The Four Books of Ancient Wales

by William Forbes Skene

The Four Books of Ancient Wales are translations of the Black Book of Caermarthen, the Red Book of Hergest, the Book of Taliessin and the Book of Aneurin.

Genres: Poetry, History, Mythology, Folklore, Nonfiction, Classics, Ancient

515 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1868

About the author

William Forbes Skene was a Scottish historian and antiquary. He was the second son of James Skene of Rubislaw, near Aberdeen, who was a friend of Sir Walter Scott. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy in Edinburgh and at the University of St Andrews, taking an especial interest in the study of Celtic philology and literature. In 1832, he became a Writer to the Signet (WS), and shortly afterwards obtained an official appointment in the bill department of the Court of Session, which he held until 1865.

Skene's early interest in the history and antiquities of the Scottish Highlands bore its first fruit in 1837, when he published The Highlanders of Scotland, their Origin, History and Antiquities. His chief work, however, is his Celtic Scotland, a History of Ancient Alban (3 volumes, Edinburgh, 1876–1880), perhaps the most important contribution to Scottish history written during the 19th century.

The most important of Skene's other works are: editions of John of Fordun's Chronica gentis Scotorum (Edinburgh, 1871–1872); of the Four Ancient Books of Wales (Edinburgh, 1868); of the Chronicles of the Picts and Scots (Edinburgh, 1867); and of Adomnán's Vita S. Columbae (Edinburgh, 1874); an Essay on the Coronation Stone of Scone (Edinburgh, 1869); and Memorials of the Family of Skene of Skene (Aberdeen, 1887).

Reviews

[Chris Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skene's 19th century anthology of ancient welsh bardic poetry presents poems from the Book of Taliesen, the Red Book of Hergest, The Black Book of Caermarthen and the Book of Aneurin; these manuscripts written in the 12th century are believed to contain items of poetry that date from the 6th. The first half of the book is an academic analysis by Skene of the provenance of these poems and cross-references the events they refer to against other sources such as Gildas' Historia Britonum. There is also a discussion of the murky history of the various tribes and petty kingdoms of Britain that made up the political, cultural and lingusitic landscape of the land from the time that Roman rule came to an end, and on throughout the period of the Anglo-Saxon incursions which are described in these poems as seen through the eyes of the Welsh bards of these times. This includes a section devoted to the Pictish people who were eventually to vanish from the cultural landscape of Britain, subsumed into the Gaels.

The latter half of the book presents the translated poems themselves, in which Skene has shuffled the 4 books and grouped the poems of all 4 together in his hypothesised chronological order of the events that they refer to, so that for example one might read a poem first from the Red Book of Hergest, then the Book of Taliesin, then the Black Book of Caermarthen - all of which allude to the same events.

The poems contain a number of fragmentary references to the folk hero-figure of Arthur; also other figures that appear in the Arthurian cycle such as Vortigern, Ambrosius Aurelianus, Uther Pendragon, Merlin, and Sir Kay.

It should be said that a very large proportion of these poems are discussions of historical events - by which, this being 6th century Britain, we mean battles, conquests, slaughters and assasinations. Whilst interesting from an academic, historical viewpoint, from an aesthetic viewpoint the writing becomes a bit of a wearisome slog of sameness after a point.

However, towards the end of the book, things pick up when we reach the 'Miscellaneous Poems' that do not refer to historical events. I found some of these to be quite beautiful and evocative pieces of writing and superior from a poetic standpoint to the somewhat repetitive battle lays and songs praising or mourning this or that ruler which came before.

To sum up - this is not an easy book if you are looking for something to read for pleasure, but it does offer a fascinating glimpse into the lives and minds of people living in 'Dark Age' Britain.

[Selby Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful historic book

This book brings to life a time before most other books. Pre 560 AD in some parts. Such amazing poetry

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Some beautiful imagery. Great insight into early Britain (well, Wales) and what life must have been like. That said, it is very disjointed. Some characters reappear in different portions, but there is no narrative per se. We don't get to follow a hero like Beowulf from early exploits to his final showdown with the big bad monster. I am glad to have picked it up, but don't feel that it is a must read for those interested in the region and the era, although therein lies the rub, right? There aren't a lot of source documents for the region and era in question. At any rate, I imagine this would be a much better experience in a classroom setting where someone experienced in the history of the region gave selected readings from the book and provided some additional insight. As a stand alone text it can be very dull in parts and, as I already said, quite disjointed. Pick it up if you have some interest in the subject matter or don't mind sifting through the silt to find quite a few gems of poetry.

"Long the night, bare the moor, hoary the cliff;
Gray the fair gull on the precipice;
Rough the seas; there will be rain today."

[Dominique Lamssies · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a must for an Celtic enthusiast. The only reason I'm not rating it any higher is that I'm not much of a Celtic enthusiast. But the book covers the history and some linguistic stuff that gives the pieces context. The only real problem, which is a small quible, is the formatting. I believe this company is print on demand, so you basically get words on a page and not a lot more. Still a good book.

[William Justus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for those interested in the poetry of the ancient Britons. The four books are the book of Taliesin, the black book of Carmarthen, the book of Aneurin, and the red book of Hergest. Skene's translations of these books, as well as his views in the introduction, are now rather looked down upon by scholars. However, this remains the single best source by which a casual academic may read these old poems.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of translations of Welsh poetry from the Black Book of Caemarthen, the Red Book of Hergest (source of the Mabinogion), the Book of Taliessin and the Book of Aneurin. The translations seem pretty clear, though I can't comment on their accuracy, and the introduction is pretty good. Like all books from these publishers, it can be obtained online from forgottenbooks.org.

[Terrence Lewis]

This is an awesome book for Welsh Celtic research, however it does not have an index.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Translation too dated for me. You're on your own here.

[Laura C.]

This book is a reprint of a 19th-century collection of translations of Welsh poems from the Black Book of Caermarthen, the Book Aneurin, the Book of Taliessin, and the Red Book of Hergest.
In the first 170 pages, Skene introduces the reader to the early history and literature of Wales. He then proceeds with an analysis of the poems and a brief survey of the criticism of the time. For those who are not acquainted with medieval Welsh poetry, this introduction offers a good grasp on the subject.
Unfortunately, the translated poems lack any notes explaining the many obscure lines, and we are not given information about the various names that appear in the poems. There are too many obscure passages and the translation doesn’t meet the standards of modern scholarship. Moreover, there are several misprints that make the reading more difficult.
Overall, if you are looking for a grasp on Middle Welsh literature and philological accuracy is not your main issue, then, this book can do the job.