The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063 - 1415

Oxford History of Wales #2

by R.R. Davies

This classic study examines the period when Wales struggled to retain its independence and identity in the face of Anglo-Norman conquest and subsequent English rule. Professor Davies explores the nature of power and conflict within native Welsh society as well as the transformation of Wales under the English crown. An account of the last major revolt under Owain Glyn Dwr forms the culmination of this excellent work.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Sir Robert Rees Davies was a Welsh historian received a First in his degree from University College, London, where he later returned as a lecturer. In 1975, he was appointed Professor of History, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. In 1995, he was appointed the Chichele Professor of Medieval History at the University of Oxford and made a fellow of All Souls College. From 1995 to 2005 he served as Chairman of the Ancient Monuments Board for Wales. Davies was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to history in the Queen's 2005 New Year's Honours.

Reviews

[GRANT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, five stars! This is a very readable and enjoyable book spanning from the Norman Conquest through the great Llewellyn's to the last nearly successful princely rising of Glyn Dŵr ("Glendower" if you must Anglicize). It wasn't just because I was already familiar with the period. The author attempted to cover all aspects of Welsh society, not just the great Lords and Princes (be they Welsh or English). I could anticipate or wonder how he would deal with certain personalities or aspects and I was not disappointed by a straight-forward yet fresh approach in a humanistic and scholarly way. When the historical facts are not clear, he is careful as in the "alleged" liaison between Llewellyn the Great's wife Joan of England and one of the Braose lords. My only objection is that the de Braose Abergavenny Massacre is also treated as "alleged." (Don't believe everything you hear from Gerald of Wales!)

Here is an ancestral excerpt that I particularly enjoyed with respect to Glyn Dŵr's rising:

"....in the south and east, native opposition to Owain was more widespread.... the premier family in Brecon (Llywellyn ap Hywel and his kinsmen, notably his son, the redoubtable Dafydd Gam) stood firm in their loyalty to English lordship and paid a heavy price in losses, ransoms, and harassment. For many such men Glyn Dŵr's revolt presented the prospect of a disturbing reversal of the political and social order to which they and their ancestors had long since adjusted and from which they had profited. As a sixteenth-century antiquarian crisply observed of Dafydd Gam, 'he was a great stickler for the Duke of Lancaster' (as indeed his forebears had been for over a century and a half for the lords of Brecon); for him such a tradition of service determined his political loyalties clearly and definitively. He was to die in the service of his lord on the field of Agincourt."
[footnotes omitted.]

How could I not love this book?

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This was very helpful with general information on the political amd social climate in Wales during the 11th through 15th century.

[Mabon Finch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful history, however Davies seems to go on unnecessarily in some areas.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any study of Medieval Wales cannot be complete without reading this book. Professor R. R. Davies was the authority on Wales and his passion for the country was evident. I was privileged to have this gentleman as my History Degree lecturer and I shall never forget him.

[Adrian Greenwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only dipped into this book when researching Edward I, but I was soon engrossed. Davies is that rare thing - an academic who is also a storyteller. Anyone interested in the history and struggles of Wales should read it.

[Ann Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought I'd rave about an academic history book! It was just what I needed for research for my new book. A detailed but readable history of Wales and its relationship to England.

[John Hively · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, plenty of scholarship and details. However, it wasn't the best of reads, and it wasn't the worst of reads either. It was very informative.

[Jack Aneurin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without Davies, Welsh History is almost non-existent. He was the first to really grasp Welsh identity during the Medieval Period using a wide variety of sources, rather than some of his Anglo contemporaries. His study and understanding of the first Norman settlement, circa 1063-1165 is particularly compelling. We in Wales, and Europe as a whole, owe much to Davies’s telling of Medieval Cymru.