I think I should have a bit on my website about the pattern of land-holding in Wales before 'Englishry' took over. Can anyone recommend a good book? I do have some material, but not a specific source that covers it in detail.
quote:Originally posted by Jean Manco: I think I should have a bit on my website about the pattern of land-holding in Wales before 'Englishry' took over. Can anyone recommend a good book? I do have some material, but not a specific source that covers it in detail.
Still looking for a good book that covers it in detail although I see that CJO Evans has touched on this on his book Monmouthshire - Its History and Topography, under political history (quite interesting)
Found this on the web..
Europe were antiquating tribal structures as adequate bases for social organization. The ancient tribal structure of society lived on in isolated Wales, and was fundamental to every aspect of Welsh life.
Property rights, inheritance, citizenship, and marriage were regulated by the kindred, and law was enforced primarily by the family feud. Most other governmental functions were unnecessary in view of the decentralized and primitive character of the society. Despite this fact, much of Welsh life centered around the eighty political bodies into which the country was divided. The fundamental unit in this organization was the tref, the residence of a single kindred. Numbers of such trefs were grouped into the territorial unit known as the cantref (one hundred trefs), or, at a later date, the commote (neighborhood).13
The commote was much more than simply a territorial unit. It was, to all intents and purposes, the highest element in the Welsh political structure. Regional groupings of commotes did exist, and Wales was traditionally divided into four "kingdoms." In each of these a single leader usually held some ascendancy, but his power was only a matter of force, prestige, or tradition. Real political power lay in the commote, and was there concentrated in the hands of the tywysog.14
340. Edwards N (ed) LANDSCAPE & SETTLEMENT IN MEDIEVAL WALES, Oxbow MonoNo 81 1997,
this will provide some good references to other matrial.
Professor William Rees' book: South Wales and the March, 1284-1415 : a social and agrarian study / by William Rees. Publisher: Oxford : Oxford U.P., 1924. (but reprinted perhaps 30 years ago.
And:
The governance of Gwynedd / by David Stephenson. University of Wales Press, 1984.
A short cut would be to e mail Nancy Edwards at Bangor University:
his010 AT bangor.ac.uk
I suspect that there will be a difference in landholding pattern betweeen north and south Wales in the early medieval period. From memory, much of the material you want is probably in Journals rather than books.
Chapter four 800 - 1282: Aberffraw, Dinefwr and Mathrafal
If you are not going to buy the book but borrow it from the library then this will give you an insight into the land holdings during this time and all of the political history to go with it.
I am still not sure what book would give specific details on what you asked.
quote:Originally posted by roger davies: I suspect that there will be a difference in landholding pattern betweeen north and south Wales in the early medieval period.
Deepest thanks to you both. Much appreciated. Yes, I want books/journals that I can borrow, rather than buy.
I had already found out that the rate at which the Welsh pattern changed to the manorial system was faster in the border country and along the southern coastal plains. So I'm braced for complications. Don't worry!
Settlement and society in Wales / edited by D. Huw Owen. University of Wales Press, 1989.
a series of essays published in memory of E G Bowen. Papers by Glanville R J Jones on the Dark Ages and D Huw Owen on the Middles Ages and, perhaps, one by Matthew Griffiths on the Emergence of Modern Settlement 1450-1700 are worth reading.
<roger davies>
Posted
This is the 'structure' of William Rees' book:
PART I
INTRODUCTION
THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE CONQUEST OF WALES . . . . . . . .
Pre-Conquest Wales.—Rise of Kingship.—The Court.—Units of Administration.—Officials.—Maintenance of the Court.— The Maerdref.—Royal Prerogative.—The State.—Feudal Tendencies.—Decay of Tribalism.—Norman Invasion.—Lordships of the March.—Englishry and Welshry.—Conquest of the Principality. — The Statute of Wales. — Feudalism.— Custom of Wales.—The Possibilities of the Conquest.
PART II
THE ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION OF THE LORDSHIPS OF WALES C13 & C14
CHAPTER 1.—THE CASTLE . . . . Lords of the March . . . . . . The Liberty of the Subject. . . . The Duties of the Subject . . . . . Administration and Administrative Rents . Forests, Woods, and Wastes .
CHAPTER 11.—THE MANOR . . The Hall and Demesne . . . Manorial Society . . . . Rents and Services . . . . Commutation . . . . The Working of the Manor . . Note on Fisheries . . . .
CHAPTER 111.—THE WELSH LANDS: THE WELSHRY OR PATRIA. . . . . . The Demesnes of the Lord . . The Commote and Subdivisions. . Tribesmen . . . . . . Non-Tribesmen . . . . . . Rents and Services . . . . .
PART III
PESTILENCE AND WAR
The First or Great Pestilence of 1349 . . Later Epidemics: The Pestilence of 1361 . . . . The Pestilence of 1369 . . . . Effects of the Pestilence . . . . . The Glyndwr Rebellion: Causes . . . . . . . The Revolt and its Effects . . Note on Weights and Measures. . . .. GLOSSARY . . . . . . .
The study by Nancy Edwards is not in Bristol University Library. I'd probably need to pop over to Cardiff.
