Gerald of Wales and Competing Interpretations of the Welsh Middle Ages, c.1860–1910 

Abstract

The closing decades of the nineteenth century saw a shift in how Welsh medieval history was conceptualized. Predominantly antiquarian and mythic approaches were replaced, in intellectual circles at least, with narrative syntheses based on credible sources. This change was part of the rise of source-based and narrative forms of national history-writing across Europe. 1 The result in England was a confidently Whiggish and constitutionally focused historiography that reduced Welsh history to what Keith Robbins calls 'little more than a perpetual footnote in accounts of the history of the English state'.2 Welsh historians in the period responded to this discourse in a variety of ways, but even those who disputed its message nonetheless borrowed extensively from its assumptions.Given that a critical approach to sources was central to this new 'scientific' history, its impact on Welsh historiography can be explored by looking at how English and Welsh historians employed one particular source. To that end, this article will focus on their use of the Description of Wales (Descriptio Kambriae) by the churchman, Gerald of Wales (c.1146Wales (c. -1223. This text was not only a valuable source of information on medieval Welsh society but, for reasons discussed below, worked as a metaphorical barometer for the outlooks of the historians who used it. An analysis of how the source was applied thereby illustrates how the conceptual tools of English Whiggism were appropriated by Welsh intellectuals at the close of the nineteenth century and deployed in 3 This article uses a specific source, rather than a specific theme, to contribute to that research. GERALD OF WALES AND THE DESCRIPTION OF WALESIn order to understand the uses to which historians have put the Description, it is necessary to recognize the influences that shaped both the source and its writer. The first version of the text was completed in 1194 as a companion piece to the Journey through Wales (Itinerarium Kambriae), a travelogue written by Gerald as he toured Wales in 1188 with Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury to preach the Third Crusade. 4 The Description focuses on the topography and ethnography of Wales, with a particular emphasis on those areas in the south still under native rule. Book One covers the geography and place names of Wales, its political and ecclesiastical divisions, the genealogies of ruling elites and the positive aspects of Welsh character. Book Two, subtitled 'the less good points', focuses mainly on what Gerald regarded as the more reprehensible aspects of Welsh culture.5 The Description's value to subsequent historians derives from the fact that it is not a set of annals or a narrative, but what Robert Bartlett calls an 'ethnographic monologue' aiming to describe a society.6 It therefore contains a wealth of information about Welsh life in the twelfth century that is not found in any other contemporary source.Gerald's portrayal of Welsh society was shaped by his background. As a member of a prominent Marcher family and thus the Norman kn...

Filling the Gaps: The Iron Age in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan

“…Traces of what are described as field boundaries were noted leading away from the north-west and south-east corner of the 3rd – 4th century ad banked enclosure excavated at Biglis, although they were not depicted in the final report (Parkhouse 1988, 10–12). A possible field boundary was also noted during the excavations at Coed y Cymdda (Owen-John 1988a, 50), where a shallow ditch truncated the upper fill of the enclosure ditch along its northern edge, potentially defining faint traces of terracing below. Clearly post-dating the Late Bronze Age enclosure, no finds were recovered from this feature and it remains undated, although the excavator favoured a Roman date (Owen-John 1988a, 76).…”

“…A possible field boundary was also noted during the excavations at Coed y Cymdda (Owen-John 1988a, 50), where a shallow ditch truncated the upper fill of the enclosure ditch along its northern edge, potentially defining faint traces of terracing below. Clearly post-dating the Late Bronze Age enclosure, no finds were recovered from this feature and it remains undated, although the excavator favoured a Roman date (Owen-John 1988a, 76).…”

“…A major advance was the extensive rescue excavations and subsequent publication of three small enclosed sites – Whitton (Jarrett & Wrathmell 1981), Coed y Cymdda (Owen-John 1988a), and Biglis (Parkhouse 1988) – in the 1970s and early 1980s. These excavations have been highly influential principally because for the first time large assemblages of material and structural remains were recovered and rigorously analysed.…”

“…Just 17 ( c. 25%) still exist as earthworks; the vast majority have been either plough-levelled or destroyed through development or quarrying. Despite the large number, only 11 have been excavated ( c. 15%) and just four on an extensive scale – Whitton (Jarrett & Wrathmell 1981), Coed y Cymdda (Owen-John 1988a), Mynydd Bychan (Savory 1954; 1955), and RAF St Athan (Barber et al . 2006).…”

“…It should be noted that at all sites where excavation has been in excess of 1000 m 2 , four-post structures have been identified. The exception is Coed y Cymdda (Owen-John 1988a), where no cut features at all were recognised within the enclosure suggesting it may have had a specialised function perhaps for corralling livestock or periodic gatherings.…”