Antiquae Linguae Britannicae, Nunc vulgo dictae Cambro-Britannicae, a suis Cymraecae vel Cambricae, ab aliis wallicae, et Linguae Latinae, Dictionarium Duplex

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First edition of Davies's Welsh-Latin, Latin-Welsh dictionary 1632, in contemporary calf boards, tips repaired, re-spined to style, raised bands, original gilt title to red calf label, some blind tooling. Internally, not paginated [398 pp], signatures: [1], *2-*4, **-**4, . A-P4. Aa-Iii6 (some Hebrew), tile page is a facsimile (c1890), small royal coat of arms to TP verso, large woodcut to dedication leaf, intricate headers & initial letters, some light water staining, not detracting, repaired short margin tear (Pp1), a few old small paper edge repairs, bound without the inserted leaf of commendatory, as is often the case, new old endpapers, three columns to the page, occasional ink name (Griffith Roberts 1775/4) & some contemporary ink notes to margins, letter H to text block edge. Edited, and the first part compiled, by John Davies; the second part compiled by Thomas Williams, edited by Davies. (286*186 mm). (Rees 1551. Bohn 392. STC 6347). His published work belongs to the years 1620-1 and 1632-3. The 1620 edition of the Welsh Bible is known as Richard Parry's Bible, but it is thought today that much of the credit for the uniformity and correctness of the language used should be given to John Davies; he may have had something to do with the 1621 edition of the Welsh Book of Common Prayer as well. In 1621 too John Davies's own Welsh grammar, Antiquae Linguae Britannicae . Rudimenta, appeared. This was followed in 1632 by the Dictionarium Duplex, a dictionary (in two parts), the Welsh - Latin section being original work begun in 1593, while the Latin - Welsh section is an abridgement of a larger work by Thomas Wiliems of Trefriw, which is still in manuscript (Pen. MS. 228); John Davies himself spent almost a year in London when the dictionary was in the press. He was also the translator of Llyfr y Resolusion, 1632, and the editor of Y Llyfr Plygain a'r Catechisme, 1633. The Articulau, 1664, and Flores Poetarum Britannicorum, 1710, were not published until after his death. NLW DWB