1.
Wales
–
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
2.
Prince of Wales
–
Charles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Known alternatively in South West England as Duke of Cornwall and in Scotland as Duke of Rothesay, he is the heir apparent in British history. He is also the oldest person to be next in line to the throne since Sophia of Hanover, Charles was born at Buckingham Palace as the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. After earning a bachelor of degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer and they had two sons, Prince William later to become Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, in 1996, the couple divorced, following well-publicised extramarital affairs. Diana died in a car crash in Paris the following year, in 2005, Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles has sought to raise awareness of the dangers facing the natural environment. As an environmentalist, he has received awards and recognition from environmental groups around the world. His support for alternative medicine, including homeopathy, has been criticised by some in the medical community and he has been outspoken on the role of architecture in society and the conservation of historic buildings. Subsequently, Charles created Poundbury, a new town based on his theories. He has authored a number of books, including A Vision of Britain, A Personal View of Architecture in 1989 and he was baptised in the palaces Music Room by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, on 15 December 1948. When Prince Charles was aged three his mothers accession as Queen Elizabeth II made him her heir apparent. As the monarchs eldest son, he took the titles Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince. Charles attended his mothers coronation at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, seated alongside his grandmother, as was customary for upper-class children at the time, a governess, Catherine Peebles, was appointed and undertook his education between the ages of five and eight. Buckingham Palace announced in 1955 that Charles would attend school rather than have a private tutor, Charles then attended two of his fathers former schools, Cheam Preparatory School in Berkshire, England, followed by Gordonstoun in the north-east of Scotland. He reportedly despised the school, which he described as Colditz in kilts. Upon his return to Gordonstoun, Charles emulated his father in becoming Head Boy and he left in 1967, with six GCE O-levels and two A-levels in history and French, at grades B and C, respectively. Tradition was broken again when Charles proceeded straight from school into university
3.
Historiography
–
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians have studied that topic using particular sources, techniques, beginning in the nineteenth century, with the ascent of academic history, there developed a body of historiographic literature. The extent to which historians are influenced by their own groups, in 2007, of 5,723 faculty in the departments of history at British universities,1,644 identified themselves with social history and 1,425 identified themselves with political history. In the early period, the term historiography meant the writing of history. In that sense certain official historians were given the title Historiographer Royal in Sweden, England, the Scottish post is still in existence. Understanding the past appears to be a human need. What constitutes history is a philosophical question, the earliest chronologies date back to Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, though no historical writers in these early civilizations were known by name. For the purposes of article, history is taken to mean written history recorded in a narrative format for the purpose of informing future generations about events. Before writing, there was only oral history or oral tradition, in China, the earliest history was recorded in oracle bone script which was deciphered and may date back to around late 2nd millennium BCE. The Zuo Zhuan, attributed to Zuo Qiuming in the 5th century BCE, is the earliest written of narrative history in the world, the Classic of History is one of the Five Classics of Chinese classic texts and one of the earliest narratives of China. It is traditionally attributed to Confucius, zhan Guo Ce was a renowned ancient Chinese historical compilation of sporadic materials on the Warring States period compiled between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE. Sima Qian was the first in China to lay the groundwork for professional historical writing and his written work was the Shiji, a monumental lifelong achievement in literature. His work influenced every subsequent author of history in China, including the prestigious Ban family of the Eastern Han Dynasty era, traditional Chinese historiography describes history in terms of dynastic cycles. In this view, each new dynasty is founded by a morally righteous founder, over time, the dynasty becomes morally corrupt and dissolute. Eventually, the dynasty becomes so weak as to allow its replacement by a new dynasty, the tradition of Korean historiography was established with the Samguk Sagi, a history of Korea from its allegedly earliest times. It was compiled by Goryeo court historian Kim Busik after its commission by King Injong of Goryeo. It was completed in 1145 and relied not only on earlier Chinese histories for source material, the latter work is now lost. The earliest works of history produced in Japan were the Rikkokushi, the first of these works were the Nihon Shoki, compiled by Prince Toneri in 720
4.
