Mediæval Wales

CHIEFLY IN THE TWELFTH
AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES

Six Popular Lectures

BY

A. G. LITTLE, M.A., F.R.Hist.S.

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF SOUTH WALES AND MONMOUTHSHIRE
AUTHOR OF “THE GREY FRIARS IN OXFORD,” ETC.

WITH MAPS AND PLANS

LONDON
T. FISHER UNWIN
Paternoster Square
1902

[All rights reserved.]

[Pg v]

PREFACE

THIS volume contains the substanceof a course of popular Lectures deliveredat Cardiff in 1901. The workdoes not claim in any way to be anoriginal contribution to knowledge, and ispublished on the recommendation of somefriends in whose literary judgment I haveconfidence. In a popular book of thiskind I have not thought it necessary togive detailed references to authorities, buta list of a few of the books which I usedin the preparation of the Lectures, andwhich are likely to be interesting toreaders of Welsh history, may be useful.Among mediæval works I may mentionthe two Welsh chronicles—the AnnalesCambriæ and the Brut y Tywysogion,[Pg vi]both published in the Rolls Series;Geoffrey of Monmouth’s “History of theKings of Britain” (translated in Bohn’s“Six Old English Chronicles”); GiraldusCambrensis, “The Itinerary and Descriptionof Wales” (translated in Bohn’slibrary); the prefaces, especially those byBrewer, in the Rolls Series edition ofGiraldus, will be found interesting. Ofthe English chroniclers, Ordericus Vitalis,Roger of Wendover, and Matthew Parisare perhaps the most valuable for the historyof Wales and the Marches during thetwelfth and thirteenth centuries. Amongmodern books, the reader may be referredto Rhys and Jones, “The Welsh People”;Freeman, “William Rufus”; ThomasStephens, “Literature of the Kymry”;Henry Owen, “Gerald the Welshman”;Clark, “Mediæval Military Architecture,”and “The Land of Morgan”; Newell,“History of the Welsh Church”; Tout,“Edward I.”; and the “Dictionary ofNational Biography.” Since these Lectureswere delivered at least three bookson Welsh history have appeared whichdeserve mention: Mr. Bradley’s “Owen[Pg vii]Glyndwr,” with a summary of earlierWelsh history; Mr. Owen Edwards’scharmingly written volume in the Storyof the Nations Series; and Mr. Morris’svaluable work on “The Welsh Wars ofEdward I.”

The maps are taken from large wallmaps which I used when lecturing. Indrawing up the map of Wales and theMarches at the beginning of the thirteenthcentury, I had the assistance of my friendand former pupil, Mr. Morgan Jones,M.A., of Ferndale, who generously placedat my disposal the results of his researchesinto the history of the Welsh Marches.

A. G. LITTLE.

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CONTENTS