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The autobiography of Gerald of Wales, translated from the Latin, offers a compelling picture of medieval life. Gerald of Wales, the son of a Norman Baron and the grandson of a Welsh Princess, is one of the most gifted and entertaining of medieval writers. His autobiography, translated from the Latin, presents the story of an Archdeacon who, despite his passionate efforts, never became a Bishop; it is the self-revelation of a man as able and courageous as he was vain and eccentric, and as devout and serious as he was flamboyant and humorous, a vivid picture of twelfth-century kings and prelates, of politics and travel, full of strange adventures at home and abroad, told with frankness and power, and without a counterpart in the literature of his day. Moreover, the volume presents a vivid picture of medieval life in general. The late H. E. BUTLER was Professor of Latin at University College, London.
Gerald of Wales (c.1146–c.1223), widely recognized for his innovative ethnographic studies of Ireland and Wales, was in fact the author of some twenty-three works which touch upon many aspects of twelfth-century life. Despite their valuable insights, these works have been vastly understudied. This collection of essays reassesses Gerald’s importance as a medieval Latin writer and rhetorician by focusing on his lesser-known works and providing a fuller context for his more popular writings. This broader view of his corpus brings to light new evidence for his rhetorical strategies, political positioning and usage of source material, and attests to the breadth and depth of his collected works.
The story of an ambitious Norman-Welsh priest who wrote, often angrily and always vividly, about his troubles and about the people and places he knew. His books provide the most detailed evidence and the shrewdest insights we have into twelfth century Wales, its social customs, its agriculture, its leading figures and its religious life.
Providing an account of his travels, the author describes landscapes, fish, birds and animals. He recounts the history of Ireland's rulers, and tells stories of magic wells and deadly whirlpools, strange creatures and evil spirits. This work is written from the point of view of an invader and reformer.
De gestis Giraldi is a narrative of the deeds of Gerald of Wales (c. 1146-1223), written in the third person but actually by Gerald himself, and framed as the biography of a bishop although Gerald never became a bishop. Gerald was born in south-west Wales of mixed Norman and Welsh descent and educated at Gloucester and in Paris. He worked for Henry II and Richard I, by whom he was valued as an intermediary between the king and Gerald's relations, who included the leading Welsh king, Rhys ap Gruffudd, and many of the first English settlers in Ireland. When elected bishop of St Davids, Gerald was sent by his fellow-canons to Rome to secure his own consecration and metropolitan status for St Da...
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The story of an ambitious Norman-Welsh priest who wrote, often angrily and always vividly, about his troubles and about the people and places he knew. His books provide the most detailed evidence and the shrewdest insights we have into twelfth century Wales, its social customs, its agriculture, its leading figures and its religious life.
This study of Gerald discusses the political path he had to tread and portrays him as an example of the medieval world.