Genealogy
–
Genealogy, also known as family history, is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship, the results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. Amateur genealogists typically pursue their own ancestry and that of their spouses, professional genealogists may also conduct research for others, publish books on genealogical methods, teach, or produce their own databases. They may work for companies that provide software or produce materials of use to other professionals, both try to understand not just where and when people lived, but also their lifestyles, biographies, and motivations. This often requires—or leads to—knowledge of antiquated laws, old political boundaries, migration trends, bloodlines of Salem is an example of a specialized family-history group. It welcomes members who can prove descent from a participant of the Salem Witch Trials or who choose to support the group. Genealogists and family historians often join family history societies, where novices can learn from experienced researchers. Such societies generally serve a specific geographical area and their members may also index records to make them more accessible, and engage in advocacy and other efforts to preserve public records and cemeteries. Some schools engage students in projects as a means to reinforce lessons regarding immigration. Other benefits include family medical histories with families with medical conditions that are hereditary. The terms genealogy and family history are used synonymously. The term family history may be popular in Europe, genealogy more popular in the United States. In communitarian societies, ones identity is defined as much by ones kin network as by individual achievement, would be answered by a description of father, mother, and tribe. New Zealand Māori, for example, learn whakapapa to discover who they are, Family history plays a part in the practice of some religious belief systems. For example, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a doctrine of baptism for the dead, in societies such as Australia or the United States, there was by the 20th-century growing pride in the pioneers and nation-builders. Establishing descent from these was, and is, important to such groups as the Daughters of the American Revolution, in Nazi Germany, family histories were compiled to affirm individuals affiliation with the master race and to adhere to legal requirements for marriage. In Germany today, family history is often perceived as a threat to privacy rather than as a source of self-esteem. Most 20th-century sources remain unavailable to the public on privacy grounds, funding of support for family history at archives is limited
5.
Anglesey
–
Anglesey or Ynys Môn is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. With an area of 276 square miles, Anglesey is by far the largest island of Wales, Anglesey is also the largest island in the Irish Sea by area, and the second most populous island in the Irish Sea. The population at the 2011 census was 69,751, two bridges span the Menai Strait, connecting the island to the mainland, the Menai Suspension Bridge, designed by Thomas Telford in 1826, and the Britannia Bridge. A historic county of Wales and later administrated as part of Gwynedd, Anglesey today makes up the Isle of Anglesey County along with Holy Island and other smaller islands. The majority of Angleseys inhabitants are Welsh speakers and Ynys Môn, Anglesey is derived from Old Norse, originally either Ǫngullsey Hook Island or Ǫnglisey Ǫnglis Island. No record of any such Ǫngli survives, but the name was used by Viking raiders as early as the 10th century and was later adopted by the Normans during their invasions of Gwynedd. All of these derive from the proposed Proto-Indo-European root *ank-. It was also spelled as Anglesea. Ynys Môn, the islands Welsh name, was first recorded as Latin Mona by various Roman sources and it was likewise known to the Saxons as Monez. The Brittonic original was in the past taken to have meant Island of the Cow and this view is linguistically untenable, however, according to modern scientific philology. The etymology thus currently remains a mystery, poetic names for Anglesey include the Old Welsh Ynys Dywyll for its former groves and Ynys y Cedairn for its royal courts, Gerald of Wales Môn Mam Cymru for its productivity, and Y fêl Ynys. Numerous megalithic monuments and menhirs are present on Anglesey, testifying to the presence of humans in prehistory, Plas Newydd is near one of 28 cromlechs that remain on uplands overlooking the sea. The Welsh Triads claim that Anglesey was once part of the mainland, historically, Anglesey has long been associated with the druids. News of Boudicas revolt reached him just after his victory, causing him to withdraw his army before consolidating his conquest, the island was finally brought into the Roman Empire by Gnaeus Julius Agricola, the Roman governor of Britain, in AD78. During the Roman occupation, the area was notable for the mining of copper, the foundations of Caer Gybi as well as a fort at Holyhead are Roman, and the present road from Holyhead to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll was originally a Roman road. The island was grouped by Ptolemy with Ireland rather than with Britain, British Iron Age and Roman sites have been excavated and coins and ornaments discovered, especially by the 19th century antiquarian, William Owen Stanley. Following the Roman departure from Britain in the early 5th century, pirates from Ireland colonised Anglesey, in response to this, Cunedda ap Edern, a Gododdin warlord from Scotland, came to the area and began to drive the Irish out. This was continued by his son Einion Yrth ap Cunedda and grandson Cadwallon Lawhir ap Einion, as an island, Anglesey was in a good defensive position, and so Aberffraw became the site of the court, or Llys, of the Kingdom of Gwynedd
6.
