A rare 1588 edition of the first complete Welsh Bible will go on display in Wales for the first time.

Translated by Bishop William Morgan in the year of the Spanish Armada under Elizabeth I, the Bible made scripture accessible in the Welsh language.

Bishop William compiled earlier translations and oversaw the printing in London, a lengthy process which was made harder by the fact that the printers didn’t speak Welsh.

The cleric stayed at Westminster Abbey with its then-dean, fellow Welshman Gabriel Goodman, while overseeing the work. Bishop Willian then gifted one copy to Goodman, inscribed in Latin, and it has remained in the Abbey’s library ever since.

The Bible will be exhibited at St David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire, from 17th June to 9th July.

Tony Trowles, librarian at Westminster Abbey, said: "It has been in our library ever since. It is in remarkably good condition." Of the 900 original copies, most have suffered wear from regular use. He explained it was once chained to shelves to prevent theft and described the printing as “highly complex and technical”.

Bound in leather over wooden boards, it was used only once in a 1988 service at St Benet Paul’s Wharf, a London church linked to the Welsh community.

Rt Rev Dorrien Davies, Bishop of St Davids, called it “a special treasure of the Welsh language”. 

The Dean of St Davids, the Very Rev Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, also commented saying: "It seems fitting that its first visit to Wales should be here, to the home of our patron saint, at our spiritual heart.

"We look forward to having it on show before its return to the abbey, to share with Welsh Christians of all traditions, for whom Y Beibl Cyssegr-Lan of 1588 Bible is a uniquely valuable treasure in our heritage of faith and language."