma unwaith eto, gyfle a gofod i roi inni gyfrol helaethach ar y pwnc, nid er mwyn cynnwys mwy o ffeithiau ond rhoi mwy o le iddo ef ei hun eu trin hwy, a phob agwedd arall ar y maes, yn yr un llyfr. Dylwn cyn terfynu ganmol gwaith yr argraffwyr. Buwyd yn ofalus iawn, ac ni sylwais ar ddim ond y manion hyn a italig yn Donatus, § 32 affeith (am affaith), td. 32 (gthg. td. 49) atalnod ar 61 Heb dan angor, td. 32 cysyl (am cysul), td. 37 mymryn o flaen myfyr, yn lie ar ei 61, td. 43 pyrsau (am Pyrsan) dan llogell, td. 41 a cristion heb ei italeiddio ar dud. 49. J. LLOYD-JONES. MEDIEVAL HERALDRY. Some Fourteenth Century Heraldic Works. Edited with introduction, English translation of the Welsh text, arms in colour, and notes by Evan John Jones. Foreword by Anthony R. Wagner, Richmond Herald. William Lewis (Printers) Ltd., Cardiff, 1943. Pp. lxvi, 260. Plates. Limited edition of 350 copies. Price £ 2 2s. Od. THIS is a collection of medieval tracts on heraldry. The first tract is the Welsh text of Llyfr Disgrifiad Arfau attributed to one John Trevor which is here printed for the first time, each page of text faced by a translation into English for the benefit of students of heraldry who cannot read Welsh. This is followed by a version of a Latin Tractatus de Armis ascribed to a certain John de Bado Aureo which was first printed with other heraldic works by Edward Bysshe in 1654, and by a second Tractatus de Armis which claims the first as one of its sources. Let us call them Tractates I and II, respectively. Next comes a briefer treatise on arms in English by a John Vade. In an appendix is printed a Latin tract, De Insigniis et Armis, by Bartolus de Saxoferrato which is quoted in the other texts. A second appendix furnishes an index of families mentioned by name in the book or represented by their armorial shields in the thirty-three plates which reproduce in modern style the arms emblazoned in the original manuscripts and in some Welsh books of arms. The addition of the arms of many founders of Welsh families to the plainer shields which illustrate the manuscript texts greatly enhances the value of these plates. The volume ends with a useful Welsh and Latin word list, a bibliography, and a list of authors cited in the texts. The introductory portion includes a preface and a long introduction by the author and a foreword by "Richmond Herald" who is doing so much to bring heraldry within the reach of the general reader. The book itself is beautifully printed on good paper and is bound in half nigerian with buckram sides. The Welsh text, following its Latin originals, treats heraldry with that eye to symbolism and allegory which was so characteristic of the Middle Ages, and that, with the general indebtedness of the texts to medieval handbooks of natural history, lends it a charm which does much to alleviate the dis- appointment of finding that Llyfr Disgrifiad Arfau is no guide to practical heraldry in medieval Wales. The provision of the Latin texts which are the obvious sources of the Welsh version is a most valuable feature of this work. Such a procedure should always be followed in all editions for students of Welsh texts which have their origin in translation from Latin. In this instance the Latin texts are so simple that any Welsh student with a little elementary Latin could compare the versions with both profit and pleasure. Tractate I was written by John de Bado Aureo at the instance of Anne of