Carmarthenshire
–
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south-west of Wales and is the largest of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford, Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre of Carmarthenshire, but the most populous settlement is Llanelli. Carmarthenshire has been inhabited since prehistoric times, the town of Carmarthen was founded by the Romans, and the region was part of the Principality of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages. It saw turbulent times during the invasion by the Normans in the 12th and 13h centuries before it was subjugated, along other parts of Wales. There was further unrest in the early 15th century when the Welsh rebelled under Owain Glyndŵr, Carmarthenshire is mainly an agricultural county, apart from the southeastern part which at one time was heavily industrialised with coal mining, steel-making and tin-plating. In the north of the county the woollen industry was important in the 18th century. Nowadays the economy of the county depends on agriculture, forestry, fishing, with the decline in its industrial base and the low profitability of the livestock sector, Carmarthenshire is economically one of the worst-performing regions in the United Kingdom. Although Carmarthenshire is less frequented as a tourist destination than some other counties in Wales, further west are the sandy beaches at Llansteffan and Pendine, and Dylan Thomas boathouse at Laugharne. Further inland there are a number of castles, hillforts. Humans have been living in Carmarthenshire since at least 40,000 years ago as evidenced by stone tools found in Coygan Cave, near Laugharne. The Romans established two forts in South Wales, one at Caerwent to control the southeast of the country, the fort at Carmarthen dates from around 75 AD, and there is a Roman amphitheatre nearby, so this probably makes Carmarthen the oldest continually occupied town in Wales. Carmarthenshire has its roots in the region formerly known as Ystrad Tywi and part of the Principality of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages. After the Normans had subjugated England they tried to subdue Wales, Carmarthenshire was disputed between the Normans and the Welsh lords and many of the castles built around this time, first of wood and then stone, changed hands several times. Following the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, the region was reorganized by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 into Carmarthenshire. Edward I made Carmarthen the capital of new county, establishing his courts of chancery and his exchequer there. The Normans transformed Carmarthen into a trading port, the only staple port in Wales. Merchants imported food and French wines and exported wool, pelts, leather, lead, Carmarthen was particularly susceptible to plague as it was brought in by flea-infested rats on board ships from southern France. In 1405, Owain Glyndŵr captured Carmarthen Castle and several other strongholds in the neighbourhood, however, when his support dwindled, the principal men of the county returned their allegiance to King Henry V
7.
