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The ''Descriptio Cambriae'' or ''Descriptio Kambriae'' (''Description of Wales'') is a geographical and
ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...
treatise on
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2 ...
and its people dating from 1193 or 1194. The ''Descriptio''’s author, variously known as
Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught ...
or as Giraldus Cambrensis, was a prominent churchman of Welsh birth and mixed
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
-Welsh ancestry. It is divided into two books, the first concentrating on the virtues of the Welsh people, and the second on their faults.


Summary

In the First Preface Gerald justifies his decision to write on the subject of his own country, describing those things around him that have hitherto gone unrecorded, rather than treating of classical subjects which have been better dealt with by others. In the future he plans to write an unspecified ''
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
'', but for the time being he will describe Wales, taking the 6th-century writer
Gildas Gildas ( Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recount ...
for his model. In the Second Preface Gerald praises his dedicatee, and asks him to read the ''Descriptio''. He declares his love of literature, which has inspired him to undertake the hard work needed to research and write such a book. He hopes to be rewarded with the attention and praise of readers, now and in the future. Book 1 begins with a description of the geographical extent of Wales, and of the country's physical ruggedness. Wales is, says Gerald, divided into the principalities of
Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and ...
,
Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...
and
Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House of ...
, and has been since the kingdom of
Rhodri Mawr Rhodri ap Merfyn ( 820 – 873/877/878), popularly known as Rhodri the Great ( cy, Rhodri Mawr), succeeded his father, Merfyn Frych, as King of Gwynedd in 844. Rhodri annexed Powys c. 856 and Seisyllwg c. 871. He is called "King of the Britons ...
was split between his three sons, each of whose descendants down to the present prince are then listed. He then gives the number of
cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which wer ...
s into which each principality is divided, and names their palaces and dioceses. The course of each of Wales’s principal rivers is described, with a lengthy digression on the habits of the beaver. The author compares the fertility of the various regions of Wales, and the purity of their Welsh, then discusses the etymology of the names ''
Cambria Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity). It emerged later, in the medieval period, ...
'' and ''Wales''. He outlines the high military spirit, weapons, armour and tactics of the Welsh, then, turning to their customs in times of peace, describes their frugality, hospitality to strangers, table manners and sleeping habits, and their care of their teeth and facial hair. He next turns to the talents of the Welsh people in the fields of instrumental music,
bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise ...
ic poetry (notable for its lavish use of alliteration), and part-singing. Gerald praises their sense of humour, instancing several Welsh witticisms and also some classical Latin ones. Their boldness in speaking he attributes to their supposed descent from the Trojans, which also explains the many Welsh words and personal-names derived from Greek and Latin. In the same way, the existence in Wales of soothsayers who foretell the future when in an ecstatic trance reminds him of similar Trojan prophets. Gerald discusses the possible divine inspiration of these prophecies, and concludes that knowledge of the future can be given to pagans as well as to Christians. He asserts the respect paid by the Welsh to noble ancestry, and digresses into some notes on their farming and fishing practices. He praises their piety and respect for the clergy, and concludes the book:
The Welsh go to extremes in all matters. You may never find anyone worse than a bad Welshman, but you will certainly never find anyone better than a good one. A happy and prosperous race indeed, a people blessed and blessed again, if only they had good prelates and pastors, and one single prince and he a just one!
A short preface to Book 2 announces Gerald's intention of now describing the Welsh people's worse points. He begins by complaining of their constant perjuries and lack of good faith, then moves on to their propensity towards living by robbery and plunder. In this they show no courage, he says, and goes on to show from historical examples that in the past they have been cowardly or heroic as their circumstances changed. At present they excel at guerrilla warfare, but in a pitched battle they flee if their first attack fails. They are greedy for land, and their princely families are often divided between warring brothers, though foster-brothers are much closer. They are greedy also for food. Gerald complains that the Welsh marry within the degrees of consanguinity prohibited by the Church, and that they pass on church benefices from father to son. He denounces a tendency toward homosexuality among the luxurious ancient Britons, but admits that in modern times hardship has eradicated this practice. They were beaten down by successive Anglo-Saxon assaults, but have had a little more success against the Normans. Gerald goes on to give detailed strategic advice on how to conquer and rule Wales, laying especial stress on the leading part that the
Marcher lords A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in Fran ...
, with their local knowledge, should play in the attack and in the garrisoning and administering of conquered territory. The Welsh are to be turned against each other wherever possible, and once defeated they are to be treated firmly but with respect. Finally, he advises the Welsh that they can best resist attack by adopting Norman methods of warfare, by unity, and by holding firm to their love of freedom. He sums up their patriotism by quoting the words of an old man of Pencader who once told Henry II:
My Lord King, this nation may now be harassed, weakened and decimated by your soldiery, as it has so often been by others in former times; but it will never be totally destroyed by the wrath of man, unless at the same time it is punished by the wrath of God. Whatever else may come to pass, I do not think that on the Day of Direst Judgement any race other than the Welsh, or any other language, will give answer to the Supreme Judge of all for this small corner of the earth.


