Anthony D. Carr - The Gentry of North Wales in the Later Middle Ages

STUDIES IN WELSH HISTORY

RALPH A. GRIFFITHS CHRIS WILLIAMS ERYN M. WHITE

THE GENTRY OF NORTH WALES IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES

THE GENTRY OF NORTH WALES IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES

by

A. D. CARR

A. D. Carr, 2017

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ISBN 978-1-78683-135-4

eISBN 978-1-78683137-8

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Cover image: Detail of the heraldic pedigree roll of Sir Thomas Hanmer, by William Lln (d. 1580). NLW, Bettisfield Doc. 137, by permission of Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru/National Library of Wales.

Since the foundation of the series in 1977, the study of Waless history has attracted growing attention among historians internationally and continues to enjoy a vigorous popularity. Not only are approaches, both traditional and new, to the study of history in general being successfully applied in a Welsh context, but Waless historical experience is increasingly appreciated by writers on British, European and world history. These advances have been especially marked in the university institutions in Wales itself.

In order to make more widely available the conclusions of original research, much of it of limited accessibility in postgraduate dissertations and theses, in 1977 the History and Law Committee of the Board of Celtic Studies inaugurated this series of monographs, Studies in Welsh History . It was anticipated that many of the volumes would originate in research conducted in the University of Wales or under the auspices of the Board of Celtic Studies, and so it proved. Although the Board of Celtic Studies no longer exists, the University of Wales Press continues to sponsor the series. It seeks to publish significant contributions made by researchers in Wales and elsewhere. Its primary aim is to serve historical scholarship and to encourage the study of Welsh history.

CONTENTS

I Glenda gyda diolch

This book has grown out of a course I taught at Bangor University on the making of the Welsh gentry which examined the emergence and growth of the Welsh political nation before the Tudor union legislation. It discusses the transition from a social structure based on kindred and on a pattern of land tenure based on lineage groups to an emphasis on land as the basis of individual wealth and influence. At the same time the leaders of this class who were the leaders of the native Welsh community came to dominate native society and this dominance persisted until at least the nineteenth century. While preparing this course I realised that there was no general book on the medieval Welsh gentry and this book is an attempt to fill that gap. The concentration on north Wales, both east and west of the Conwy, is deliberate. In the British context Wales is generally perceived as a single region but in reality it is more than that; it is as much made up of regions as is England or France, albeit not on the same scale. There is a world of difference between Anglesey and Glamorgan or between Flintshire and Ceredigion.

In preparing this book I have benefited from the work of many others, as the bibliography and the references show. I am particularly indebted to my friends and former colleagues the late Tomos Roberts and Einion Thomas, successive archivists at what is now the University of Bangor, and to the late Alyn Giles Jones, who laid the foundations of the professional and efficient organisation which the archives now are. I also owe much to my former colleagues Professor J. Gwynn Williams, Nia Powell and William Griffith, and I am particularly grateful to Alison Davies of Mapping Company Ltd who prepared the maps and to Dr Llion Wigley of the University of Wales Press for his help and advice. Several cohorts of students followed this course and I appreciate their contributions to our discussions. Above all I am grateful to my wife Glenda for her constant interest and support, especially during those dark nights of the soul when I wondered if it was worth carrying on with a project which had already taken so long. The dedication to her is a pleasure.

A. D. CARR