Kingdom of Powys
–
The Kingdom of Powys was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the top two thirds of the county of Powys and part of the east midlands. The fertile river valleys of the Severn and Tern are found here, the name Powys is thought to derive from Latin pagus the countryside and pagenses dwellers in the countryside, also the origins of French pays and English peasant. During the Roman Empire, this region was organised into a Roman province, with the capital at Viroconium Cornoviorum, an entry in the Annales Cambriae concerning the death of King Cadell ap Brochfael says that the land later called Powys was originally known as Ternyllwg. Throughout the Early Middle Ages, Powys was ruled by the Gwerthrynion dynasty, a family claiming descent jointly from the marriage of Vortigern and Princess Sevira, the daughter of Magnus Maximus. Archaeological evidence has shown that, unusually for the period, Viroconium Cornoviorum survived as an urban centre well into the 6th century. The Historia Brittonum, written around AD828, records the town as Caer Guricon, in the following centuries, the Powys eastern border was encroached upon by English settlers from the emerging Anglian territory of Mercia. This was a process, and English control in the West Midlands was uncertain until the late 8th century. In 549 the Plague of Justinian - an outbreak of a strain of bubonic plague - arrived in Britain, however, the English were less affected by this plague as they had far fewer trading contacts with the continent at this time. In 616, the armies of Æthelfrith of Northumbria clashed with Powys, seeing an opportunity to further drive a wedge between the North Welsh and those of Rheged, Æthelfrith invaded Powys northern lands. Æthelfrith forced a battle near Chester and defeated Selyf and his allies, if King Cynddylan of Pengwern hailed from the royal Powys dynasty, then forces from Powys may also have been present at the Battle of Maes Cogwy in 642. However, this account is now thought to represent ninth-century imaginings of what must have been going on in the seventh. Powys enjoyed a resurgence with successful campaigns against the English in 655, 705-707 and 722, the court was moved to Mathrafal Castle in the valley of the river Vyrnwy by 717, possibly by king Elisedd ap Gwylog. Elisedds successes led King Æthelbald of Mercia to build Wats Dyke and this endeavour may have been with Elisedds own agreement, however, for this boundary, extending north from the Severn valley to the Dee estuary, gave Oswestry to Powys. King Offa of Mercia seems to have continued this consultive initiative when he created an earth work. Davies wrote of Cyril Foxs study of Offas Dyke, In the planning of it, there was a degree of consultation with the kings of Powys and Gwent. And for Gwent Offa had the dyke built on the eastern crest of the gorge, clearly with the intention of recognizing that the river Wye and its traffic belonged to the kingdom of Gwent. This new border moved Oswestry back to the English side of the new frontier, and Offa attacked Powys in 760 at Hereford, and again on 778,784 and 796
8.
History of Gwynedd during the High Middle Ages
–
The history of Gwynedd in the High Middle Ages is a period in the History of Wales spanning the 11th through the 13th centuries. Gwynedd, located in the north of Wales, eventually became the most dominant of Welsh principalities during this period, all three of these further contributed to the development of a Welsh national identity in the face of Anglo-Norman encroachment of Wales. Gwynedds traditional territory included Anglesey and all of north Wales between the River Dyfi in the south and River Dee in the northeast, the Irish Sea lies to the north and west, and lands formerly part of the Powys border the south-east. Gwynedds strength was due in part to the mountainous geography which made it difficult for foreign invaders to campaign in the country. Gwynedd emerged from the Early Middle Ages having suffered from increasing Viking raids and various occupations by rival Welsh princes, the emergence of the principality in the 13th century was proof that all the elements necessary for the growth of Welsh statehood independent of England were in place. As part of the Principality of Wales, Gwynedd would retain Welsh laws and customs, see also Early Mediaeval Wales, 700–1066 The latter part of the 10th century, and the whole of the 11th century, was an exceptionally tumultuous period for the Gwyneddwyr, Gwynedds Welsh populace. Deheubarths ruler Maredudd ab Owain deposed Gwynedds ruler Cadwallon ab Ieuaf of the House of Aberffraw in 986, annexing Gwynedd to his enlarged domain, which came to include most of Wales. The Hiberno-Norse from Dublin and the Isle of Man routinely raided the coasts of Wales, with the Welsh people of Ynys Môn and the Llŷn Peninsula suffering the most in Gwynedd. In 987 a Norse raiding party landed on Môn and captured as many as two thousand of the residents, selling