Composition and manuscripts

The ''Descriptio Cambriae'', like its companion-piece the ''
Itinerarium Cambriae The ''Itinerarium Cambriae'' ("The Itinerary Through Wales") is a medieval account of a journey made by Gerald of Wales, written in Latin. Gerald was selected to accompany the Archbishop of Canterbury, Baldwin of Forde, on a tour of Wales in 1 ...
'', grew out of a tour of Wales Gerald had undertaken in 1181 along with Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, with the purpose of recruiting for the
Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by t ...
. The ''Itinerarium'', a narrative account of that tour, was completed in 1191, and the ''Descriptio'' was begun almost immediately afterwards. He included three substantial quotations from the earlier work in the ''Descriptio'', as well as several passages from his first compositions, the ''
Topographia Hibernica ''Topographia Hibernica'' (Latin for ''Topography of Ireland''), also known as ''Topographia Hiberniae'', is an account of the landscape and people of Ireland written by Gerald of Wales around 1188, soon after the Norman invasion of Ireland. ...
'' and the ''Expugnatio Hibernica''. The ''Descriptio'' exists in two, or arguably three, versions. The first of these, completed in 1193 or early 1194 and dedicated to
Hubert Walter Hubert Walter ( – 13 July 1205) was an influential royal adviser in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries in the positions of Chief Justiciar of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor. As chancellor, Walter be ...
, Archbishop of Canterbury, survives in many manuscripts, and has been edited from the earliest three: V.
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, Cotton, Vitellius C.X.
N. British Library, Cotton, Nero D.VIII.
Rc. British Library, Bib. Reg., 13C.111. Of these, V and N are believed to be independent copies of a lost manuscript, and Rc to be a poor copy of V. Gerald presented a manuscript of this first version to Hugh of Avalon, Bishop of Lincoln, and illustrated it with a map of Wales. This copy is known to have survived as late as 1691, but is now lost, probably a victim of the
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
fire of 1694. Gerald produced a lightly revised version of his work in early 1215, and presented it to
Stephen Langton Stephen Langton (c. 1150 – 9 July 1228) was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Canterbury between 1207 and his death in 1228. The dispute between King John of England and Pope Innocent III over his ...
, Archbishop of Canterbury. This version survives in one manuscript: D. British Library, Cotton, Domitian A.I. There is also one more manuscript: Rd. British Library, Bib. Reg. 13B.XII This has very minor differences from the text of D at four points. It is treated as a manuscript of the second version by James F. Dimock, but as a third version by
Lewis Thorpe Lewis Guy Melville Thorpe FRSA FRHistS (5 November 1913 – 10 October 1977)''UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-2018'' was a British philologist and translator. He was married to the Italian scholar and lexicographer Barbara Reynolds. After ...
.


