Writing Welsh History : From the Early Middle Ages to the Twenty-First Century

Writing Welsh History is the first book to explore how the history of Wales and the Welsh has been written over the past fifteen hundred years. By analysing and contextualizing a wide range of historical writing, from Gildas in the sixth century to recent global approaches, it opens newperspectives both on the history of Wales and on understandings of Wales and the Welsh - and thus on the use of the past to articulate national and other identities. The study's broad chronological scope serves to highlight important continuities in interpretations of Welsh history. One enduringpreoccupation is Wales's place in Britain. Down to the twentieth century it was widely held that the Welsh were an ancient people descended from the original inhabitants of Britain whose history in its fullest sense ended with Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282-4, their history thereafter beingregarded as an attenuated appendix. However, Huw Pryce shows that such master narratives, based on medieval sources and focused primarily on the period down to 1282, were part of a much larger and more varied historiographical landscape. Over the past century the thematic and chronological range ofWelsh history writing has expanded significantly, notably in the unprecedented attention given to the modern period, reflecting broader trends in an increasingly internationalized historical profession as well as the influence of social, economic, and political developments in Wales and elsewhere.ISBN : 9780198746034 Cover Writing Welsh History: From the Early Middle Ages to the Twenty-First Century Copyright Dedication Preface Acknowledgements Contents List of Maps and Figures Maps Figures List of Abbreviations Note on References Introduction PART I: DISTANT PASTS AND CONFLICTED PRESENTS: The Middle Ages 1: Prologue: Themes and Contexts 2: British Pasts: The Early Middle Ages Gildas’s De Excidio Britanniae The Harleian Collection of Historical Texts The Harleian Chronicle The Harleian Genealogies The Historia Brittonum 3: Saints, Kings, and Princes: Welsh Pasts in an Age of Conquest, c.1070–1282 British Pasts Sacred Histories: Hagiography and Ecclesiastical Politics Geoffrey of Monmouth and His Reception in Wales Gerald of Wales Geoffrey in Welsh: Brut y Brenhinedd (‘The History of the Kings’) Narrating Welsh Rulers Royal Biography: Vita Griffini filii Conani (‘The Life of Gruffudd ap Cynan’) Chronicles Themes and Approaches 4: Curating the Past in a Conquered Land, 1282–1540 The Continuing Influence of Geoffrey of Monmouth Gutun Owain PART II: REAFFIRMATION AND ELABORATION, 1540–1770 5: ‘Our Ancestors the Ancient Britons’, 1540–1620 Introduction Defending the British History Sir John Prise and Humphrey Llwyd David Powel and John Lewis of Llynwene Early British Church History and Religious Apologetic 6: From the Universal to the Local: Framing the History of Wales, 1540–1620 Wales in the World: The Chronicle of Elis Gruffudd Histories of Wales Humphrey Llwyd, Cronica Walliae David Powel, The Historie of Cambria Family and Locality 7: Refurbishing the Past: Antiquarianism and Historical Writing, 1620–1707 Old Pasts, New Contexts History, Genealogy, and Gentry: Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt and His World Percy Enderbie: Wales, Britain, and the Deep Roots of Monarchy Powel Revised: William Wynne’s History of Wales ‘Fabulous Relations’ and ‘Genuine Histories’: Edward Lhuyd and the Recovery of the Past 8: From Druids to the Last Bard, 1707–70 Contexts and Themes Celtic Origins and Divine Providence Henry Rowlands Theophilus Evans Britons, Princes, and Bards in the Mid-EighteenthCentury PART III: ROMANTICISM AND ENLIGHTENMENT, 1770–1880 9: Civilization, Liberty, and Dissent, 1770–1820 Iolo Morganwg and the Romantic Reinvention of the Welsh Past Topographical History: From Thomas Pennant to Theophilus Jones Thomas Pennant County Histories William Warrington: ‘The First Regular Historian of Wales’ Nonconformist Pasts 10: Cultural Revival and Romantic History: The World of Thomas Price (Carnhuanawc), 1820–48 Contexts Welsh History Writing, c.1820–c.1840 Thomas Price (Carnhuanawc) and the History of Wales 11: ‘Living in the Past’ and the Challenges of Modernity, 1848–80 The Present and the Past in Mid-VictorianWales Legend and History Thomas Stephens R. J. Pryse (Gweirydd ap Rhys) Nonconformity, Imperial