{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox book |name = Barddas |title_orig = |translator = |image = Barddastitle.jpg |caption = |author = Iolo Morganwg (edited by John Williams) |illustrator = |cover_artist = |country = United Kingdom |language = English |series = |subject = Welsh Bardic and Druidic beliefs |genre = |publisher = D. J. Roderic, London, Longman & Co., Welsh Manuscripts Society |pub_date = 1862 (Volume 1), 1874 (Volume 2) |media_type = print (hardback) |pages = 425pp (first edition) |isbn = 978-1-605-06171-9 |dewey= |congress= |oclc= }} thumb|Barddas - Title page '''''Barddas''''' is a book of material compiled and written by the Welsh writer Iolo Morganwg. Dressed as an authentic compilation of ancient Welsh bardic and druidic theology and lore. It was posthumously published by John Williams for the Welsh Manuscripts Society in two volumes, in 1862 and 1874.<ref name="Löffler2007">{{Cite book |author=Marion Löffler |title=The literary and historical legacy of Iolo Morganwg, 1826-1926 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TIBnAAAAMAAJ |access-date=23 October 2012 |year=2007 |publisher=University of Wales Press |isbn=978-0-7083-2113-3}}</ref><ref name="Baynes1833">{{Cite book |author=Thomas Spencer Baynes |title=The Encyclopædia Britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences, and general literature |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_HKgMAAAAYAAJ |access-date=23 October 2012 |year=1833 |publisher=C. Scribner's sons |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_HKgMAAAAYAAJ/page/n332 319]–}}</ref><ref name="Media2001">{{Cite book |author=Adamant Media |title=Barddas; Or, a Collection of Original Documents, Illustrative of the Theology, Wisdom, and Usages of the Bardo-Druidic System of the Isle of Britain: With Translations and Notes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h6JExbSAt7YC |access-date=23 October 2012 |date=June 2001 |publisher=Elibron.com |isbn=978-1-4021-6663-1}}</ref>
==Publication== After Iolo Morganwg's death in 1826, his son Taliesin Williams set about collecting and publishing his unpublished manuscripts. This resulted in three volumes, including ''The Iolo Papers'' in 1848, published a year after Taliesin Williams' unexpected death. Subsequently, Iolo's papers were purchased by Benjamin and Augusta Hall, who made them accessible to other scholars. John Williams, alias "Ab Ithel", was among the first to take up the offer; he edited the two volumes now known as ''Barddas'' for the Welsh Manuscripts Society, which appeared in 1862 and 1874.<ref>Matthews, pp. xv–xvi.</ref>
==Contents== Williams claimed the ''Barddas'' material was based on authentic ancient manuscripts originally compiled by the 16th-century antiquarian Llywelyn Siôn.
Volume I divides into three sections. The first, "Symbols", chiefly discusses "coelbren", a supposed Bardic alphabet devised by Iolo. The second, "Theology", is the most significant. It discusses Iolo's elaborate philosophy and cosmology, which he claimed was the actual belief system of the ancient bards. This section includes a "catechism" in the form of a question-and-answer session on the cycle of re-incarnation. It discusses the "circles of being" from Annwn (lowest state, Hades or Fairyland) through circles of Abred (probation state), Gwynfyd (perfect liberty) and Ceugant (infinity).<ref name="Rolleston2010">{{Cite book |author=T. W. Rolleston |title=Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AKmnxWMnGQC&pg=PA227 |access-date=24 October 2012 |date=30 January 2010 |publisher=Digireads.com Publishing |isbn=978-1-4209-3507-3 |pages=227–}}</ref> It also has a number of "Triads" apparently derived from authentic Welsh Triads; according to the scholar Rachel Bromwich, this suggests Iolo had access to versions of the triads long before they were widely known or collected.<ref name="Matthewsxvi">Matthews, p. xvi.</ref> The third section, "Wisdom", contains esoteric lore that may date from the 16th–17th centuries, though not from ancient druidic tradition as Iolo claims. Volume II was left unfinished at Williams' death; it is largely a guidebook for bards and gorsedds.<ref name="Matthewsxvi"/>
==Notes== {{Reflist|30em}}
==References== *{{Cite web |url= http://www.maryjones.us/jce/barddas.html |title= Jones |access-date=March 9, 2013}} *{{DNB Cite|wstitle=Llywelyn of Llangewydd}} *{{DNB Cite|wstitle=Sion Llywelyn}} *{{Cite book |last1= Iolo Morganwg |last2= Matthews |first2= John (Foreword) |author-link= Iolo Morganwg |title=The Barddas of Iolo Morganwg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EJrNcb-5dnEC&q=Barddas+Iolo+forgery |access-date= March 15, 2013 |year=2004 |publisher=Weiser Book |isbn=1609253787}}
==External links== *[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/bim1/index.htm ''Barddas'' Volume 1 on Sacred Texts] *[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/bim2/index.htm ''Barddas'' Volume 2 on Sacred Texts]
{{Iolo Morganwg}}
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Category:1862 non-fiction books Category:1874 non-fiction books Category:Catechisms Category:Druidry Category:Reincarnation Category:Afterlife Category:Pseudepigraphy Category:Modern pagan literature Category:19th-century modern paganism Category:Works by Iolo Morganwg