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In 2000, a sixteenth-century manuscript containing a copy of a previously unknown play in Middle Cornish, probably composed in the second half of the fifteenth century, was discovered among papers bequeathed to the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
This eagerly awaited edition of the play, published in association with the National Library of Wales, offers a conservatively edited text with a facing-page translation, and a reproduction of the original text at the foot of the page – vital for comparative purposes. Also included are a complete vocabulary, detailed linguistic notes, and a thorough introduction dealing with the language of the play, the hagiographic background of the St Kea material and the origins of other parts in the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth.
The theme of the play is the contention between St Kea, patron of Kea parish in Cornwall, and Teudar, a local tyrant. This is combined with a long section dealing with the dispute over tribute payments between King Arthur and the Emperor Lucius Hiberius; Queen Guinevere’s adultery with Arthur’s nephew Modred; the latter’s invitation to Cheldric and his Saxon hordes to come to Britain to assist him in his conflict with his uncle; and Arthur’s battle with Modred.
Winner of the 2008 Holyer An Gof Award for Cornish language publications.
At the turn of the millennium an announcement was made which astonished and delighted those interested in Cornish language and literature - a manuscript containing a hitherto unknown play in Middle Cornish has come to light. Academics and enthusiasts avidly seized on the text, and one of the results was the publication in 2007 of Bewnans Ke / The Life of St Kea, edited to critical acclaim by the Celtic scholars Graham Thomas and Nicholas Williams.
[...] the Thomas/Williams edition seemed set to become the standard printed text. It is this text which has now been reissued in an attractive and convenient paperback version, and it is to be hoped that the much lower price will encourage more people to study and enjoy this fascinating play.
This edition of Bewnans Ke provides a reliable text together with a guide through its many difficulties. The play is an essential addition to the resources of any student of Cornish language and literature.
— Peter Thomas
Jointly edited by Graham Thomas, formerly of the Department of Manuscripts and Records, National Library of Wales, and Nicholas Williams, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Modern Irish, University College, Dublin, who has published widely on Irish and Cornish literature and language.
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction, ix; Albert le Grand's "Life of St Ke"
Bewnans Ke: Synopsis
Albert le Grand's "Life of St Ke" and Bewnans Ke compared
Motifs found in the legend of St Kea and other saints' lives
St Kea, patron saint of Kea Parish
Bewnans Ke, Beunans Meriasek, and Glasney College, Penryn
The date of the composition of Bewnans Ke
The pronunciation of Middle English unstressed -e
The textual transmission of Bewnans Ke
Spelling and language
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Lexicon
Versification
Editorial method
Abbreviations
Bibliography
BEWNANS KE / THE LIFE OF ST KEA; Text and Translation
Notes
Index and glossary of Cornish words
Index and glossary of English words
Index of French words
Index of Latin words