Britain, and American Liberty: The Welsh in the Modern World Nonconformity Wales and Great Britain Welsh America PART IV: PROFESSIONALIZATION AND NATIONHOOD, 1880–2020 12: Scientific History and National Awakening, 1880–1920 From Medieval to Modern Wales The Welsh People O. M. Edwards New Scholarly Approaches John Edward Lloyd 13: Consolidation and Reappraisal, 1920–60 Contexts: The Academy and Beyond Old Themes Revisited: Political and Ecclesiastical History New Approaches: I. Landscapes, Cultures, and the Remote Past New Approaches: II. The Economic Turn 14: A New Beginning?: Writing Welsh History, 1960–2020 Changing Approaches Locating Wales and The Welsh Conclusion Bibliography of Works Cited Manuscript Sources Published Works and Unpublished Theses Index "This is the first book to explore how the history of Wales and the Welsh has been written over the past fifteen hundred years. By analysing and contextualizing a wide range of historical writing, from Gildas in the sixth century to recent global approaches, it opens new perspectives both on the history of Wales and on understandings of Wales and the Welsh--and thus on the use of the past to articulate national and other identities. The book's broad chronological scope serves to highlight important continuities in interpretations of Welsh history. One enduring preoccupation is Wales's place in Britain. Down to the twentieth century it was widely held that the Welsh were an ancient people descended from the original inhabitants of Britain whose history in its fullest sense ended with Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282-4, their history thereafter being regarded as an attentuated appendix. However, the book shows that such master narratives, based on medieval sources and focused primarily on the period down to 1282, were part of a much larger and more varied historiographical landscape. Over the past century the thematic and chronological range of Welsh history writing has expanded significantly, notably in the unprecedented attention given to the modern period, reflecting broader trends in an increasingly internationalized historical profession as well as the influence of social, economic, and political developments in Wales and elsewhere"-- Provided by publisher Writing Welsh History is the first book to explore how the history of Wales and the Welsh has been written over the past fifteen hundred years. By analysing and contextualizing a wide range of historical writing, from Gildas in the sixth century to recent global approaches, it opens new perspectives both on the history of Wales and on understandings of Wales and the Welsh - and thus on the use of the past to articulate national and other identities. The study's broad chronological scope serves to highlight important continuities in interpretations of Welsh history. One enduring preoccupation is Wales's place in Britain. Down to the twentieth century it was widely held that the Welsh were an ancient people descended from the original inhabitants of Britain whose history in its fullest sense ended with Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282-4, their history thereafter being regarded as an attenuated appendix. However, Huw Pryce shows that such master narratives, based on medieval sources and focused primarily on the period down to 1282, were part of a much larger and more varied historiographical landscape. Over the past century the thematic and chronological range of Welsh history writing has expanded significantly, notably in the unprecedented attention given to the modern period, reflecting broader trends in an increasingly internationalized historical profession as well as the influence of social, economic, and political developments in Wales and elsewhere. The first book to explore how the history of Wales and the Welsh has been written over the past fifteen hundred years, 'Writing Welsh History' analyses and contextualizes historical writing, from Gildas in the sixth century to recent global approaches, to open new perspectives both on the history of Wales and on understandings of Wales and the Welsh The first book to explore how the history of Wales and the Welsh has been written over the past fifteen hundred years, analysing and contextualizing historical writing, from Gildas in the sixth century to recent global approaches, to open new perspectives both on the history of Wales and on understandings of Wales and the Welsh.