Bibliography

Brodie, Hugh, “Punching above Gwynedd’s weight: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s diplomatic communication and the road to war in 1277”, Studia Celtica 53 (2019): 21–48.

  • journal article
Citation details
Contributors
Article
“Punching above Gwynedd’s weight: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s diplomatic communication and the road to war in 1277”
Periodical
Studia Celtica: The Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 53 (2019)
Studia Celtica 53 (2019), University of Wales Press.
Volume
53
Pages
21–48
Description
Abstract (cited)

The decade between 1267 and 1277 was crucial in Gwynedd's struggle to establish a native Welsh polity. It required a small territory with slender resources to mount diplomacy promoting Llywelyn's status as 'princeps Wallie' not merely with the English crown but with the papal curia. Llywelyn's diplomatic letters have hitherto been scrutinised for the light they shed on the course of events. This article examines instead their style and effectiveness as a mode of diplomatic communication. It compares them with diplomatic letters of Alexander III of Scotland and sheds light on how native Wales was interacting with Anglo-French culture. The analysis draws on a number of previouslyunpublished original documents, transcribed here for the first time, including Pope Gregory X's letter to Edward I in August 1274, inspired by Llywelyn, and preparatory drafts of Edward's letter to Llywelyn in May 1275.

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