them as slaves across northern Europe. Historian and author Dr. John Davies argues that it is during this period that the Norse name for Môn, Anglesey, came into existence, in 989 Meredudd ab Owain bribed the Norse not to raid that year. However the Norse resumed significant raids on Môn in 993, as well as on parts of Wales for the remainder of the century. In 999 Meredudd ab Owain of Deheubarth died, and Cynan ap Hywel was able to wrestle back Gwynedd for the Aberffraw dynasty, However, Cynan himself was deposed by Aeddan ap Blegywryd in 1005. Aeddan was not himself connected to the Aberffraw family, and was perhaps a minor commote lord, Aeddan ruled Gwynedd until 1018, when he and his four sons were defeated in battle by Llywelyn ap Seisyll, lord of Rhuddlan in lower Gwynedd. Iago reigned over Gwynedd until 1039, when he was murdered by his own men, perhaps under the direction of Gruffydd of Rhuddlan, at age four, the Aberffraw heir Cynan ab Iago escaped with his mother to exile in Dublin. Gruffydd then turned his attention to the conquest of Deheubarth, ruled by his maternal cousin Hywel ab Edwin of the House of Dinefwr, the latter was by no means easy to dislodge, wrote Lloyd. Gruffydd raided Deheubarths province of Ceredigion in 1036, ravaging the lands of the community of Llanbadarn Fawr. Following the Battle of Pencader, Hywel retained Dyfed and Ystrad Tywi, However he was expelled by Gruffydd in 1043 after an unrecorded event, and sought refuge in Ireland. In 1044 Hywel returned to recover Deheubarth with an army of Hiberno-Norse, between 1044 and 1055 Gruffydd ap Llywelyn fought Gruffydd ap Rhydderch of Gwent for control of Deheubarth
9.
Henry II of England
–
Henry was the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England. He became actively involved by the age of 14 in his mothers efforts to claim the throne of England, then occupied by Stephen of Blois and he inherited Anjou in 1151 and shortly afterwards married Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Louis VII of France had recently been annulled. Stephen agreed to a treaty after Henrys military expedition to England in 1153. Henry was an energetic and sometimes ruthless ruler, driven by a desire to restore the lands and privileges of his royal grandfather, Henrys desire to reform the relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. This controversy lasted for much of the 1160s and resulted in Beckets murder in 1170, Henry soon came into conflict with Louis VII and the two rulers fought what has been termed a cold war over several decades. By 1172, he controlled England, large parts of Wales, the half of Ireland and the western half of France. Henry and Eleanor had eight children, as they grew up, tensions over the future inheritance of the empire began to emerge, encouraged by Louis and his son King Philip II. In 1173 Henrys heir apparent, Young Henry, rebelled in protest, he was joined by his brothers Richard and Geoffrey and by their mother, France, Scotland, Flanders, and Boulogne allied themselves with the rebels. The Great Revolt was only defeated by Henrys vigorous military action and talented local commanders, many of them new men appointed for their loyalty, Young Henry and Geoffrey revolted again in 1183, resulting in Young Henrys death. The Norman invasion of Ireland provided lands for his youngest son John, Philip successfully played on Richards fears that Henry would make John king, and a final rebellion broke out in 1189. Decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from an ulcer, Henry retreated to Chinon in Anjou. Henrys empire quickly collapsed during the reign of his youngest son John, many of the changes Henry introduced during his long rule, however, had long-term consequences. Historical interpretations of Henrys reign have changed considerably over time, in the 18th century, scholars argued that Henry was a driving force in the creation of a genuinely English monarchy and, ultimately, a unified Britain. Late-20th-century historians have combined British and French historical accounts of Henry, Henry was born in France at Le Mans on 5 March 1133 as the eldest child of the Empress Matilda and her second husband, Geoffrey the Fair, Count of Anjou. In theory, the county answered to the French king, but royal power over Anjou weakened during the 11th century, Henrys mother, firstly married to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, was the eldest daughter of Henry I, King of England and Duke of Normandy. She was born into a ruling class of Normans, who traditionally owned extensive estates in both England and Normandy. Geoffrey took advantage of the confusion to attack the Duchy of Normandy but played no role in the English conflict, leaving this to Matilda and her half-brother. The war, termed the Anarchy by Victorian historians, dragged on, Henry probably spent some of his earliest years in his mothers household, and accompanied Matilda to Normandy in the late 1130s
10.
