Overview

First in-depth investigation of the genealogies of medieval Wales, bringing out their full significance. Genealogy was a central element of life in medieval Wales. It was the force that held society together and the framework for all political action. For these reasons, genealogical writing in medieval Wales, as elsewhere in Europe,became a fundamental tool for representing and manipulating perceptions of the socio-political order across historical and literary time. From its beginnings within an early medieval Insular genre of genealogical writing, Welsh genealogy developed across the Middle Ages as a unique and pervasive phenomenon. This book provides the first integrated study of and comprehensive introduction to genealogy in medieval Wales, setting it in the context of genealogical writing from Ireland, England and beyond and tracing its evolution from the eighth to the sixteenth century. The three most important collections of secular genealogies are carefully analysed and their composition is considered in relation to medieval Welsh politics. Particular attention is devoted to the pedigrees of the kings and princes of Gwynedd, which were subject to many intricate alterations over time. The book also includes fresh criticaleditions of the most significant extant collections of secular genealogy.

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9781783275137

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Reviews

There is no doubt that Medieval Welsh Genealogy is a major scholarly achievement. [...] This is a book for historians of insular Britain and Ireland, for manuscript historians, and for anyone interested in genealogy as a means of making sense of a political and social order. Here is scholarship of the highest order, detailed, rigorous, suggestive, and rich in possibility. [...] Guy's Medieval Welsh Genealogy will undoubtedly stand as one of the great reference books of medieval Welsh scholarship. * SPECULUM * Medieval Welsh Genealogy is a major contribution to a vital but neglected field. * REVIEWS IN HISTORY * Wholly admirable work -- CAMBRIAN MEDIEVAL CELTIC STUDIES The scholarship deployed by Dr Guy is first-rate, and the level of argument, closely related to relevant sources, is consistently high throughout the book. * ARCHAEOLOGIA CAMBRENSIS * Constitutes a comprehensive review of genealogy in medieval Wales. * TRANSACTIONS, DENBIGHSHIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY *

Constitutes a comprehensive review of genealogy in medieval Wales.-- TRANSACTIONS, DENBIGHSHIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Constitutes a comprehensive review of genealogy in medieval Wales.--TRANSACTIONS, DENBIGHSHIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The scholarship deployed by Dr Guy is first-rate, and the level of argument, closely related to relevant sources, is consistently high throughout the book. * ARCHAEOLOGIA CAMBRENSIS * Constitutes a comprehensive review of genealogy in medieval Wales. * TRANSACTIONS, DENBIGHSHIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY *

Author Information

Dr BEN GUY is a Junior Research Fellow at Robinson College, Cambridge.

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