Programme 1

The National Library was awarded Royal Charter status in 1907, arranged by Dr John Williams, a personal physician to the Queen and a keen collector of books and manuscripts. Other collectors such as Robert Vaughan and the Williams Wyn family of Peniarth Library made a huge contribution to the Library's collection and enriched the permanent status of many pieces of writing essential to Welsh cultural heritage.

In this first programme, follow Mererid into the cellars of the Library to look through the oldest Welsh manuscript, and marvel at the beauty of seeing the work of such writers as Dafydd ap Gwilym and Edward Williams (Iolo Morgannwg) in their own hand – cultural history in the making.