The carol can be found in NLW MS 1559B , pp.313-5, written early in the 17th century by William Bodwrda of Aberdaron. The date of composition of this carol may, however, be considerably earlier than the manuscript, particularly as the existence of purgatory is taken for granted as an unquestioned fact.
Most of the poems in the collection are by poets from Llyn, and this would suggest that the author of this carol lived in that part of the country. His descriptions of the torments of those who loved overmuch the 'course of the world' (cwrs y byd) are very similar in their graphic style to those of Ellis Wynne.
Published date: 1959
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