Stowe MS 669

HERALDIC COLLECTIONS, in English and Welsh, viz.:-

1. Copy of an ordinance (imperf. at beg.) concerning the duties of heralds in processions, etc., dated 3 Sept. 1417, and of another ordinance regulating the fees of the serjeant-at-arms; n. d. f. 1.

2. Analysis of the contents of the volume; written (see f 3b, last line) in 1629. f. 3 b.

3. "Llyfyr descriad arfaii gweidi /i/ dynnii or Llyfyr Gwiinn o hergest /r/ hwnn y scryfenodd Lewis Gliin Cothi /n/ amser Edward y trydudd ": a treatise on heraldry, in Welsh, by Lewis Glynn Cothi. Illustrated by drawings of scutcheons, in colour; and with the arms (in colour or in trick) of the kings of England from Brutus to Edward III., that of Charles I. being added at ff. 28 b-29 b. f. 18. At f. 17 a note, said by O'Conor (Bibliotheca MS. Stowensis, vol. ii., p. 537) to be "in the handwriting of Mr. Charles Williams Wynne," states that "this is a transcript of part of the White Book of Hergest, a folio MS. on vellum containing a large collection of Welsh Poetry, Heraldry, and History compiled in the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV. by Lewis Glyn Cothi, who was himself a Welsh poet and served under the Earl of Pembroke, to whom and to his brother many of his compositions are addressed. The original MS. was in the Wynnstay collection and unfortunately destroyed when in the hands of Mackinley, the bookbinder, by fire in 180-, together with many others." In the table of contents (f. 3 b) this article is described as "an antient treatise of the discription of armes written in Brittish with a fayer. antique sett hand in vellom by Lewis Glinn Coathi, in the time of Edward the third." This last statement is a mistake, since Lewis Glynn Cothi lived in the reigns of Hen. VI.-Hen. VII. (see the edition of his Poems for the Cymmrodorion, Oxford, 1837).

4. "A true copie of an auncient memorable treatise touching the, pedigree and dissente of the noble name and familie of the Herberts by commission from King Edward the 4th, Anno Domini 1460" [the date being apparently a blunder for 1468, in which year William Herbert was created Earl of Pembroke]. f. 31. Followed (ff. 32, 33) by the pedigree and arms (in trick) of Edward, lst Baron Herbert of Cherbury.

5. Poem, in Welsh, beg.:-

"0 deg ran gwlad gaer Einion, arr henw i haer hon yw Son." f. 38. Colophon: "John Evan Klywedog ai Cant." f. 38 b.

6. "Names, titles, and cheiffe coats, of all the nobilitie of Great Brittaine and Ireland, accordinge to theire degrees and creation," [1628]; the arms engraved and pasted down. f. 39.

7. Names and arms (in colour) of Welsh princes, tribes, and gentry. f. 5O.

8. Marks of cadency. f. 82.

9. Drawings and blazon of English and Welsh arms. f. 83 b.

10. Drawings of various kinds of coronets, helmets, etc. f. 88.

11. Blazon of the arms of several English families. f. 88 b.

12. Welsh pedigrees, with index at the beginning. Imperfect. f. 92 b. Paper; ff. 150. XVIIth cent. Belonged in 1630 and 1642 to Evan Jones (see ff. 1, 92), to Charles Lloyd (see f. 1), and, 18th cent., to John Holland, nos. 62, 85. At ff. 92, 93, is the signature of' Rees Wynne. Folio.

Heraldry: Heraldic collections: 16th-18th centt.

includes:

• f. 1 Serjeant-at-arms: Ordinance on the duties of, n.d.: 17th cent.
• f. 17 Charles Williams Wynne: Note by: 19th cent.
• f. 17 White Book of Hergest: Transcript from: 17th cent.
• f. 18 Lewis Glin Cothi: Heraldic treatise: 17th cent.
• f. 31 Herbert family; Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery: Pedigree, 1468: 17th cent.
• f. 32 Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury: Pedigree and arms: 17th cent.
• f. 38 Poetry: Welsh poem: 17th cent.
• f. 38 John Evan Klywedog: Poem: 17th cent.: Welsh.
• f. 39 Peerage: List of the nobility of Great Britain and Ireland: 1628.
• ff. 50, 83 b, 92 b Wales: Names and arms of Welsh princes, tribes and gentry: 17th cent.
• f. 92 b Genealogies: Welsh families: 17th cent.
• ff. 92, 93 Rees Wynne: Signature: 17th or 18th cent.