Medieval Wales c.1050-1332

‘David Stephenson’s latest book is a bold commentary on historians’ writings about the political and “socio-political” history of medieval Wales over the past fifty years. A deliberate challenge to traditional interpretations, it is supported, as befits an accomplished historian of Gwynedd and Powys, by a depth of scholarship reflected in annotations and bibliographies that amount to a quarter of the book.’
-Emeritus Professor Ralph A. Griffiths, Swansea University

‘This is an invaluable contribution to the historiography of medieval Wales. Stephenson successfully challenges the enduring paradigm of the Gwynedd-led evolution of one Wales, and paints a more complex, multi-dimensional picture. An essential read for scholars and students of medieval Welsh history!’
-Dr Emma Cavell, Swansea University

'Stephenson’s Medieval Wales is the first single-volume history of medieval Wales under native rule to be published in almost fifteen years. The focus of the book is unequivocally on the political history of Wales and the March, and Stephenson does an admirable job of tracing the complexities of the competing powers in Wales over nearly three centuries of turmoil. His explanation of key developments in Welsh political habits, such as the shift from control through violence and mutilation to the appropriation and control of territory and lesser rulers, is lucidly set out and makes it clear how and why the political structure of Wales changed in the period covered by the book. It is a surely an essential read for anyone interested in the period, and will serve the expert as well as those new to medieval Welsh history. The complex and fragmented political narrative of Wales and the March is clearly articulated throughout, but he also introduces areas of uncertainty and though-provoking observations which highlight that these were indeed centuries of ambiguity for the people who lived through them, as well as for those of us who study them.'
- KATHRYN HURLOCK, Archaeologia Cambrensis