The Journey Through Wales and the Description of Wales

Description

"The Journey" describes, in almost diary form, the mission to Wales undertaken in 1188 by Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, with Gerald as his companion. His approach was encyclopaedic: as well as providing us with an accurate and quite comprehensive history of events in 12-century wales, the book is crammed with lively accounts of local miracles, natural prodigies, folklore of all sorts and scenic descriptions of great beauty. "The Description" offers us a detailed and fascinating picture of the day-to-day existence of ordinary Welshmen - their methods of agriculture, what they ate and wore and how best they could fight and resist the English.

Gerald of Wales was born c.1145 in Pembrokeshire. He died in obscurity, possibly in Lincoln in 1223. He wrote seventeen books, all of them in Latin, and was well-connected to the Royal Family of his day. Lewis Thorpe was Professor of French at Nottingham University from 1958 to 1977. He was President of the British Branch of the International Arthurian Society. He died in 1977.