From 23 April to 10 September 2011, visitors to the Library will be able to visit a new exhibition in our Hengwrt Gallery to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible.
Tucked away among the exhibits will be some familiar names associated with particular editions of Scripture, including John Wycliffe (English translations of the late 14th century), and William Morgan (the Welsh Bible translation of 1588). Sharp eyed visitors will also spot the work of one Welsh translator whose role has never been fully acknowledged, and who deserves further attention …
Richard Davies (c. 1505-81), bishop of St David’s, was one of those responsible for securing the legislation of 1563 that authorized the translation of the Bible and Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. That in itself was a great achievement. However, Davies provided further support for the subsequent translation venture.
Firstly, he gave board and lodgings at his episcopal palace at Abergwili for William Salesbury, whilst the latter was translating most of the New Testament into Welsh (published in 1567). Secondly, as a scholar renowned for his knowledge of languages, he himself translated 1 Timothy, Hebrews, James and 1 and 2 Peter for the 1567 Welsh translation (far more lucid translations than those by Salesbury!). His text of the first three chapters of 1 Timothy may be seen in our exhibition: it is the only example of scripture in Welsh to survive in the autograph of the original translator.
Richard Davies is remarkable in that he also contributed to the task of translating the Bible into English. It was his translations of Old Testament texts from Joshua to 2 Samuel that were included in the English Bible of 1568, known as the ‘Bishops’ Bible’. This Bible, also shown in our exhibition, was intended to replace the popular ‘Geneva’ versions then flooding into England from mainland Europe.
It is said that Davies and Salesbury intended to translate the Old Testament into Welsh following the publication of the New Testament in 1567, but that they quarrelled over a single word, and abandoned the project!
Maredudd ap Huw