Nonfiction · 1194
The Description of Wales
Giraldus Cambrensis · translated by Richard Colt Hoare
Gerald of Wales, having written his account of the preaching tour through Wales, set down this companion description of the country and its people: the land itself, the mountains and the pasture, the boundaries and the princes; then the Welsh — their hospitality, their music in parts rather than in unison, their genealogies and their bardic memory, their way of making war in sudden rushes, their diet, their teeth, their wit. A second book is unsparing about their weaknesses, and closes with advice, addressed to the English, on how the country might be conquered, followed by advice to the Welsh on how to resist.
Giraldus Cambrensis completed the Descriptio Kambriae in 1194. He was half Norman and half Welsh, archdeacon of Brecon, and twice a disappointed candidate for the see of St Davids, and the double perspective is what makes the book. This edition is Richard Colt Hoare's English translation.
This Bibliomancer edition presents both books complete, with the author's prefaces.
Contents
- First Preface
- Second Preface
- Book I
- Book I
- Chapter I — Of the Length and Breadth of Wales, the Nature of Its Soil, and the Three Remaining Tribes of Britons
- Chapter II — Of the Ancient Division of Wales Into Three Parts
- Chapter III — Genealogy of the Princes of Wales
- Chapter IV — How Many Cantreds, Royal Palaces, and Cathedrals There Are in Wales
- Chapter V — Of the Two Mountains from Which the Noble Rivers Which Divide Wales Spring
- Chapter VI — Concerning the Pleasantness and Fertility of Wales
- Chapter VII — Origin of the Names Cambria and Wales
- Chapter VIII — Concerning the Nature, Manners, and Dress, the Boldness, Agility, and Courage, of This Nation
- Chapter IX — Of Their Sober Supper and Frugality
- Chapter X — Of Their Hospitality and Liberality
- Chapter XI — Concerning Their Cutting of Their Hair, Their Care of Their Teeth, and Shaving of Their Beard
- Chapter XII — Of Their Quickness and Sharpness of Understanding
- Chapter XIII — Of Their Symphonies and Songs
- Chapter XIV — Their Wit and Pleasantry
- Chapter XV — Their Boldness and Confidence in Speaking
- Chapter XVI — Concerning the Soothsayers of This Nation, and Persons as It Were Possessed
- Chapter XVII — Their Love of High Birth and Ancient Genealogy
- Chapter XVIII — Of the Antiquity of Their Faith, Their Love of Christianity and Devotion
- Book II — Preface
- Chapter I — Of the Inconstancy and Instability of This Nation, and Their Want of Reverence for Good Faith and Oaths
- Chapter II — Their Living by Plunder, and Disregard of the Bonds of Peace and Friendship
- Chapter III — Of Their Deficiency in Battle, and Base and Dishonourable Flight
- Chapter IV — Their Ambitious Seizure of Lands, and Dissensions Among Brothers
- Chapter V — Their Great Exaction, and Want of Moderation
- Chapter VI — Concerning the Crime of Incest, and the Abuse of Churches by Succession and Participation
- Chapter VII — Of Their Sins, and the Consequent Loss of Britain and of Troy
- Chapter VIII — In What Manner This Nation Is to Be Overcome
- Chapter IX — In What Manner Wales, When Conquered, Should Be Governed
- Chapter X — In What Manner This Nation May Resist and Revolt
- Footnotes
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About this edition
The text is free of copyright. This edition was prepared from an authoritative digitisation, processed by Bibliomancer under its own review protocol; every automated correction is recorded in its transformation log. Rights assessed for CA, EU, GB, US.
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