History and Identity in Early Medieval Wales: (Studies in Celtic History)

Crucial texts from ninth- and tenth-century Wales analysed to show their key role in identify formation. WINNER OF THE FRANCIS JONES PRIZE 2022 Early medieval writers viewed the world as divided into gentes ("peoples"). These were groups that could be differentiated from each other according to certain characteristics - by the language they spoke or the territory they inhabited, for example. The same writers played a key role in deciding which characteristics were important and using these to construct ethnic identities. This book explores this process of identity construction in texts from early medieval Wales, focusing primarily on the early ninth-century Latin history of the Britons (Historia Brittonum), the biography of Alfred the Great composed by the Welsh scholar Asser in 893, and the tenth-century vernacular poem Armes Prydein Vawr ("The Great Prophecy of Britain"). It examines how these writers set about distinguishing between the Welsh and the other gentes inhabiting the island of Britain through the use of names, attention to linguistic difference, and the writing of history and origin legends. Crucially important was the identity of the Welsh as Britons, the rightful inhabitants of the entirety of Britain; its significance and durability are investigated, alongside its interaction with the emergence of an identity focused on the geographical unit of Wales.

Table of Contents:
List of Maps Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. Names, Territories, and Kingdoms 2. Language 3. Origin Legends I: the Britons 4. Origin Legends II: Legitimate and Illegitimate Migration 5. Asser and the Origins of Alfred's Kingdom Conclusions Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Rebecca Thomas is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at Cardiff University.

Review :
Rich in detailed analysis... Quite simply, a very good book, which will remain the authoritative discussion of the subject for many years to come. A most impressive book... The book is well-written, subtle and intelligently argued and is comprehensive in terms of a wide range of evidence and perspectives. The Forty-Fourth volume in D. S. Brewer's 'Studies in Celtic History' series is an important contribution to the renaissance in early medieval Welsh History that seems to be going on at present. Thomas presents a wealth of detail to ponder, and some intriguing insights into the complex and fraught negotiations of identity in the profound and ongoing evolution of Britannia into England, Scotland, and Wales. The rigor and depth of its scholarship are undeniable. The book is a significant contribution to the early history of Britain and the formation of cultural identities.