Brilliant Nonfiction

Three nightmare visions of the world, of death and of hell.

The anonymous poet is dragged from sleep by the fairies of Welsh myth, and rescued by an angel is taken to see the City of Doom, whose citizens vie for the favour of Belial’s three beautiful daughters; to the realm of King Death, the rebellious vassal of Lucifer; and finally to Hell itself, where Lucifer debates with his demons which sin shall rule Great Britain.

First published in 1703, this classic of religious allegory and Welsh prose combines all the blunt urgency of John Bunyan with the vivid social satire of Dryden and Pope, and is published in the T. Gwynn Jones translation of 1940, with an introduction by Rob Mimpriss reflecting on its political significance as the union of England and Scotland comes to an end.

Morgan Llwyd (1619-1659), the nephew of a professional soldier and magician, was a Roundhead, a millenialist, a chaplain in the army of Oliver Cromwell, and later a civil servant of the commonwealth in Wales.

His famous religious allegory, A Book of Three Birds, is considered the most important Welsh book of the Seventeenth Century, and an enduring masterpiece of Welsh prose. With its introduction reflecting on the political upheavals of our time, this new translation by Rob Mimpriss brings to life the pungency of Morgan Llwyd’s writing, the richness of his religious and political thought, and the urgency of his drama and characterisation.

‘Lucid, skilful, and above all, of enormous timely relevance.’

Jim Perrin

Morgan Llwyd (1619-1659), the nephew of a professional soldier and magician, was a Roundhead, a millenialist, a chaplain in the army of Oliver Cromwell, and later a civil servant of the commonwealth in Wales.

His Welsh-language writings, grounded in Puritan theology, yet enriched by his mysticism and esotericism, are considered masterpieces of imagery and cadence, among the best prose ever written in Welsh. His three English-language essays, first published in 1655 and collected here, display the depth and richness of his religious thought, and his passionate engagement in the tumultuous events of his day.

Written in the sixth century, vividly describing the harrowing of the Celtic kingdoms of Britain by the Anglo-Saxon invaders, Gildas’s Destruction of Britain is both a lament for Roman civilisation and a blistering polemic against the impieties of the British kings. Written three centuries later, Nennius’s History of Britain presents a picture of the mythical king Vortigern, the prophet Ambrosius, and the conflict between the red dragon and the white that inspired Geoffrey of Monmouth, and resounds in Welsh popular culture to this day. Between them, they represent a society in extremis, and a passionate defence of the nationhood of Wales.

Published as part of the Wales in Europe series: celebrating the past and future of Wales as an independent nation.