Angevin Empire
–
Its rulers were Henry II, Richard I, and John. The empire was established by Henry II, as King of England, Count of Anjou, in 1152, through marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, he became ruler of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Despite the extent of Angevin rule, Henrys son, John, was defeated in the Anglo-French War by Philip II of France of the House of Capet following the Battle of Bouvines, John lost control of all his continental possessions, apart from Gascony in southern Aquitaine. This defeat set the scene for the Saintonge War and the Hundred Years War, the term Angevin Empire is a neologism defining the lands of the House of Plantagenet, Henry II and his sons Richard I and John. Another son, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, ruled Brittany, the term Angevin Empire was coined by Kate Norgate in her 1887 publication, England under the Angevin Kings. In France, the term Espace Plantagenêt is sometimes used to describe the fiefdoms the Plantagenets had acquired. The term Angevin itself is the demonym for the residents of Anjou and its capital, Angers. The demonym, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, has been in use since 1653, the use of the term Empire has engendered controversy among some historians, over whether the term is accurate for the actual state of affairs at the time. The area was a collection of the inherited and acquired by Henry. Other historians argue that Henry IIs empire was powerful, centralised. There was no title, as implied by the term Angevin Empire. However, even if the Plantagenets themselves did not claim any imperial title, some chroniclers, often working for Henry II himself, Auvergne was also in the empire for part of the reigns of Henry II and Richard, in their capacity as dukes of Aquitaine. Henry II and Richard I pushed further claims over the County of Berry but these were not completely fulfilled and the county was lost completely by the time of the accession of John in 1199. The frontiers of the empire were sometimes well known and therefore easy to mark, one characteristic of the Angevin Empire was its polycratic nature, a term taken from a political pamphlet written by a subject of the Angevin Empire, the Policraticus by John of Salisbury. This meant that rather than the empire being controlled fully by the ruling monarch, he would delegate power to specially appointed subjects in different areas. England was under the firmest control of all the lands in the Angevin Empire, due to the age of many of the offices that governed the country, England was divided in shires with sheriffs in each enforcing the common law. A justiciar was appointed by the king to stand in his absence when he was on the continent, as the kings of England were more often in France than England they used writs more frequently than the Anglo-Saxon kings, which actually proved beneficial to England. Under William Is rule, Anglo-Saxon nobles had been replaced by Anglo-Norman ones who couldnt own large expanses of contiguous lands
11.
Llywelyn the Great
–
Llywelyn the Great, full name Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales. By a combination of war and diplomacy he dominated Wales for 45 years, during Llywelyns boyhood, Gwynedd was ruled by two of his uncles, who split the kingdom between them, following the death of Llywelyns grandfather, Owain Gwynedd, in 1170. Llywelyn had a claim to be the legitimate ruler and began a campaign to win power at an early age. He was sole ruler of Gwynedd by 1200 and made a treaty with King John of England that year, Llywelyns relations with John remained good for the next ten years. He married Johns natural daughter Joan in 1205, and when John arrested Gwenwynwyn ap Owain of Powys in 1208, in 1210, relations deteriorated, and John invaded Gwynedd in 1211. Llywelyn was forced to seek terms and to give up all lands west of the River Conwy and he allied himself with the barons who forced John to sign Magna Carta in 1215. By 1216, he was the dominant power in Wales, holding a council at Aberdyfi that year to apportion lands to the other princes, following King Johns death, Llywelyn concluded the Treaty of Worcester with his successor, Henry III, in 1218. During the next fifteen years, Llywelyn was frequently involved in fights with Marcher lords and sometimes with the king, but also made alliances with several major powers in the Marches. The Peace of Middle in 1234 marked the end of Llywelyns military career and he maintained his position in Wales until his death in 1240 and was succeeded by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn. Llywelyn was born about 1173, the son of Iorwerth ap Owain and the grandson of Owain Gwynedd, Llywelyn was a