The 'Annals of Owen Glyn Dŵr' in Context: The Amplified Blwydyn Eiseu Chronicle in NLW MS Peniarth 135

In his Owen Glendower (1931) Sir J. E. Lloyd published a short chronicle from the National Library of Wales MS Peniarth 135 which he entitled 'Annals of Owen Glyn Dŵr', judging it to be an important source as it was 'sufficiently near the time of Owen to be fairly free from legendary accretion'. This article examines this text in context, showing it to be, in fact, part of a much more extensive chronicle, an expanded version of the fourteenth-century chronicle known as Blwydyn Eiseu, ranging from 5199 BC to 1321, with a continuation from 1322 to 1422 which includes the 'Annals of Owen Glyn Dŵr'. The manuscript sources of the text are examined (including the National Library of Wales MS Cwrtmawr 453 written by Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, whose text is closely related to that of Peniarth 135 but not derived from it). The article attempts to establish the provenance and date of the text on the basis of linguistic evidence, judging it to be of likely Glamorgan origin and fifteenthcentury date, and it discusses its portrayal of the Glyndŵr revolt. The whole of the Peniarth 135 text is edited (with variants from Cwrtmawr 453), with an English translation and full textual notes.