Bibliography
David
Stephenson s. xx–xxi
Works authored
Stephenson, David, Medieval Wales c.1050-1332: centuries of ambiguity, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2019.
Chapters: 1. An outline survey of Welsh political history, c.1050–1332; 2. The Age of the Princes: shifting political cultures and structures; 3. The other Wales: the March; 4. The limits to princely power; 5. New ascendancies.
abstract:
After outlining conventional accounts of Wales in the High Middle Ages, this book moves to more radical approaches to its subject. Rather than discussing the emergence of the March of Wales from the usual perspective of the ‘intrusive’ marcher lords, for instance, it is considered from a Welsh standpoint explaining the lure of the March to Welsh princes and its contribution to the fall of the native principality of Wales. Analysis of the achievements of the princes of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries focuses on the paradoxical process by which increasingly sophisticated political structures and a changing political culture supported an autonomous native principality, but also facilitated eventual assimilation of much of Wales into an English ‘empire’. The Edwardian conquest is examined and it is argued that, alongside the resultant hardship and oppression suffered by many, the rising class of Welsh administrators and community leaders who were essential to the governance of Wales enjoyed an age of opportunity. This is a book that introduces the reader to the celebrated and the less well-known men and women who shaped medieval Wales.
Chapters: 1. An outline survey of Welsh political history, c.1050–1332; 2. The Age of the Princes: shifting political cultures and structures; 3. The other Wales: the March; 4. The limits to princely power; 5. New ascendancies.
abstract:
After outlining conventional accounts of Wales in the High Middle Ages, this book moves to more radical approaches to its subject. Rather than discussing the emergence of the March of Wales from the usual perspective of the ‘intrusive’ marcher lords, for instance, it is considered from a Welsh standpoint explaining the lure of the March to Welsh princes and its contribution to the fall of the native principality of Wales. Analysis of the achievements of the princes of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries focuses on the paradoxical process by which increasingly sophisticated political structures and a changing political culture supported an autonomous native principality, but also facilitated eventual assimilation of much of Wales into an English ‘empire’. The Edwardian conquest is examined and it is argued that, alongside the resultant hardship and oppression suffered by many, the rising class of Welsh administrators and community leaders who were essential to the governance of Wales enjoyed an age of opportunity. This is a book that introduces the reader to the celebrated and the less well-known men and women who shaped medieval Wales.
Stephenson, David, Medieval Powys: kingdom, principality and lordships, 1132–1293, Studies in Celtic History, 35, Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 2016.
abstract:
Powys, extending over north-east and central Wales, was one of three great medieval Welsh polities, along with Gwynedd to the north and Deheubarth (south-west), occupying nearly a quarter of the country. However, it has been somewhat neglected by historians, who have tended to dismiss it as a satellite realm of England, and viewed its leaders as obstacles to the efforts of Gwynedd leaders to construct a principality of Wales.
This book provides the first full, authoritative history of Powys in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It argues in particular that the Powysian rulers were dogged and resourceful survivors in the face of pressure from Welsh rivals and the problems of internal fragmentation; and that, paradoxically, co-operation with the English and intermarriage with marcher families underlay a desire to regain lands to the east lost in earlier centuries.
(source: publisher)
abstract:
Powys, extending over north-east and central Wales, was one of three great medieval Welsh polities, along with Gwynedd to the north and Deheubarth (south-west), occupying nearly a quarter of the country. However, it has been somewhat neglected by historians, who have tended to dismiss it as a satellite realm of England, and viewed its leaders as obstacles to the efforts of Gwynedd leaders to construct a principality of Wales.
This book provides the first full, authoritative history of Powys in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It argues in particular that the Powysian rulers were dogged and resourceful survivors in the face of pressure from Welsh rivals and the problems of internal fragmentation; and that, paradoxically, co-operation with the English and intermarriage with marcher families underlay a desire to regain lands to the east lost in earlier centuries.
