The Acts of William I (1165-1214)

The Acts of William I (1165-1214)

Now republished with minor corrections, this volume provides the first comprehensive collection of charters, letters and other documents issued by native rulers of Wales from the early twelfth century to the Edwardian conquest of 1282–3 that extinguished independent rule. It thereby makes more accessible than ever before a key body of source material for the study of medieval Wales during ‘the age of the princes’ – an era of struggles for power by native rulers both among themselves and with Marcher lords and the English crown. The edition contains 618 documents, of which 444 survive as texts, while the remaining 174 are known only from mentions in other sources. The texts, almost all in Latin, are edited to modern scholarly standards and provided with full English summaries as well as notes on individual points of detail such as persons and places mentioned. Coverage is intentionally broad. The term ‘ruler’ has been applied to members not only of the dominant dynasties of Deheubarth, Powys and, above all, Gwynedd but also of minor dynasties such as those of Arwystli or Senghennydd; and, in a world where political power was often contested and fragmented, to individuals within each dynasty who exercised some measure of authority, however limited geographically or temporally. Likewise, the edition includes all known documents issued as expressions of a ruler’s will, including petitions and records of judgements as well as charters, letters patent and correspondence with other rulers, notably kings of England but also kings of France, popes and other churchmen. In addition, agreements with the English crown and other third parties are published irrespective of whether they survive in ratifications issued by the Welsh ruler concerned.

Modern historians of the Normans have tended to treat their enterprises and achievements as a series of separate and discrete histories. Such treatments are valid and valuable, but historical understanding of the Normans also depends as much on broader approaches akin to those adopted in this book. As the successor volume to Norman Expansion: Connections, Continuities and Contrasts, it complements and significantly extends its findings to provide a fuller appreciation of the roles played by the Normans as one of the most dynamic and transformative forces in the history of medieval ‘Outer Europe’. It includes panoramic essays that dissect the conceptual and methodological issues concerned, suggest strategies for avoiding associated pitfalls, and indicate how far and in what ways the Normans and their legacies served to reshape sociopolitical landscapes across a vast geography extending from the remoter corners of the British Isles to the Mediterranean basin. Leading experts in their fields also provide case-by-case analyses, set within and between different areas, of themes such as lordship and domination, identities and identification, naming patterns, marriage policies, saints’ cults, intercultural exchanges, and diaspora–homeland connections. The Normans and the ‘Norman Edge’ therefore presents a potent combination of thought-provoking overviews and fresh insights derived from new research, and its wide-ranging comparative focus has the advantage of illuminating aspects of the Norman past that traditional regional or national histories often do not reveal so clearly. It likewise makes a major contribution to current Norman scholarship by reconsidering the links between Norman expansion and ‘state-formation’; the extent to which Norman practices and priorities were distinctive; the balance between continuity and innovation; relations between the Normans and the indigenous peoples and cultures they encountered; and, not least, forms of Norman identity and their resilience over time. An extensive bibliography is also one of this book’s strengths.

In-depth examinations of the role played by liberties across the British Isles.

This volume focuses on Wendy Davies's work on early medieval Breton texts and their implications. Beginning with core analyses of the Redon and Landévennec cartularies, it continues with papers that tease out some of the key social implications of the 9th-century Redon material - on the nature of political power, on rural communities, on the settlement of disputes, and on transmission of property. While the Redon charters have long been known as a source of fundamental importance for Breton history, the author's database (established in the 1980s) allowed much greater understanding of the role of individuals - at all social levels, and particularly peasant level - than had previously been possible. Attention to the detail of the east Breton past also includes papers on some of the results of her fieldwork, on building stone in particular. Early medieval Brittany is not merely interesting in itself (and it is certainly not some Celtic backwater): Breton evidence can usefully be differentiated from the evidence of other Celtic areas and has a significant role in wider issues of European history. As well as papers on the familiar themes of kingship, rulership, cult sites and cemeteries, the final section highlights the distinctive quality of the Breton evidence for the protection of sacred and personal space, for slavery and serfdom and for village-level courts.

In the 780s northern Britain was dominated by two great kingdoms; Pictavia, centred in north-eastern Scotland and Northumbria which straddled the modern Anglo-Scottish border. Within a hundred years both of these kingdoms had been thrown into chaos by the onslaught of the Vikings and within two hundred years they had become distant memories. This book charts the transformation of the political landscape of northern Britain between the eighth and the eleventh centuries. Central to this narrative is the mysterious disappearance of the Picts and their language and the sudden rise to prominence of the Gaelic-speaking Scots who would replace them as the rulers of the North. From Pictland to Alba uses fragmentary sources which survive from this darkest period in Scottish history to guide the reader past the pitfalls which beset the unwary traveller in these dangerous times. Important sources are presented in full and their value as evidence is thoroughly explored and evaluated.