Gerald of Wales

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval scholar Gerald of Wales. Born around the middle of the twelfth century, Gerald was a cleric and courtier. For much of his life he was close to Henry II and the Church hierarchy, and wrote accounts of official journeys he made around Wales and Ireland in their service. Both Anglo-Norman and Welsh by parentage, he had a unique perspective on the political strife of his age. Gerald’s Journey Around Wales and Description of Ireland are among the most colourful and informative chronicles of the Middle Ages, and had a powerful influence on later historians.

→ Play on BBC Sounds website

Guests

• Henrietta Leyser 5 episodes
  Emeritus Fellow of St Peter's College, University of Oxford
• Michelle Brown 3 episodes
  Professor Emerita of Medieval Manuscript Studies at the School of Advanced Study, University of London
• Huw Pryce 2 episodes
  Professor of Welsh History at Bangor University

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Programme ID: b01n1rbn

Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n1rbn

Auto-category: 940.1 (Europe - History - Middle Ages)

Hello (First sentence from this episode)

Hello. Manabeir Castle is a remote and beautiful Norman ruin on the Pembrokeshire coast in South Wales.