The Barddas of Iolo Morganwg, Vol. I & II: A Collection of Original Documents, Illustrative of the Theology, Wisdom, and Usages of the Bardo-Druidic System of the Isle of Britain

Barddas #1-2

by Iolo Morganwg, John Williams (Editor)

Serious students of Druidism and Paganism, as well as Celtic historians, are sure to include Barddas in their libraries. Barddas contains the only extant description of Bardo-Druidic Celtic philosophy. It is a metaphysical and spiritual description of beliefs handed down by word of mouth by Druidic initiates from before the Roman occupation of the British Isles.

Culled from 16th-century notes and compiled into book form, Barddas reveals a belief system with a wide range of influences, including Judeo-Christian and ancient Roman. Yet there are beliefs and views expressed within that appear to be unique to Celtic thought and oddly similar to Eastern traditions.

On its publication in the 19th century, Barddas stirred controversy. Some critics claimed that it was completely made up or based on forgeries. Others defended it by pointing out similarities to other surviving Celtic documents with clear provenance.

Photo-offset from the first-printing, this edition of Barddas includes the original Welsh on verso pages with English translation running on the recto pages. John Matthews, popular writer about all things Celtic, provides an introduction outlining the history and contemporary importance of Barddas.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Nonfiction

480 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (1747 - 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector of ill repute. He was seen as an expert collector of Medieval Welsh literature, but it emerged after his death that he had forged several manuscripts, notably some of the Third Series of Welsh Triads. Even so, he had a lasting impact on Welsh culture, notably in founding the secret society known as the Gorsedd, through which Iolo Morganwg successfully coopted the 18th-century Eisteddfod revival. The philosophy he spread in his forgeries has had an enormous impact upon neo-Druidism. His bardic name is Welsh for "Iolo of Glamorgan".

Reviews

[The Esoteric Jungle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t let the “authenticity or forgery?” debate on this author side-track you from the fact he was picking up the last bits of primordial Druidism left in writing in Briton while every other scholar was throwing all such into the dustbin as “European Savage Rubbish” as fast as they could.

Regardless his take or fake, you are going to find a lot in this guys works if you are looking for an older - possibly more attested and authentic - side to the teachings on the subject of Druidism, Celtic lore and, as it is called today, “Wicca.” There’s some actual valuable content here.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't honestly recommend "The Barddas"

Edited in the 19th century by J. Williams Ab Ithel, it is a collection of supposedly ancient Welsh texts gathered by the 18th century Welsh poet and bardic revivalist Edward Williams, who adopted the name Iolo Morganwg. These texts, it was claimed, revealed the secret magical alphabet of the ancient druids, the religious and philosophical lore of the ancient Welsh, and a host of other traditions relating to ancient Welsh bardic culture. Scholarship has since shown that many if not most of the texts were forgeries, penned by Morganwg himself. So, it's not really something that one would read today in order to learn actual medieval welsh history or Welsh poetry.

It's also not a particularly engaging read. Much of it consists of highly repetitive versified lines-- or examples of variant texts (20+ different variations from supposedly different sources on 'druidic' names for the months of the year). And the section on the alphabet and symbols is-- well, it's like reading the appendices of the Lord of the Rings that talk about the writing systems of Middle-earth. To put it plainly, it's pretty dull.

But there is still something impressive about the fact that Morganwg produced a work like this. The kind of applied imagination and creative quasi-scholarly passion necessary to produce a series of consistent forgeries like this is a testament to, well, I'm not sure to what exactly.. but to something. A mythopoetic spirit, perhaps?