Descriptio Cambriae
The Descriptio’s author Gerald of Wales (or Giraldus Cambrensis) was a prominent churchman of Welsh birth and mixed Norman-Welsh ancestry.
In the future he plans to write an unspecified magnum opus, but for the time being he will describe Wales, taking the 6th-century writer Gildas for his model.
Wales is, says Gerald, divided into the principalities of Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth, and has been since the kingdom of Rhodri Mawr was split between his three sons, each of whose descendants down to the present prince are then listed.
He outlines the high military spirit, weapons, armour and tactics of the Welsh, then, turning to their customs in times of peace, describes their frugality, hospitality to strangers, table manners and sleeping habits, and their care of their teeth and facial hair.
He next turns to the talents of the Welsh people in the fields of instrumental music, bardic poetry (notable for its lavish use of alliteration), and part-singing.
Finally, he advises the Welsh that they can best resist attack by adopting Norman methods of warfare, by unity, and by holding firm to their love of freedom.
Whatever else may come to pass, I do not think that on the Day of Direst Judgement any race other than the Welsh, or any other language, will give answer to the Supreme Judge of all for this small corner of the earth.
The first of these, completed in 1193 or early 1194 and dedicated to Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, survives in many manuscripts, and has been edited from the earliest three: V. British Library, Cotton, Vitellius C.X.N.
[15] James Dimock felt that the Descriptio benefits greatly from being written on a subject that could not, as several of his works did, evoke any of his prejudices or personal animosities.
"[16] Robert Bartlett further stressed the originality of the Descriptio, in which, he said, Gerald had "virtually reinvented the ethnographic monograph, a genre that had largely lapsed since antiquity".
[17] Shirin Khanmohamadi, entirely agreeing with this verdict, saw Gerald's rediscovery of this form as being prompted by his belief that Welsh culture was under threat from Anglo-Norman colonialism.
[18] On the other hand Michael Faletra saw the work as a resource intended to be exploited by the colonial powers as an aid to administering the conquered parts of Wales.
[19] Meic Stephens considered it "of the utmost value to social historians", and pointed out the importance of the final passage, which brings in the old man of Pencader: his "defiant but dignified answer is one of the classic statements of Welsh nationhood.
"[20] Phil Carradice believed the Itinerarium and the Descriptio had set the tone for all travel-writing from Gerald's day to our own, giving the writer's own opinions equal prominence with the simple facts.
In 1861 both were revised by the antiquary Thomas Wright, and included in a volume of The Historical Works of Giraldus Cambrensis, published as part of Bohn's Antiquarian Library.
