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Titles in the Strata Florida Books series:

Volume 1: Saint Mary’s Church, Strata Florida/Eglwys y Santes Fair, Ystrad Fflur (Welsh and English bilingual) – David Austin, Gaenor Parry and Carys Aldous-Hughes £7

St Mary's Church in Strata Florida has been a celebrated place of worship for centuries. This book offers an understanding of the unique history of the church, discussing the history of the site stretching back into the Bronze age and exploring developments through medieval times and up to the 19th and 20th centuries.

Mae Eglwys y Santes Fair yn Ystrad Fflur wedi bod yn fangre addoli enwog ers canrifoedd. Mae'r llyfr hwn yn cynnig dealltwriaeth o hanes unigryw'r eglwys, gan drafod hanes y safle sy'n ymestyn yn ôl i'r Oes Efydd ac archwilio datblygiadau drwy'r oesoedd canol a hyd at y 19eg a'r 20fed ganrif.

Volume 2: Strata Florida: The History and Landscape of a Welsh Monastery – David Austin (English) £15

Written by the foremost expert on Strata Florida and drawing on the latest archaeological research, this is a concise and accessible introduction to the long history of the site and how its landscapes have been shaped by human activity stretching right back to the Bronze Age.

Ystrad Fflur: Hanes a Thirwedd Mynachlog Gymreig – David Austin (Welsh) £15

Dyma gyflwyniad cryno a hygyrch gan y prif awdurdod ar Ystrad Fflur sy'n tynnu ar yr ymchwil archeolegol ddiweddaraf. Adroddir hanes hir y safle gan ddangos sut mae ei dirweddau wedi'u ffurfio gan weithgarwch dynol yn ymestyn yn ôl i Oes yr Efydd.

Volume 3: The Poetry of Strata Florida - Dafydd Johnston (English) £10

Dafydd Johnston is an internationally recognised scholar of medieval texts written in the Welsh language, including the definitive work on the period’s most famous and accomplished poet, Dafydd ap Gwilym who is closely associated with the abbey of Strata Florida.
Almost from its inception, and throughout the Middle Ages, the abbey, alongside other Cistercian houses in Pura Wallia, seems to have been engaged in the production and transmission of manuscripts which inscribed the poetic traditions of early Welsh literary culture.
This book gives an account of that enterprise, exploring what we know of the authors, offering outstanding examples of their work and placing them in their cultural and political milieu. This account also describes how this vital tradition was maintained through the succeeding centuries of the modern era with national as well as local poets continuing to produce new works, in both the English and Welsh languages. This spiritual place, an icon of Welsh cultural identity, still captures the imagination and inspires new poetry.

Barddoniaeth Ystrad Fflur - Dafydd Johnston (Welsh) £10

Mae Dafydd Johnston yn ysgolhaig adnabyddus yn rhyngwladol am ei waith ar farddoniaeth Gymraeg yr Oesoedd Canol, gan gynnwys golygiad safonol o gerddi bardd enwocaf y cyfnod, Dafydd ap Gwilym, un a oedd â chyswllt agos ag abaty Ystrad Fflur.
Roedd yr abaty’n rhan o rwydwaith o dai Sistersaidd a chwaraeodd ran allweddol yn y gwaith o ddiogelu hen lenyddiaeth Cymru mewn llawysgrifau. Mae'r llyfr hwn yn adrodd stori’r fenter honno gydag esiamplau o waith y beirdd a’r cerddi a ganwyd am yr abaty. Mae hefyd yn bwrw golwg dros barhad y traddodiad yn y cyfnod modern gan drafod gwaith beirdd lleol a chenedlaethol yn y Saesneg a'r Gymraeg. Mae Ystrad Fflur wedi bod yn un o safleoedd pwysicaf ein hunaniaeth genedlaethol ers canrifoedd, ac mae’n dal i danio’r dychymyg ac ysbrydoli barddoniaeth newydd.