(source: publisher)
Stephenson, David, Political power in medieval Gwynedd: governance and the Welsh princes, rev. ed., Studies in Welsh History, 5, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2014.
abstract:
First published in 1984 under the title The governance of Gwynedd, this book has been reprinted to meet continued interest on the Princes of Gwynedd in medieval Wales. Political power in medieval Gwynedd: governance and the Welsh princes investigates the governance exercised by the thirteenth-century Princes of Gwynedd, particularly Llywelyn the Great (fl. 1194–1240) and Llywelyn the Last (fl. 1243–82) as they strove to extend their political control over much of Wales. The analysis rests on the combination of different classes of evidence — literary texts, Welsh laws, thirteenth- and fourteenth-century record sources, and the results of archaeological work. After a descriptive survey of the work of the Princes' officials, the range of revenues available to the Princes is discussed, as are their attempts to increase their income. The recruitment of a privileged ministerial elite is examined and detailed prosopographical analysis reveals the Princes' attempts to overcome the segmentary nature of the political structure. Finally, attention is focused on the ways in which the rise of the Llywelyns and the increased pressures of governance imposed by their ambitions created tensions within Gwynedd and contributed to the final collapse of native rule in Wales. A new introductory section discusses recently published work.
(source: University of Wales Press)
abstract:
First published in 1984 under the title The governance of Gwynedd, this book has been reprinted to meet continued interest on the Princes of Gwynedd in medieval Wales. Political power in medieval Gwynedd: governance and the Welsh princes investigates the governance exercised by the thirteenth-century Princes of Gwynedd, particularly Llywelyn the Great (fl. 1194–1240) and Llywelyn the Last (fl. 1243–82) as they strove to extend their political control over much of Wales. The analysis rests on the combination of different classes of evidence — literary texts, Welsh laws, thirteenth- and fourteenth-century record sources, and the results of archaeological work. After a descriptive survey of the work of the Princes' officials, the range of revenues available to the Princes is discussed, as are their attempts to increase their income. The recruitment of a privileged ministerial elite is examined and detailed prosopographical analysis reveals the Princes' attempts to overcome the segmentary nature of the political structure. Finally, attention is focused on the ways in which the rise of the Llywelyns and the increased pressures of governance imposed by their ambitions created tensions within Gwynedd and contributed to the final collapse of native rule in Wales. A new introductory section discusses recently published work.
(source: University of Wales Press)
Contributions to journals
Stephenson, David, “Empires in Wales: from Gruffudd ap Llywelyn to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd”, Welsh History Review 28 (2016): 26–54.
abstract:
Several Welsh rulers in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries exercised wide supremacies in Wales, but factors in their construction were often deeply ambivalent. Thus violent elimination of rivals and opponents was gradually replaced by trial and imprisonment, or the taking of hostages and sureties, allowing opponents to survive and become the focus of resistance. English support was often crucial, but English involvement might threaten as well as sustain Welsh ascendancies. The increasing need for expert personnel might lead to over-reliance on the ministerial, military and learned elites. The building of Welsh supremacies often provoked resistance from Welsh magnates and communities in areas subjected to new overlords, as demonstrated by case studies of opposition in eastern Wales to the supremacies exercised by the Lord Rhys and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.
abstract:
Several Welsh rulers in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries exercised wide supremacies in Wales, but factors in their construction were often deeply ambivalent. Thus violent elimination of rivals and opponents was gradually replaced by trial and imprisonment, or the taking of hostages and sureties, allowing opponents to survive and become the focus of resistance. English support was often crucial, but English involvement might threaten as well as sustain Welsh ascendancies. The increasing need for expert personnel might lead to over-reliance on the ministerial, military and learned elites. The building of Welsh supremacies often provoked resistance from Welsh magnates and communities in areas subjected to new overlords, as demonstrated by case studies of opposition in eastern Wales to the supremacies exercised by the Lord Rhys and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.
