Rare Welsh Bible from 1588 displayed for first time

A rare copy of the first complete translation of the Bible into Welsh, printed in 1588, will go on display in Wales for the first time.

The book was translated in the year of the Spanish Armada – when Elizabeth I was monarch – by Bishop William Morgan as part of an effort to bring scriptures to people in languages they understood.

It has been kept in Westminster Abbey's library collection ever since, having only ever been used in service once.

The Bible will be on public display in the St Davids Cathedral in Pembrokeshire between 17 June and 9 July.

Bishop Morgan had been commissioned to produce a standard Welsh edition by bringing together previous translations of parts of the Bible.

He travelled to London to oversee the books going through the press, a process which lasted several weeks because the print workers did not speak Welsh.

During the work, Morgan stayed at Westminster Abbey's deanery which was the home of then-dean Gabriel Goodman – a fellow Welshman who was also a close friend.

Morgan presented the book to Goodman with a Latin inscription, recording that he was making a gift to the library.

Tony Trowles, librarian and head of the abbey's collection, said: "It has been in our library ever since.

"It is in remarkably good condition. The plan was to print 900 copies, with the idea for every chapel and church in Wales to have a copy of the Welsh Bible.

"Because they were used weekly or even daily, the ones that survive in Wales are not in such good condition."

Dr Trowles said the Bible was originally chained to the bookshelves of the abbey library so it could not be removed.

He said the printing process was "highly complex and technical" with each letter arranged backwards and several pages printed on one sheet.

The book was printed on paper and bound in leather over covers made from wood.

"This is the first time it has gone to Wales and we think the first time it has been exhibited," Dr Trowles said.

However, it was used in a service at St Benet Paul's Wharf – a church in London with a long association with the Welsh community – in 1988.

The Right Rev Dorrien Davies, the Bishop of St Davids, said: "It is a special treasure of the Welsh language and we are honoured to have it in St Davids Cathedral."

The Dean of St Davids, the Very Rev Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, said: "It seems fitting that its first visit to Wales should be here, to the home of our patron saint, at our spiritual heart.

"We look forward to having it on show before its return to the abbey, to share with Welsh Christians of all traditions, for whom Y Beibl Cyssegr-Lan of 1588 Bible is a uniquely valuable treasure in our heritage of faith and language."

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