Volume 4: Life in a Medieval Cistercian Monastery (English) £10

Written by a leading historian of medieval European monasticism and the Cistercian Order in particular, this book is designed to introduce readers to the everyday life of a Cistercian monastery such as Strata Florida. It guides us through the monks’ daily routine of prayer and worship, manual labour, and devotional reading. Drawing on a range of evidence from Strata Florida and beyond, it discusses where and when the monks ate and drank, worked and slept, how they dressed, and the importance of silence within the precinct. It looks at how a man became a monk and how some might rise to high office within an abbey. The monastic vocation was a lifelong commitment, and we consider how sick and elderly monks were cared for, and the rituals surrounding death. We move between the inner and outer precincts to observe the activities of the conversi, the lay brothers, often seen as the key to the Cistercians’ economic success. We observe the importance of an abbey’s interaction with the outside world and the reception of guests and strangers who knocked at the gate.

Bywyd Mewn Mynachlog Sistersaidd Ganoloesol (Welsh) £10

Mae’r Athro Janet Burton yn un o brif haneswyr mynachaeth Ewrop ganoloesol, ac yn arbenigwr ar Urdd y Sistersiaid. Ei nod yn y llyfr hwnyw cyflwyno bywyd beunyddiol mewn mynachlog Sistersaidd fel Ystrad Fflur.Arweinir y darllenydd trwy drefn ddyddiol y mynachod o weddïo ac addoli, llafurcorfforol a darllen defosiynol. Gan dynnu ar ystod eang o dystiolaeth o Ystrad Fflur a thuhwnt, esbonnir ble a phryd y byddai’r mynchod yn bwyta ac yfed, yn gweithio achysgu, sut y byddent yn gwisgo, a phwysigrwydd tawelwch o fewn caeadle’rfynachlog. Trafodir sut y byddai dyn yn dod yn fynach, a sut y gallai rhai godii swyddi uchel mewn abaty. Ymrwymiad am oes oedd y bywyd mynachaidd, ac ystyriry gofal dros fynachod claf a hen, a’r defodau perthnasol I farwolaeth. Symudirrhwng y caeadleoedd mewnol ac allanol er mwyn sylwi ar weithgareddau’rconversi, y brodyr lleyg a welir yn aml yn allweddol I lwyddiant economaidd ySistersiaid. Gwelwn bwysigrwydd perthynas abaty â'r byd y tu allan, a sutdderbyniad a gai gwesteion ac ymwelwyr a fyddai’n curo ar y porth.

Additional titles:

Mynachlog Fawr in 30 objects - Exhibition catalogue (English) £2.00

Thanks to funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, World Monuments Fund and Sacred Landscapes of Medieval Monasteries Project, we have been able to restore this building, completing work in July 2021. This included the repair, reconstruction and tiling of the roof, relaying of the traditional stone floor, new windows and doors, and much more.

Through our ‘30 Objects of Mynachlog Fawr’ Exhibition you can explore what life would have been like at Mynachlog Fawr house and farm from the late 1800s through to the 1950s. Each of these objects has been carefully selected to tell a story about the daily life of the people who lived and worked at Mynachlog Fawr during this time. From agricultural tools, to domestic work, letters and documents and objects of superstition, there is a lot to see.

Life Beneath the Arch – Charles Arch (English) £9.99

The reminiscences of Charles Arch – a well-known figure in farming circles in Wales – who has been a ringside commentator at the Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwedd since 1980. He recalls his early decades raised on a mountain farm adjacent to Strata Florida Abbey in mid Ceredigion, describing the farming year in detail and the many interesting characters who lived in the area at that time.

Byw Dan y Bwa – Charles Arch (Welsh) £6.95

A portrait of the early decades in the life of Charles Arch, focusing on the vibrant Young Farmers Movement of the time, and the excitement of the sheep-dog trials. An insight is also provided into the lives of many interesting characters of the area.

Cyfrol sy'n darlunio chwarter canrif cyntaf bywyd Charles Arch, gan ganolbwyntio ar fwrlwm y Mudiad Ffermwyr Ifanc yn y cyfnod, yn ogystal â llwyddiannau mewn treialon cŵn defaid, a difyrrwch cwmni llu o gymeriadau lliwgar ei filltir sgwâr.

Ysbryd Ystrad Fflur £20

Between Mountain and Moor £10

All titles are available to purchase from our exhibition, or can be posted.

Email us at [email protected] to order your copies today.