A medieval Welsh manuscript holds secrets of a poet who may have lived centuries earlier

Art · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Book of Taliesin is a foundational collection of Middle Welsh poetry. While the manuscript itself dates to the fourteenth century, it preserves verses attributed to a sixth-century bard. These poems range from heroic praise for kings to cryptic mythological riddles that remain notoriously difficult for scholars to fully decipher.

The manuscript, cataloged as Peniarth MS 2, is a centerpiece of the National Library of Wales. Although its physical form was produced during the first quarter of the fourteenth century, the text acts as a vessel for much older traditions. The volume is incomplete, missing several of its original pages, including the opening section. Its current title was assigned during the seventeenth century by the scholar Edward Lhuyd, long after the collection had been amassed at the Hengwrt estate by the antiquary Robert Vaughan.

The authorship of the poems is a subject of historical debate. While the manuscript attributes many works to a sixth-century poet named Taliesin, the oldest surviving copy of these verses was written roughly seven centuries after his lifetime. Scholars identify twelve specific poems within the collection that are believed to be the work of the original sixth-century bard. These pieces primarily focus on the life and legacy of Urien, the king of Rheged, and include elegies for his son, Owain. These works are celebrated for their vigorous expression and heroic themes, which helped establish the foundations of Welsh literature.

Beyond historical praise, the manuscript contains a diverse array of material, including religious hymns, accounts of biblical history, and arcane verses rooted in Celtic mythology. Some of these texts are so enigmatic that their true meaning remains elusive. Intriguingly, the margins of the manuscript contain mysterious marks that appear to be evaluative, potentially serving as a medieval grading system to measure the quality or value of the poems. These annotations offer a rare glimpse into how the manuscript was perceived and utilized by its early readers.

It is important to distinguish the historical poet from the legendary figure found in later folklore. The mythical persona of Taliesin, featured in the tale Hanes Taliesin, is a separate, later literary creation. By separating the historical bard from the later myth, researchers can better appreciate the manuscript as a vital, if complex, bridge to the early medieval Welsh world.

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