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35659_Cyfaill y Llyfrgell 11/11/02 1:12 pm Page 1 CYFAILL Y LLYFRGELL FRIEND OF THE LIBRARY Y ddawns yn Llsgr. LlGC 5017D, f. 6v The dance in NLW MS 5017D, f.6v llun / picture Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales Gweler yr adolygiad gan Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan See the review by Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan CYLCHLYTHYR CYFEILLION LLYFRGELL GENEDLAETHOL CYMRU NEWSLETTER OF THE FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES Gaeaf 2002 Winter 35659_Cyfaill y Llyfrgell 11/11/02 1:13 pm Page 2 CYFAILL Y LLYFRGELL GAEAF 2002 WINTER FRIEND OF THE LIBRARY A REFUGE IN PEACE AND WAR: THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES TO 1952 Paul O’Leary Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru, 2002, xvi+306 td., £29.95 National Library of Wales, 2002, xvi+306 pp., £29.95 (£19.98 i Gyfeillion Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), ISBN (£19.98 to Friends of the National Library of Wales),ISBN 1-86225-034-0 1-86225-034-0 Dywedodd yr hanesydd The historian of Indian gwyddoniaeth Indiaidd science, Deepak Kumar, Deepak Kumar wrthyf ryw once told me that the view dro fod yr olygfa o risiau from the steps of the Llyfrgell Genedlaethol National Library of Wales Cymru yn well nag eiddo was superior to that of any unrhyw lyfrgell yr oedd library he had visited in wedi ymweld â hi yng North America, the British Ngogledd America, yr Isles, or on the Indian sub- Ynysoedd Prydeinig, nac ar continent. This inter- yr isgyfandir Indiaidd. Mae’r national perspective is persbectif rhyngwladol hwn indicative of a wider yn mynegi amgyffrediad perception.Viewed from its ehangach. O’i weld o’i bentir yn edrych dros Fae promontory overlooking Ceredigion, soletrwydd y Cardigan Bay, it is the sefydliad yw’r peth mwyaf solidity of the institution trawiadol: mae’r Llyfrgell that is most striking: the Genedlaethol â golwg National Library exudes an parhauster sy’n cuddio ei air of permanence that hanes byr. I’r rhai ohonom belies its short history. To sydd wedi bod yn aelodau those of use who have been o’r staff a’i defnyddio fel members of the staff and darllenwyr, mae’r Llyfrgell used it as readers, the yn teimlo fel petai hi wedi Library simply feels as bod yno erioed. Mae hyn yn though it has always been rhannol oherwydd solet- there. This is partly a rwydd gweledol yr adeilad, consequence of the visual gyda’i bensaernïaeth glasur- Baeau’r Llawysgrifau / Manuscript Bays solidity of the building, with ol, ac yn rhannol oherwydd its classical architecture, and cyfoeth ei chasgliadau, sy’n ffoto/photo Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library partly because of the wealth of Wales caniatáu i ysgolheigion of its collections, which ddogfennu llawer o allow scholars to document ganrifoedd o hanes a many centuries of Welsh diwylliant Cymru. Sut bynnag, fel y mae’r hanes caboledig history and culture. However, as this polished account of the hwn o’r ymgyrch i sefydlu llyfrgell genedlaethol a helyntion campaign to establish a national library and the vicissitudes blynyddoedd cynnar y sefydliad yn dangos yn eglur, gallai of the institution’s early years makes clear, it could easily yn hawdd fod wedi bod yn lle gwahanol iawn i’r lle rydym have become a very different place to that we know so well yn ei adnabod mor dda heddiw.Yn wreiddiol, roedd nifer o today. Originally, there were a number of divergent and syniadau gwahanol a chroestynnol ynglyˆn â beth ddylai conflicting ideas of what a national library should be, as well llyfrgell genedlaethol fod, yn ogystal â’r cynnwrf cyhoeddus as the inevitable public brouhaha about where it should be anochel ynglyˆn â lle y dylai gael ei lleoli. Meddyliai rhai am located. Some conceived of a narrowly defined specialist lyfrgell arbenigol wedi ei diffinio’n gyfyng a fyddai yn cael library attached to one of the constituent colleges of the ei chysylltu ag un o sefydliadau cyfansoddiadol Prifysgol University of Wales, while others embraced a wider and Cymru, tra cofleidiai eraill weledigaeth ehangach a mwy uchelgeisiol o sefydliad a fyddai’n cystadlu â llyfrgelloedd more ambitious vision of an institution to rival the other mawr eraill yr Ynysoedd Prydeinig. Drwy drugaredd, y great libraries of the British Isles. Fortunately, the latter weledigaeth olaf a orfu. vision prevailed. Mae David Jenkins yn peri i’r dramatis personae a gymerai David Jenkins brings to life vividly the dramatis personae ran yn yr ymgyrch dros y Llyfrgell ddod yn fyw o flaen ein involved in the campaign for the Library. Sir John Williams, llygaid. Mae’n debyg bod Syr John Williams, y noddwr the wealthy and remarkably benevolent patron, apparently 2 35659_Cyfaill y Llyfrgell 11/11/02 1:13 pm Page 3 CYFAILL Y LLYFRGELL GAEAF 2002 WINTER FRIEND OF THE LIBRARY