Download Free History Of Swansea And Of The Lordship Of Gower Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online History Of Swansea And Of The Lordship Of Gower and write the review.

Fifty-seven castles founded in Glamorgan by 1217 are here described. These include mottes. castle-ringworks, and presumed Welsh earthworks, all without masonry, as well as sixteen masonry castles ranging from well known sites at Cardiff, Coity, and Ogmore, to the Welsh stone castle now identified at Plas Baglan. Later defensive monuments will be described in part lb. Glamorgan castles occur in unrivalled density, their study enriched by an exceptional range of works on local history and records. County borders embrace the lordships ot'Gower and Glamorgan. Most castles lie in the fertile lowlands where Norman rule was imposed. Welsh independence endured in the uplands until the mid-13th-century conquests of the Clare lords. When they inherited Glamorgan in 1217 Norman rule had survived unbroken in the lowlands from the late-11th century, if not in Gower. Profusely illustrated descriptions incorporate comprehensive historical accounts. The Introductory Survey and Sectional Preambles discuss the evidence, illustrated by maps and diagrams. Significant conclusions emerge: William the Conqueror founded Cardiff in 1081; Glacial drift provides a determinant for the segregation of mottes and castle-ringworks; Roman roads, forts, and river crossings influenced Norman settlement; Early Masonry Castles, rare in Wales, were numerous in Glamorgan. Castle of the lords of Glamorgan are of particular interest, especially Newcastle, which might be attributed to Henry II. These lords included King John (1189-1216) and leading magnates of the realm: Rufus's favourite, Robert Fitzhamon (1093-1107); Robert, earl of Gloucester, base son of Henry I (fa. 1J13-47); and later, the great Clare earls (1217-1314) and Edward II's favourite, Hugh Despenser (1317-26). Content Map of sites treated in this Part (la) of Volume IIII Chairman's Preface Report, with a List of Monuments selected by the Commissioners as most worthy of preservation List of Commissioners and Staff Authorship and Compilation Presentation of Material Introductory Survey I The Division of the material; Parts la and lb Explained II The Geographical Background III The Historical Background (1072-1217) IV The Early Castles Discussed Inventory of the Early Castles Section MO: Mottes without Masonry Section CR: Castle-Ringworks without Masonry Section UW: Unclassified, probably Welsh Castles Section VE: Vanished Early Castles Section MM: Masonry Castles Built Over Mottes Section MR: Masonry Castles built over Castle-ringworks Section EM: Early Masonry Castles Abbreviated Titles of References Map and List of Ecclesiastical Parishes, with incidence of Monuments Map and List of Civil Parishes, with incidence of Monuments Index of National Grid References for sites treated in Part la Glossary: General Glossary: Welsh Terms and Place-name Elements List of Figures, including maps and photographs General Index Alphabetical List of sites treated in Part 1 b of Volume III Map of sites treated in Part lb of Volume III
Forty-three castles and fortified sites here described were founded or given their most significant fabric after 1217. They include tower-houses, strong houses, possible castles, and twenty masonry castles ranging from the great Clare works at Caerphilly and Morlais to the small modestly fortified sites at Barry and Weobley, and the exceptional fortified priory at Ewenny. The density and variety of the medieval fortifications in Glamorgan are unrivalled, and their study is enriched by an exceptional range of works on the history and records of a historic county formed by merging the lordships of Glamorgan and Gower. Part la described the early castles and traced their role in the Norman conquest and settlement of the fertile southern lowlands down to 1217, when the Clares inherited Glamorgan. In that year the Welsh had expelled the English from Gower and remained unconquered in the Glamorgan uplands. Gower was soon lost again, and under two redoubtable Clare lords the Glamorgan uplands were appropriated in the mid-13th century and secured in a notable programme of castle works. The castle-building of Earl Richard de Clare (1243-62) and his son, Gilbert, the 'Red Earl' (1263-95), as they achieved this 'second conquest of Glamorgan', foreshadowed the later campaigns of Edward I against Gwynedd. At Caerphilly, above all, Earl Gilbert's castle deserves comparison with the great Edwardian works; it introduced defensive features later to be adopted by King Edward's Savoyard master masons. Gower sites considered include the impressive masonry castles at Oystermouth and Penrice. A notable ornately arcaded domestic range at Swansea is the only surviving vestige of the chief castle of Gower, which is tentatively described from a variety of records. AH the illustrated descriptions incorporate detailed historical accounts. The introductory survey outlines the later descent of Glamorgan and Gower to the end of the 15th century, and along with the sectional preambles it provides general discussion of the sites.
A thriving port, a frontier base for the lords of Gower and a multi-cultural urban community, the south Wales town of Swansea was an important centre in the Middle Ages, at a nexus of multiple identities, cultural practices and configurations of power. As the principal town of the Marcher lordship of Gower and seat of the Marcher lord's rule, Swansea was a site of contested authority, colonial control and complex interactions – and collisions – between different cultures, languages and traditions. Swansea also features in the miracle collection prepared for the canonisation of Thomas Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford (d. 1282), as the setting for the intriguing case of the hanging and strange revival of the Welsh rebel, William Cragh. Taking medieval Swansea and Wales as its starting point, this volume brings into focus questions of place, power, identity and belief, bringing together inter-disciplinary perspectives which span History, Literary Studies and Geography / Archaeology, and engaging with current debates in the fields of medieval frontier studies, urban history, manuscript studies and hagiography. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Medieval History.
This collection of twelve essays describes aspects of town life in medieval Wales, from the way people lived and worked to how they spent their leisure time. Drawing on evidence from historical records, archaeology and literature, twelve leading scholars outline the diversity of town life and urban identity in medieval Wales. While urban histories of Wales have charted the economic growth of towns in post-Norman Wales, much less has been written about the nature of urban culture in Wales. This book fills in some of the gaps about how people lived in towns and the kinds of cultural experience which helped to construct a Welsh urban identity.
This collectoion brings together an outstanding group of historical, cultural, and literary scholars to investigate the complicated, nuanced, and often surprising union and desire and dread associated with the figure of the foreign Other in the Middle Ages--represented variously by Muslims, Jews, heretics, pagans, homosexuals, lepers, monsters, and witches. Exploring the diverse manifestations of the foreign in medieval literature, historical documents, religous treatises, and art, these essays mine the traces of unprecedented encounters in which fascination and fear meet.