Reception

The ''Descriptio''’s objectivity in its presentation of the Welsh has been the subject of much scholarly disagreement. Its "extreme impartiality" was asserted by H. E. Butler, and denied by
Meic Stephens Meic Stephens (23 July 1938 – 2 July 2018) was a Welsh literary editor, journalist, translator, and poet. Birth and education Meic Stephens was born on 23 July 1938 in the village of Treforest, near Pontypridd, Glamorgan. He was educated at ...
; Brynley F. Roberts thought that Gerald's Welsh sympathies are unmistakable, while Michael Faletra saw the book as slanted against the Welsh, attributing to them virtues more trivial than their vices and giving them military advice much less practical than the advice he gave to the
Anglo-Normans The Anglo-Normans ( nrf, Anglo-Normaunds, ang, Engel-Norðmandisca) were the medieval ruling class in England, composed mainly of a combination of ethnic Normans, French, Anglo-Saxons, Flemings and Bretons, following the Norman conquest. A sm ...
. Sean Davies argued that the use of
thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
and
antithesis Antithesis (Greek for "setting opposite", from "against" and "placing") is used in writing or speech either as a proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition, or when two opposites are introduced together f ...
in the two-book structure of the ''Descriptio'', presenting two sharply opposed views of the Welsh, was intended by Gerald as a display of his mastery of classical
rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate partic ...
al forms, and that this vitiates the usefulness of the work as a historical source, since he might have been exaggerating differences for literary effect. Brynley F. Roberts agreed that it has to be used with care, but nevertheless believed it to represent "Gerald at his disciplined best as a writer", its brevity being the mark of its discipline and careful construction. He saw this, together with the interest of the subject matter and the warmth of the author's personality, as being the factors that made the ''Descriptio Cambriae'' and the ''Itinerarium Cambriae'' the most popular of Gerald's works. James Dimock felt that the ''Descriptio'' benefits greatly from being written on a subject that could not, as several of his works did, evoke any of his prejudices or personal animosities. The result, he judged, could stand as a "very honourable comparison with any topographical attempt that had appeared up to his time, and with any that appeared for many ages afterwards… is treatise is one of the best specimens of his best style." Robert Bartlett further stressed the originality of the ''Descriptio'', in which, he said, Gerald had "virtually reinvented the ethnographic monograph, a genre that had largely lapsed since antiquity". Shirin Khanmohamadi, entirely agreeing with this verdict, saw Gerald's rediscovery of this form as being prompted by his belief that Welsh culture was under threat from Anglo-Norman colonialism. It was, in fact, a form of salvage anthropology, and also an early example of
autoethnography Autoethnography is a form of ethnographic research in which a researcher connects personal experiences to wider cultural, political, and social meanings and understandings. It is considered a form of qualitative and/or arts-based research. Autoe ...
, the study of the writer’s own culture in idioms drawn both from that culture's natives and from its colonizers or metropolitan outsiders. On the other hand Michael Faletra saw the work as a resource intended to be exploited by the colonial powers as an aid to administering the conquered parts of Wales. Meic Stephens considered it "of the utmost value to social historians", and pointed out the importance of the final passage, which brings in the old man of Pencader: his "defiant but dignified answer is one of the classic statements of Welsh nationhood." Phil Carradice believed the ''Itinerarium'' and the ''Descriptio'' had set the tone for all travel-writing from Gerald's day to our own, giving the writer's own opinions equal prominence with the simple facts.


Editions

Between 1585 and 1804 four more or less unsatisfactory editions of the ''Descriptio'' were published. The only critical edition is James F. Dimock (ed.) ''Giraldi Cambrensis opera''. Vol. VI. ''Itinerarium Kambriae et Descriptio Kambriae''.
Rolls Series ''The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages'' ( la, Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores), widely known as the is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources publish ...
. (London, 1868).


Translations

In 1806 translations by
Sir Richard Colt Hoare Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 2nd Baronet FRS (9 December 1758 – 19 May 1838) was an English antiquarian, archaeologist, artist, and traveller of the 18th and 19th centuries, the first major figure in the detailed study of the history of his home c ...
of both the ''Descriptio Cambriae'' and the ''Itinerarium Cambriae'' were published. In 1861 both were revised by the antiquary Thomas Wright, and included in a volume of ''The Historical Works of Giraldus Cambrensis'', published as part of Bohn's Antiquarian Library. The Hoare translations were reissued in
Everyman's Library Everyman's Library is a series of reprints of classic literature, primarily from the Western canon. It is currently published in hardback by Random House. It was originally an imprint of J. M. Dent (itself later a division of Weidenfeld & N ...
in 1908, and again reprinted in 1968 by AMS Press. The more recent translations by Lewis Thorpe, ''The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales'', were published by
Penguin Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean among other languages. Literary critics see books in this series as important members of the Weste ...
in 1978,


Footnotes


References

* * * * * {{cite book , year=1978 , editor1-last=Thorpe , editor1-first=Lewis , title=Gerald of Wales: The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales , location=Harmondsworth , publisher=Penguin , isbn=0140443398 , url=https://archive.org/details/journeythroughwa00gira


External links


James Dimock's edition

Richard Colt Hoare's translation

Thomas Wright's revision of Richard Colt Hoare's translation

Lewis Thorpe's translation
1190s books 1190s in Wales 12th-century Latin books Books about Wales Ethnographic literature Geography of Wales Medieval Welsh literature Works by Gerald of Wales