Gerald of Wales was among the most dynamic and fascinating churchmen of the twelfth century. A member of one of the leading Norman families involved in the invasion of Ireland, he first visited there in 1183 and later returned in the entourage of Henry II. The resulting Topographia Hiberniae is an extraordinary account of his travels. Here he describes landscapes, fish, birds and animals; recounts the history of Ireland's rulers; and tells fantastical stories of magic wells and deadly whirlpools, strange creatures and evil spirits. Written from the point of view of an invader and reformer, this work has been rightly criticized for its portrait of a primitive land, yet it is also one of the most important sources for what is known of Ireland during the Middle Ages.

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Scholar, churchman, diplomat and theologian, Gerald of Wales was one of the most fascinating figures of the Middle Ages and The Journey Through Wales describes his eventful tour of the country as a missionary in 1188. In a style reminiscent of a diary, Gerald records the day-to-day events of the mission, alongside lively accounts of local miracles, folklore and religious relics such as Saint Patrick's Horn, and eloquent descriptions of natural scenery that includes the rugged promontory of St David's and the vast snow-covered panoramas of Snowdonia. The landscape is evoked in further detail in The Description, which chronicles the everyday lives of the Welsh people with skill and affection. Witty and gently humorous throughout, these works provide a unique view into the medieval world.

Gerald of Wales was an ecclesiastic, a servant and critic of the Angevin kings, and a prolific and vitriolic writer. Born in Pembrokeshire of mixed Norman and Welsh blood in the middle years of the twelfth century, he was appointed archdeacon of Brecon in 1175, but that was the highest officehe attained, despite his indefatigable efforts in the years 1198-1203 to become not merely bishop, but archbishop, of St Davids. His death was reported in 1223. His Instruction for a Ruler (De principis instructione) is of interest for three main reasons: it provides a detailed and violentlypartisan account of the last days of Henry II of England; it is full of miscellaneous but valuable stories and anecdotes (such as the account of the discovery of the tomb of Arthur and Guinevere, and the legend of the destruction of the Picts); and it is a monument to the literary culture of ahighly educated writer at the heart of the twelfth-century Renaissance.

By 1300, a region often referred to as the March of Wales had been created between England and the Principality of Wales. This March consisted of some forty castle-centred lordships extending along the Anglo-Welsh border and also across southern Wales. It took shape over more than two centuries, between the Norman conquest of England (1066) and the English conquest of Wales (1283), and is mentioned in Magna Carta (1215). It was a highly distinctive part of the political geography of Britain for much of the Middle Ages, yet the medieval March has long vanished, and today expressions like 'the marches' are used rather vaguely to refer to the Welsh Borders.What was the medieval March of Wales? How and why was it created? The March of Wales, 1067-1300: A Borderland of Medieval Britain provides comprehensible and concise answers to such questions. With the aid of maps, a list of key dates and source material such as the writings of Gerald of Wales (c.1146-1223), this book also places the March in the context of current academic debates on the frontiers, peoples and countries of the medieval British Isles.