Dr Stephenson introduces his new book by contrasting the views of distinguished historians of medieval Wales to the complex dynamics of Welsh society and politics during the period from the Edwardian conquest of 1282-4 to the Black Death of 1348. In so doing he opines that the rise of a Welsh administrative and military elite during this period has been under-researched (x-xi). After the defeat of the princes of the most powerful Welsh region, that of Gwynedd, senior posts were monopolised by English officials. However, with the killing of high-ranking English officials such as the sheriff of Anglesey, Roger Puleston, in 1294, Stephenson argues King Edward I gradually had to acknowledge that it was better to rule Wales using Welsh officials (xxviii). At lower levels of administration this was simply a matter of common sense—the Welsh community had to be regulated by officials who could communicate in Welsh, and the importance of native officials before the Edwardian conquest, such as the rhingylliaid and especially the office of the distain (senescallus) which grew in influence and significance during the thirteenth century, is discussed (xxviii-xxxiv).
Edward I’s apparent sensitivity to the complaints of the Welsh, typified by his leniency toward the leaders of the risings of 1294-5 and the later grant of charters confirming liberties, customs, and rights to the aggrieved of certain regions, is considered in the first chapter, entitled “Edward I’s Developing Policy in Wales: The ‘Charm Offensive.’” Faced with challenges in Flanders, Scotland, and at home during the second half of the 1290s, and the need to ensure, as far as possible, that no more costly wars broke out in Wales, it is little wonder, the author argues (13-14), that the king began to appoint more Welshmen to increasingly important positions.
We are told at the beginning of Chapter 2 that the majority of members of the stratum of society who dominated Welsh governance, particularly at the level of commotes and cantrefi,are to be referred to by the contemporary phrase “men of position” (19). A smaller group of highly influential figures, primarily administrative and military magnates—whose sphere of activity covered several regions and whose careers had a decisive impact on the course of events—is designated by the author as “the new elite.” One such member of this new elite was Sir Gruffudd Llwyd ap Rhys, the great-grandson of Ednyfed Fychan distain to Llywelyn the Great. Gruffudd Llwyd was frequently engaged by both Edward I and Edward II in tasks which called for leadership qualities, particularly in the military sphere. It was to him and a few select others, for example, that Edward II turned when an invasion of England via Wales looked a possibility after the Scottish victory at Bannockburn. He was also one of the very first Welshmen to be appointed sheriff.
To be included amongst “men of position” the man in question must satisfy “two or three” of the criteria listed (59-60) at the start of Chapter 3. The criteria include such things as appearance in a chronicle or in a record of holders of a significant office, possessing a particularly distinguished genealogy, being the subject of a praise-poem and/or holding extensive lands. The gazetteer which follows includes men such as Goronwy ap Tudur who acted as deputy to the above-mentioned Sir Gruffudd Llywd in campaigns against the Scots; he assumed the role of forester of Snowdonia (a post previously held by Gruffudd Llywd), was rhaglaw of Dindaethwy, and held lands in Cardiganshire. His sons however were conspirators in the killing of Henry de Shaldeford, the Black Prince’s attorney, in 1345, although both survived, one becoming archdeacon of Anglesey. Another man of position was the wealthy and cultivated Llywelyn Bren of the south-eastern March, although he was not so fortunate, for having rebelled against the actions of the custodian of Glamorgan, he was brutally executed in 1316 by the new lord of Glamorgan, Hugh Despenser the Younger.
In Chapter 4, the author reflects on his survey of the new elite and the men of position noting, amongst other things, that a feature of the two groups is the extent to which they tended to be members of clearly defined compact family groups such as the descendants of Ednyfed Fychan, and that regional leaders who rebelled, such as Llywelyn Bren, did so because they were denied the respect or position that was their due. Furthermore, all the seven men designated as the “new elite,” and several of the “men of position” were involved in assembling, paying or leading Welsh fighting men, most often in the service of English kings. The author then considers what he calls “a potential technique” (113) for estimating the significance of the men named in chapters 2 and 3—this is by examining their perceived military or administrative competence in the context of major political/military crises. Edward II’s orders of 1322 to assemble troops (as well as detain opponents), and the royal mandates to raise men issued in 1326, are chosen as case studies. In both years, for example, Sir Gruffudd Llwyd ap Rhys was ordered to raise men in north Wales to fight for the king, and another of the “new elite,” also a descendent of Ednyfed Fychan, Sir Rhys ap Gruffudd, was ordered to raise men in south Wales. Analysis of the records from 1322 and 1326 leads the author to the conclusion that the post-Edwardian-conquest uchelwyr, led by the descendants of Ednyfed Fychan, ruled the whole of Wales including the March as de facto lords rather than servants (125).
Entitled “Things Fall Apart,” Chapter 5 begins with a summary of “the passing of an elite” (127), for from the late 1320s onwards there were a number of deaths of important figures who had been central to the resurgence of prominent Welshmen after 1295; Sir Gruffudd Llwyd, for example, died in 1335 and Sir Rhys ap Gruffudd, the last member of the author’s “new elite,” died in 1356. This coincided with a reduced demand for Welsh soldiers in English armies during the 1330s and 1340s, and an increase in violence at home—the murder of Henry de Shaldeford noted above being one example—which led to impassioned pleas from the English burgesses of such Edwardian towns as Caernarfon and Rhuddlan. Edward III, with his tendency to regard the Principality as a mere source of revenue or as a means of rewarding his followers (140, quoting Glyn Roberts), was less sympathetic and less understanding than Edward I and Edward II had been. Furthermore, the onset of Black Death led to the more frequent “farming” of offices, with office holders becoming more exploitative, and ethnic rifts were deepened, denying opportunities for the advancement of “Welshmen of talent and good family” (138). The author finishes with a case study examining the evidence for corruption and oppression amongst officials in the fourteenth-century legal records that are extant for Flintshire, and a summary of the changes in the Welsh church (it should be pointed out that there were at least three non-Welsh bishops of Bangor in the High Middle Ages, not one as stated on p. 143).
Whilst the author does ponder the point (113), one wonders whether more could have been said about influential women—the study is confined solely to men. For example, in early 1322 an order was issued for Lleucu, the wife of the executed Llywelyn Bren, to be arrested and detained at Bristol castle (117)—what regional or local role did she play in the six years following her husband’s execution that made it prudent to have her arrested? Overall, however, this is a well-researched and presented book with those designated by the author as “The New Elite” in Chapter 2 and biographical gazetteer of “Men of Position” in Chapter 3 particularly fascinating. The author points out that the gazetteer is representative and expresses the hope that more names will be added to it over time (60). Maps delineating the principal regions, lordships and administrative areas of Wales relevant to the text are helpfully provided at the beginning of the book. Dr Stephenson has produced another excellent, scholarly and thought-provoking work that will appeal to all those interested in medieval Wales.