cyfoethog a haelfrydig eithriadol, wedi dechrau ymddiddori became interested in old books and manuscripts by chance; mewn hen lyfrau a llawysgrifau drwy hap a damwain; ni all there can be few more providential accidents in the history fod llawer o ddamweiniau mwy rhagluniaethol na hyn yn of Welsh scholarship.Tom Ellis was an inspirational figure up hanes ysgolheictod Cymraeg. Roedd Tom Ellis yn ffigur o to his premature death in 1899, while J. Herbert Lewis ysbrydoliaeth hyd at ei farwolaeth gynamserol yn 1899, tra pushed the issue of fair play for funding for Wales in hyrwyddai J. Herbert Lewis chwarae teg i Gymru ym mater Parliament, and Gwenogvryn Evans tirelessly followed up ariannu yn y Senedd, ac olrheiniai Gwenogvryn Evans yn stories of valuable manuscripts in private hands and alerted ddiflino unrhyw sôn am lawysgrifau gwerthfawr mewn wealthy patrons to the possibility of acquiring them. Evans’s dwylo preifat a thynnu sylw noddwyr cyfoethog at y obsession with the threat to books and manuscripts from fire posibilrwydd o’u pwrcasu. Roedd gwreiddyn obsesiwn was rooted in the conflagrations that had destroyed Evans ynglyˆn â’r bygythiad i lyfrau a llawysgrifau oddi wrth irreplaceable collections in private hands. Each of these dân yn y tanau a oedd wedi dinistrio casgliadau unigryw individuals—as well as a few who became disillusioned on mewn dwylo preifat. Cyfrannodd pob un o’r unigolion hyn the way—contributed their mite to the grand project. — yn ogystal â nifer a gafodd ddadrithiad rywle ar y ffordd In fact, what is striking about the individuals who — eu hatling tuag at y prosiect mawreddog. cherished the dream of a permanent home for Welsh books Mewn gwirionedd, beth sy’n drawiadol ynglyˆn â’r and manuscripts is that they did not wait on the success of unigolion a goleddai’r freuddwyd o gartref parhaol i lyfrau protracted parliamentary initiatives but set about expending a llawysgrifau Cymraeg oedd nad oeddent yn fodlon aros am lwyddiant camau seneddol hirfaith ond yn hytrach a prodigious amount of energy and investing considerable dechreuasant dreulio egni aruthrol a buddsoddi symiau amounts of private money in collecting books and sylweddol o arian preifat mewn casglu llyfrau a llawysgrifau manuscripts that otherwise would have been lost for ever. a fyddai fel arall wedi mynd i ddifancoll. Nid oes esiampl There is no clearer example of a disparate group of gliriach o grwˆp o unigolion annhebyg yn peri i’w individuals forcing their dream into reality by systematically breuddwyd droi’n realiti drwy baratoi’n systematig ar gyfer preparing for the day when it would be embodied in bricks y diwrnod pryd y byddai’n troi’n frics a morter. Y canlyniad and mortar. The consequence was that when the Library oedd bod y Llyfrgell pan agorodd ei drysau yn medru opened its doors it was able to take in extremely important derbyn casgliadau pwysig dros ben o lawysgrifau a llyfrau a existing collections of both manuscripts and books that fodolai’n barod ac a’i sefydlodd ar unwaith fel canolfan immediately established it as the unparalleled centre for ysgolheictod ddihafal. Sut bynnag, cymerodd rhai scholarship. However, it took some libraries in Cardiff llyfrgelloedd yng Nghaerdydd nifer o ddegawdau i dderbyn several decades fully to accept this situation and finally y sefyllfa hon a rhoi’r gorau yn y diwedd i’w gobeithion relinquish their vain dreams of supplanting Aberystwyth; the ofer o ddisodli Aberystwyth; roedd cerrig sylfaen casgliad foundation stones of a national collection had been cenedlaethol wedi cael eu rhoi yn eu lle yn ddiwyd ac yn assiduously and meticulously put in place. drwyadl. The core of the debate in Parliament for government Craidd y ddadl yn y Senedd am gymhorthdal llywodraeth subsidy—without which a library on the scale we know — y byddai llyfrgell ar y raddfa yr ydym yn gyfarwydd â hi today would have remained a pipe dream—centred on the heddiw wedi aros yn freuddwyd gwrach hebddo — oedd i extent to which Wales could be considered a nation ba raddau y gellid ystyried Cymru yn genedl gyfatebol i comparable to Ireland and Scotland. For many English Iwerddon a’r Alban. I rai gwleidyddion Saesneg parhâi hwn politicians this remained an open question (for some it still yn gwestiwn agored (fel mae’n dal i fod i rai), a tharfodd y does), and this failure of perception at the heart of the diffyg amgyffrediad wrth galon y wladwriaeth Brydeinig ar British State bedevilled many plans to pass legislation for lawer o gynlluniau i basio deddfwriaeth ar gyfer Cymru.Yn Wales. In this context, the role of figures like Lloyd George y cyd-destun hwn, roedd rôl ffigurau megis Lloyd George in assisting the new library in its infancy was crucial. J. yn cynorthwyo’r egin-lyfrgell yn dyngedfennol. Cofnododd Herbert Lewis recorded the details (reprinted here) of an J.

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