Reading, Writing, and Collecting: Books and Manuscripts in Wales, 1450-1850

Welcome to ‘Reading, Writing, and Collecting: Books and Manuscripts in Wales, 1450-1850’ to be held on 24-25 April 2019 at Brecon Cathedral.

The purpose of this conference is to promote academic and collaborative work on the under-researched area of Welsh book history. A Nation and its Books (1998) began a conversation about issues such as collecting, ownership, reading, buying and selling, literary practices, and the material and environmental aspects of book history. Twenty years later a few key works, for example Daniel Huws’s Medieval Welsh Manuscripts (2000), have been published, but there have been few opportunities for scholars to gather, discuss, and promote the further study of the field. We hope the conference will begin to achieve this, forming an academic network that will foster further research and collaboration.

With this in mind, we have designed a programme that includes opportunities to chat and network, visit the Cathedral site, and use the atmosphere of this unique venue to inspire future work and new ideas.

Many thanks to the Learned Society of Wales, the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates, to Brecon Cathedral’s Convivium initiative, and the Swansea and Brecon diocesan mission fund for their support in making this conference possible.