Reviews for Welsh Kings, Native Rulers of Wales

The average rating for Welsh Kings, Native Rulers of Wales based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-11-27 00:00:00 Frank Mayer The Welsh Kings In The Welsh Kings: Warriors, Warlords and Princes, historian Kari Maund offers a rich and detailed summary of the complex political and military history of mediaeval Wales from the end of Roman rule to the defeat of Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales. Maund's book is narrowly focused, with no attention paid to the cultural, social, economic or religious history of Wales; it is rather, as one reviewer notes, "a journey through the endless dynastic infighting of mediaeval Wales." [1] As such, this is not, I suspect, a book for the casual reader with little or no previous knowledge of Welsh history. Politically speaking, mediaeval Wales was divided into many small kingdoms; only on rare occasions would one man be able to bring a majority of these under one united rule, and none of these remarkable rulers were ever able to found a lasting dynasty. Wales had only a weak cultural tradition of single-successor inheritance (whether based on primogeniture or some other basis, such as the tanistry system found in Ireland or Scotland); more often than not, lands and lordship were divided between sons, leaving little opportunity for the creation of a dynasty by amassing power and wealth over time and concentrating this wealth and power in the hands of a single heir. Thus the few men who were truly Princes of Wales - Hywel Dda, Maredudd ab Owain, Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd - gained and held their crowns through a combination of dynastically-conscious marriages, conquest, political diplomacy, personal charisma and occasionally alliances with external powers. Maund follows the multiple lines of kingship in the various kingdoms of mediaeval Wales - Gwynedd, Deheubarth, Powys and Gwent being the largest and most powerful - paying particular attention to the great princes who did achieve sone measure of influence over most of Wales. A storehouse of information about the many royal houses of Wales this would make an excellent reference work for anyone with an interest in the subject, but is probably not a book for the casual reader. [1]

Review # 2 was written on 2018-05-02 00:00:00 Dody Putra Essential for anyone interested in this period of Welsh history. Helpful in sorting out your Llewelyn Ap Iorwerth from your Gruffudd Ap Llewelyn. Perhaps not a book you'd read cover to cover for entertainment, but a thorough reference for the subject.