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Gerald of Wales
Gerald of Wales ( Gerald de Barry, Giraldus Cambrensis) (1146–1223), historian of the Anglo‐Norman invasion. Born at Manorbier, Pembroke‐shire, Gerald was a younger son of William de Barry by Angharad, granddaughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of south Wales. He was educated as a cleric at St Peter's abbey, Gloucester, and Paris University. He was appointed archdeacon of Brecon c.1175, and this was the title which he used of himself. About 1182 he visited Ireland, where many of his Cambro‐Norman relatives had acquired lands; he returned in 1185 in the train of John, son of Henry II, and remained for a period after John's departure. In 1186 he preached at a provincial synod at Dublin, severely criticizing the Irish clergy. While in Ireland he claimed to have been offered the bishoprics of Wexford and Leighlin, and somewhat later Ossory and the archdiocese of Cashel, all of which he declined. To his two Irish journeys are owed his Topography of Ireland (1188), which was dedicated to Henry II, and his Expugnatio Hibernica, which appeared shortly thereafter. Both works were written with a strong polemical purpose to justify Anglo‐Norman intervention in Ireland; he was highly critical of the Irish, portraying them as barbarians, and barely Christian. He extolled the bravery of his relatives, the Geraldines, at the expense of other early adventurers, such as other early adventurers, such as Strongbow, and argued that they were harassed unjustly by royal officials. He outlined strategies for completing the conquest of Ireland, which he hoped to persuade King Henry, and later Richard I (1157–99), to implement in Ireland. His work, inaugurating the colonial historiographical tradition of a negative portayal of the Irish, was to be relied on heavily by subsequent Anglo‐Irish and English writers, and stimulated an apologetic response from native authors: Geoffrey Keating's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, for example, devoted considerable attention to refuting Gerald's portrayal of the Irish.
Marie Therese Flanagan |
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"Gerald of Wales." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Gerald of Wales." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-GeraldofWales.html "Gerald of Wales." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-GeraldofWales.html |
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Gerald of Wales
Gerald of Wales (1146–1223). Gerald was born at Manorbier in Pembrokeshire with a Norman father and a Welsh mother—consequently, he reflected, he was not accepted by either side. After education at Gloucester and at Paris, a promising career in the church (he was archdeacon of Brecon by 1175) ran into difficulties and he consoled himself with his writing. He failed to become bishop of St Davids (a see which an uncle had held) because the strong support given to him by Welsh princes may have alarmed the English. His best-known works were his accounts of Ireland and Wales—Topography of Ireland (1188), Conquest of Ireland (1189), Journey through Wales (1191), and Description of Wales (1194). ‘Incurably egotistic’ is one comment, but he took trouble with his writing and was a keen observer. He was said to be tall, handsome, with bushy eyebrows and vast energy.
J. A. Cannon |
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JOHN CANNON. "Gerald of Wales." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Gerald of Wales." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-GeraldofWales.html JOHN CANNON. "Gerald of Wales." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-GeraldofWales.html |
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Gerald of Wales
Gerald of Wales (1146–1223). Gerald was born at Manorbier in Pembrokeshire with a Norman father and a Welsh mother. After education at Gloucester and at Paris, a promising career in the church (he was archdeacon of Brecon by 1175) ran into difficulties and he consoled himself with his writing. He failed to become bishop of St Davids because the strong support given to him by Welsh princes may have alarmed the English. His best‐known works were his accounts of Ireland and Wales—Topography of Ireland (1188), Conquest of Ireland (1189), Journey through Wales (1191), and Description of Wales (1194).
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JOHN CANNON. "Gerald of Wales." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Gerald of Wales." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-GeraldofWales.html JOHN CANNON. "Gerald of Wales." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-GeraldofWales.html |
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Gerald of Wales
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Gerald of Wales." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Gerald of Wales." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-GeraldofWales.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Gerald of Wales." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-GeraldofWales.html |
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Gerald of Wales
Gerald of Wales see Giraldus Cambrensis . |
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"Gerald of Wales." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Gerald of Wales." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-GeraldWa.html "Gerald of Wales." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-GeraldWa.html |
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