Yr Awen Drwy'r Storïau

Poems based on stories in Welsh tradition, edited by Mari George

This book was published by Barddas in February 2020 and designed by Tanwen Haf using a set of illustrations that were commissioned by the publisher specifically for the volume.

I based the illustrations in the book on two medieval Welsh sources. The knotwork patterns are all adapted from marginal illuminations found in the manuscript known as the Rhygyfarch Psalter, which was made in the scriptorium at Llanbadarn Fawr towards the end of the eleventh century. The artist, Ieuan ap Sulien, was the son of Sulien of Llanbadarn, a well-travelled scholar and twice bishop of St Davids, and the illuminator shows a liking for zoomorphic designs. Ieuan's brother, Rhigyfarch, wrote the earliest known Life of St David in Latin at around the same date, and the overlaying images and patterns are all derived from designs found on the tile pavement in the presbytery of St Davids Cathedral, probably made in about 1500.

The book is available from gwales.com, where a list of the poems can be found.