The Red Book of Hergest
Preserved but no longer current.
A Welsh manu- script of the 14th century, containing the Mabinogion, poems by Taliesin and Llywarch Hen, a history of the world from Adam to 1320, etc. It is now the property of Jesus College, Oxford.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The Red Book of Hergest” mean?
A Welsh manu- script of the 14th century, containing the Mabinogion, poems by Taliesin and Llywarch Hen, a history of the world from Adam to 1320, etc. It is now the property of Jesus College, Oxford.
Is “The Red Book of Hergest” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.