The Archer's Craft

The book by Adrian Eliot Hodgkin was first published as a large format edition in 1951. This photo-reduced paperback reprint has been produced in response to the growing interest in archery and the traditional skills employed in the archers craft. It is an invaluable guide for those who wish to make bows, especially longbows, arrows and other archers tackle, the traditional way. Although Hodgkin's book was originally written for hunters, the practice of hunting with the bow is now illegal in the United Kingdom, and the interest nowadays is more commonly in target practice and competitions, as well as reenactments of mock battles.

Included in this edition are numerous useful illustrations to assist those wishing to make their own archery equipment.

The author's chapter on hunting with the bow has been included for historical interest only, especially as it contains accounts from the fourteenth-century Book of Roi Modus, and the Livre de Chasse.

The Adventures & Vagaries of Twm Shôn Catti

The first edition of Prichard's Adventures and Vagaries of Twm Shôn Catti was published by its author in 1828. Although written in English, it came to be recognised as 'the first Welsh novel' and its success and recognition encouraged the author to bring out revised and enlarged editions that were published in 1839 and, posthumously, in 1873. The later editions were more sophisticated, and corrected for the sake of historical accuracy, but lacked the vitality of the first, which the Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales (1986) describes as 'employing traditional material which retains the pleasing freshness and simplicity of folk-tale.' Thus, despite the lack of sophistication, a reprint of the first edition is warranted not only as a record of the 'first Welsh novel' but also because it has a freshness and vitality all of its own. It is not a book of history but a novel based on oral folk-tradition; it should be read for enjoyment, as a celebration of a national hero of Wales. Twm, a wayward escapade-loving youth who makes good, is presented as the hero of the tale; he is an attractive character who even in his worst dealings never acts from personal greed.

Front cover photo: Dinas hill where Twm once hid in a cave.

The Folklore & Provincial Names of British Birds

Charles Swainson's book is an invaluable reference work for ornithologists and students of folklore alike, for it brings together in a single compact volume information which is otherwise scattered across the literature of Britain, Europe and the Middle East, much of it long out of print or found only in the great reference libraries, where we can be directed via his extensive bibliography spanning the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries.

The birds appear species by species. Names are given in Latin, common English, and regionally, and generally with derivations. (Frequently also given in Gaelic, French, German and Norwegian). Alongside this there are rare and fascinating snippets of folklore and also more detailed extracts from the folk and other literature of Britain, North Western Europe and even as far and diverse as the Apocryphal gospels and occasional Arabic sources. For an example closer to home, he illustrates the various practices used in differing locations, to dispel the ill luck caused by the appearance of a single magpie; from making a cross in the air, removing your hat and making a polite bow, crossing the feet, hoping for sight of a crow, or spitting over your right shoulder whilst thrice repeating a certain given rhyme.

To fully appreciate the value of this work it should be kept in mind that this was written at a time when the author had plentiful access to living folklore which has subsequently been lost or long forgotten.

First published in 1886 by Eliot Stock, this present work is a facsimile reprint of that edition.

The Physicians of Myddfai

This unique work is of great value to anyone interested in both herbal medicine and the folk traditions of Wales. Although the material dates back to the twelfth century, it is still recognized as a useful and relevant text by present day practitioners as well as those with a more historical perspective.

The original physicians of Myddfai date from the twelfth century and their remedies have come down to us in two books, originating from the descendants of Rhiwallon the physician, a short one named The Physicians of Myddfai and a much longer one attributed to Howel the physician. The two books are included in this present collection, together with the famous legend of Llyn-y-Van which claims that Rhiwallon was taught his medicinal art by his estranged mother, the mysterious Lady of the Lake, who predicted his family would be the most skilful physicians in the country for many generations.

Whatever one thinks of the legend printed here, it is a fact that the descendants of Rhiwallon became notable physicians and that as late as the 19th century more than one royal surgeon originated from the little village of Myddfai. The last known practitioner in Wales seems to have been Rice Williams M.D. of Aberystwyth, who died in 1842 aged 85.

This present collection is a facsimile of the English text first published in Llandovery in 1861 and translated into English by John Pughe. From an index spanning Abdominal complaints to a variety of Wounds, this work advises treatments on hundreds of conditions, sufficient to fascinate any reader.