Welsh kings at the English court, 928-956 (original) (raw)
The Changing Approaches of English Kings to Wales in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries
Offa's Dyke Journal 4, 2022
This article examines how political relations between England and Wales evolved during the tenth and eleventh centuries. During this period, the newly enlarged English kingdom ruled by Alfred the Great’s descendants became more sophisticated and better able to exploit its inhabitants. At the same time, Wales came to be dominated by a smaller number of more powerful and wide-ranging kings. The combined effect of these changes was a move away from the complete domination over Wales sought by English kings of the earlier tenth century to a pattern of more sporadic intervention exercised through client lords active in the Anglo-Welsh borderlands.
Welsh Kings at Anglo-Saxon Royal Assemblies (928–55)
The Haskins Society Journal 26, 2015
A volume containing the collected papers of Henry Loyn was published in 1992, five years after his retirement in 1987. 1 A memoir of his academic career, written by Nicholas Brooks, was published by the British Academy in 2003. 2 When reminded in this way of a contribution to Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman studies sustained over a period of 50 years, and on learning at the same time of Henry's outstanding service to the academic communities in Cardiff, London, and elsewhere, one can but stand back in awe. I was never taught by Henry, but encountered him at critical moments-first as the external examiner of my PhD thesis, in 1977, and then at conferences or meetings for twenty years thereafter. Henry was renowned not only for the authority and crystal clarity of his published works, but also as the kind of speaker who could always be relied upon to bring a semblance of order and direction to any proceedings-whether introducing a conference, setting out the issues in a way which made one feel that it all mattered, and that we stood together at the cutting edge of intellectual endeavour; or concluding a conference, artfully drawing together the scattered threads and making it appear as if we'd been following a plan, and might even have reached a conclusion. First place at a conference in the 1970s and 1980s was known as the 'Henry Loyn slot', and was normally occupied by Henry Loyn himself; but once, at the British Museum, he was for some reason not able to do it, and I was prevailed upon to do it in his place. Not wishing to disappoint the audience, the organisers of the meeting were so kind as to provide me with a pair of magnificent adhesive eyebrows, so that at least I might look the part. Suffice it to say that Henry's books and articles will stand for many years to come as an example for us all to emulate. 3 Earlier speakers in this series have taken their respective cues from Henry's own writings; 4 and I wish to do the same, by speaking in his memory about Welsh kings at royal assemblies in Anglo-Saxon England. The subject was first explored almost a hundred years ago, by Sir John Edward Lloyd, towards the end of the first volume of his magisterial History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest (1911). 5 It was a job very well done; and Lloyd's perception of Hywel Dda, in particular, became the orthodoxy. It fed directly into the representation of Hywel
A Political Chronology of Wales, 1066 to 1282
2003
Paul Remfry has taken as his field Medieval Military History of Wales and the Marches between 1066 and 1282 and is producing a series of booklets covering the families of this era and their castles. He is concentrating on the period from the Norman Conquest of England until the demise of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the first and last recognised native Prince of Wales, the period containing the Norman incursions into Wales. He has carried out much painstaking research both in this country and in France. This has meant many hours spent in University Libraries in such disparate places as Aberystwyth, Birmingham, Manchester and Paris as well as the British Library and the National Library of Wales. It has also involved many visits for close examination of castle sites on both sides of the English Channel.
Historical Research
The major histories written in England in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries demonstrate significant interest in Wales, how it came to be ruled by the English, and how relationships between rulers and people had developed. The histories most current in England in the late fourteenth and fifteenth century, by contrast, show far less interest in these Welsh topics. Readers of the most widely-available histories in the late fifteenth century, especially those which were part of the Brut and London Chronicle traditions, would have had relatively little sense of the situation of Wales and its conquest, still less of more recent events, not least the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr in the early fifteenth century or the turbulence of the most recent half-century. By the late sixteenth century, this position had been reversed, and readers of widely available histories were plentifully supplied with accounts of the Welsh past and its relevance to the English experience. This poses questions as to the reasons for this change, and its impacts. First, it suggests we should explore the role we should attribute to perceptions of the historic and more recent impact of Welsh instability in shaping the civil conflicts of 1450-87; and, second, it points us towards a more subtle understanding of the rediscovery of a Welsh past in English historiography from the early sixteenth century. The intention here is to explore the significance of the Welsh identity of the monarchy and of many people at court in promoting this rediscovery, as well as the prominent role in historical writing and publishing of men such as Richard Grafton, Edward Hall and Raphael Holinshed who had strong marcher connections.
The Medieval Review, 2023
This book's title creates an obvious quandary: what is Welsh history? Is it the history of a "people," or a state, or a territory? Does it raise particular questions, pose special challenges, or demand certain approaches? Does it have its own historiography, or is that historiography inseparable from broader history writing on relevant themes? Should there be a Welsh historiography? Prior to the advent of Pryce's book, it would have been considerably more difficult to answer such questions. This is not because Pryce set out to answer them specifically. To a certain extent, he lets the material speak for itself on such issues. Rather, by writing a definitive account of the development of Welsh history writing from the early Middle Ages to the present day, Pryce has bestowed order and coherence, for the first time, on long-established traditions of Welsh history writing, creating new space for necessary reflection on the standing of the field. Above all, Writing Welsh History is a contribution to intellectual history. It charts the engagement