But the volume edited by Huw Owen is there, as is William Rees, South Wales and the March, 1284-1415. Plus looking for books by the latter yielded an interesting crop, one of which I've added to my website right away - he edited the 1609 survey of the lands of the Duchy of Lancaster in Wales. His introduction to that is online and has some comments on the tref http://www.kidwellyhistory.co.uk/Surveys/1609/Introduction.htm
I'm feeling quite guilty now to put you both to so much trouble, because the end result will be quite short - just a page with a couple of hundred words probably.
Before you cross the water. This is what you'll get in the Nancy Edwards book!
Landscape and Settlement in Medieval Wales edited by Nancy Edwards
Recent research and fieldwork on the settlement and landscape of Medieval Wales presented at the 1994 meeting of the Welsh Archaeological Congress is here set down for all to read. The contributions are: Landscape and settlement (Nancy Edwards); Wetland reclamation on the Gwent levels (Stephen Rippon); Landscape of Gwent and the Marches as seen through the Charters (C Hurley); The royal courts of the Welsh princes in Gwynedd, AD 400-1283 (David Longley); The locations of the royal courts of 13th century Gwynedd (N Johnston); Aerial photography and historic landscape on the Great Orme, Llandudno (M Aris); Place-names and vegetation history as a key to understanding settlement in the Conwy Valley (D Hooke); Transhumance and settlement on the Welsh uplands: A view from the Black Mountain (A Ward); Historic settlement surveys in Clwyd and Powys (Robert Silvester); Post-conquest and pre-conquest villages in Pembrokeshire (J Kissock); Small boroughs in south-west Wales (K Murphy); New Radnor: the topography of a planned town (R J Silvester); Medieval Wales: a summing up (Christopher Dyer). 176p, many illus (Oxbow monograph 81, 1997)
Wizo the Fleming founded a castle and settlement at Wiston before AD1112. Both foundations were moderately successful for a period of perhaps one or two centuries, but they had fallen into decay by the later Middle Ages. This paper reviews the historic and physical evidence for the castle and borough of Wiston, and describes the result of recently undertaken small–scale archaeological investigations. Contains reports on charred plant remains by A E Caseldine (86–8), the pottery (88–91), lead object (95), stone object (95) all by D F M Brennan, a ceramic puzzle by Sarah Jennings (91–5) and animal bone by Susan Johnson (95.)
<roger davies>
Posted
General studies are summarised here:
Medieval and later settlement in Wales: a review of recent work Jonathan Kissock Annu Rep Medieval Sett Res Grp, 14, 1999, 11–12, A report on the proceedings of an IFA conference. Contains notes on Cadw's deserted rural settlements programme, rural settlement in Monmouthshire, West Wales, Anglesey, the Conwy Valley, Ceredigion, Radnorshire and the Upper Tawe Valley. The contribution made by aerial photography and computer simulations were also considered and the concluding review is summarised. Recent research into the medieval landscape of south west Wales: the Dyfed Archaeological Trust's historic settlement project
Jonathan Kissock Medieval Sett Res Grp Annu Rep, 7, 10–12, fig. An account of the aims and methodology of this project which is looking at the historic settlements of two contrasting areas. South Pembrokeshire was seized by the Normans and subsequently manorialised and anglicised, whereas Dinefwr remained an area of dispersed settlement thought to be characteristic of much of mid-Wales. One product of the project will be an enhanced knowledge of surviving earthwork sites enabling the Trust to respond effectively to development threats.
The origins of the village in south Wales: a study in landscape archaeology Jonathan Kissock Medieval Sett Res Grp Annu Rep, 5, 6–7, figs. An assessment of pre- and post-Conquest factors affecting the emergence of villages. Prior to the Conquest nucleated settlements appeared with an increase in agricultural production to support burgeoning kingdoms and powerful ecclesiastical settlements. Post-Conquest formation may have included the deliberate location of settlements, burgage tenure and the attraction of new settlers with the impression of inflated status akin to Irish rural boroughs and the Norman bourgs ruraux. IH
M. Davies, 'Field systems of south Wales' in A. Baker and R. Butlin edited Studies of Field Systems in the British Isles (Cambridge, 1973)
G.R. Jones, 'Field Systems of North Wales' in A. Baker and R. Butlin edited Studies of Field Systems in the British Isles (Cambridge, 1973)
R.A. Jones, 'Changing ideologies of medieval state formation: the growing exploitation of land in Gwynedd c.1100 - c.1400' in Journal of Historical Geography, 26 (2000)
T. Jones Pierce, 'Agrarian Aspects of the Tribal System in Medieval Wales', in J.B. Smith edited Medieval Welsh Society (Cardiff, 1972)
T. Jones Pierce, 'Pastoral and Agricultural Settlements in Early Wales', in J.B. Smith edited Medieval Welsh Society (Cardiff, 1972)
F. Seebohm, The Tribal System in Wales, (London, 1904) pages 87-95
R. Griffiths, Conquerors and Conquered in Medieval Wales (Stroud, 1994)
The last one has, in part two, The Urban Experience, the study of the Medieval Welsh Borough.
Margaret Davies published some detailed studies of specific field systems in Glamorgan and Monmouthshire in the Transactions of the Cardiff Naturalists' Society around the mid 1950's. The Monmouthshire paper (in Vol LXXXV for 1955/56) dealt with the Manor of Caldicot , Undy and Magor Common Lands and Redwick Common Meadow.
I'm almost afraid to say that a page on trefi has now gone up on my site. It is very brief and simplified. You will be deeply disappointed, after you gave me enough for a dissertation!
