Description
Book SynopsisRevisionist approach to the question of the authenticity - or not - of the documents in the Book of Llandaf. Awarded the Francis Jones Prize in Welsh History 2019 by Jesus College Oxford The early-twelfth-century Book of Llandaf is rightly notorious for its bogus documents - but it also provides valuable information on the earlymedieval history of south-east Wales and the adjacent parts of England. This study focuses on its 159 charters, which purport to date from the fifth century to the eleventh, arguing that most of them are genuine seventh-century and later documents that were adapted and "improved" to impress Rome and Canterbury in the context of Bishop Urban of Llandaf's struggles in 1119-34 against the bishops of St Davids and Hereford and the "invasion" of monks from English houses such as Gloucester and Tewkesbury. After assembling other evidence for the existence of pre-twelfth-century Welsh charters, the author defends the authenticity of most of the Llandaf charters' witness lists, elucidatestheir chronology, and analyses the processes of manipulation and expansion that led to the extant Book of Llandaf. This leads him to reassess the extent to which historians can exploit the rehabilitated charters as an indicator of social and economic change between the seventh and eleventh centuries and as a source for the secular and ecclesiastical history of south-east Wales and western England. PATRICK SIMS-WILLIAMS is a Fellow of the British Academy; he was formerly Reader in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon in the University of Cambridge and Professor of Celtic Studies at Aberystwyth University.
Trade ReviewSims-Williams's magisterial survey of this difficult and intricate source lays a firm foundation on which future workers can build. * MONMOUTHSHIRE ANTIQUARY *
A work of the greatest importance...It will be the foundation of all future work on the Book of Llandaf, and on many topics it will remain the last word for a very long time to come. Clearly and economically written, and produced to the high standard which we have come to expect from the publishers, it is a monument of modern scholarship. * ARCHAEOLOGIA CAMBRENSIS *
Table of ContentsIntroduction The Book of Llandaf and the early Welsh charter The origin of the Llandaf claims The charters in the Book of Llandaf: forgeries or recensions? The authenticity of the witness lists The integrity of the charters The chronology of the charters The status of the donors and recipients of the charters The fake diplomatic of the Book of Llandaf The Book of Llandaf: first edition or seventh enlarged revision? A new approach to the compilation of the Book of Llandaf The evidence of the doublets The Book of Llandaf as an indicator of social and economic change The royal genealogical framework The episcopal framework Afterword Appendix I: Concordance and chart showing the paginal and chronological order of the charters Appendix II: Maps of grants to bishops Bibliography