descendant of the senior line of Rhodri Mawr and therefore a member of the princely house of Gwynedd. He was probably born at Dolwyddelan, though not in the present Dolwyddelan castle and he may have been born in the old castle which occupied a rocky knoll on the valley floor. Little is known about his father, Iorwerth Drwyndwn, who died when Llywelyn was an infant, there is no record of Iorwerth having taken part in the power struggle between some of Owain Gwynedds other sons following Owains death, although he was the eldest surviving son. There is a tradition that he was disabled or disfigured in some way that excluded him from power, by 1175, Gwynedd had been divided between two of Llywelyns uncles. Dafydd ab Owain held the area east of the River Conwy, Dafydd and Rhodri were the sons of Owain by his second marriage to Cristin verch Goronwy. This marriage was not considered valid by the church as Cristin was Owains first cousin, giraldus Cambrensis refers to Iorwerth Drwyndwn as the only legitimate son of Owain Gwynedd. Following Iorwerths death, Llywelyn was, at least in the eyes of the church, Llywelyns mother was Marared, occasionally anglicised to Margaret, daughter of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys. There is evidence that, after her first husbands death, Marared married in the summer of 1197, Gwion, therefore, some maintain that Marared never married into the Corbet family of Caus Castle and later, Moreton Corbet Castle. In 1194, with the aid of his cousins Gruffudd ap Cynan and Maredudd ap Cynan, Rhodri died in 1195, and his lands west of the Conwy were taken over by Gruffudd and Maredudd while Llywelyn ruled the territories taken from Dafydd east of the Conwy
12.
Edward I of England
–
Edward I, also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. He spent much of his reign reforming royal administration and common law, through an extensive legal inquiry, Edward investigated the tenure of various feudal liberties, while the law was reformed through a series of statutes regulating criminal and property law. Increasingly, however, Edwards attention was drawn towards military affairs, the first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his fathers reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons. In 1259, he sided with a baronial reform movement. After reconciliation with his father, however, he remained throughout the subsequent armed conflict. After the Battle of Lewes, Edward was hostage to the rebellious barons, Montfort was defeated at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and within two years the rebellion was extinguished. With England pacified, Edward joined the Ninth Crusade to the Holy Land, the crusade accomplished little, and Edward was on his way home in 1272 when he was informed that his father had died. Making a slow return, he reached England in 1274 and was crowned at Westminster on 19 August, after suppressing a minor rebellion in Wales in 1276–77, Edward responded to a second rebellion in 1282–83 with a full-scale war of conquest. After a successful campaign, Edward subjected Wales to English rule, built a series of castles and towns in the countryside, next, his efforts were directed towards Scotland. Initially invited to arbitrate a dispute, Edward claimed feudal suzerainty over the kingdom. In the war followed, the Scots persevered, even though the English seemed victorious at several points. At the same there were problems at home. In the mid-1290s, extensive military campaigns required high levels of taxation and these crises were initially averted, but issues remained unsettled. When the King died in 1307, he left to his son, Edward II, Edward I was a tall man for his era, hence the nickname Longshanks. He was temperamental, and this, along with his height, made him an intimidating man, nevertheless, he held the respect of his subjects for the way he embodied the medieval ideal of kingship, as a soldier, an administrator and a man of faith. The Edict remained in effect for the rest of the Middle Ages, Edward was born at the Palace of Westminster on the night of 17–18 June 1239, to King Henry III and Eleanor of Provence. Among his childhood friends was his cousin Henry of Almain, son of King Henrys brother Richard of Cornwall, Henry of Almain would remain a close companion of the prince, both through the civil war that followed, and later during the crusade. Edward was in the care of Hugh Giffard – father of the future Chancellor Godfrey Giffard – until Bartholomew Pecche took over at Giffards death in 1246, there were concerns about Edwards health as a child, and he fell ill in 1246,1247, and 1251
Morris-Jones, John (1911). "Wales". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 262.
Morris-Jones, John (1911). "