Reviews

To most Welsh people there is only one Owain, the Prince of Wales who in the first years of the fifteenth century led the most prolonged rebellion in the history of medieval Europe and ensured his place in Welsh history (and mythology) as an icon of nationhood. This engaging study shows that another, earlier Owain, who lived in the twelfth century, also deserves our attention and respect. Roger Turvey outlines the career and achievements of Owain ap Gruffudd ap Cynan, or Owain Gwynedd as he is generally known, who succeeded his father as prince of Gwynedd in 1137 and ruled until 1170. In a period characterised by treachery and the cunning of princes, Owain Gwynedd emerges as a ruler of considerable ability and strength. Owain was fortunate to inherit a stable Gwynedd from his father, Gruffudd ap Cynan, and he himself had received an education which befitted a prince. But his best education was in the art of politics, and he spent much of his time outmanoeuvring his brother Cadwaladr, who no doubt resented Owains ascent to the throne of Gwynedd, and was not above conspiring against him. Yet both were to fight effectively against Henry II, whose campaigns in Wales between 1157 and 1165 were hardly distinguished. One of the most striking features of Owains career, and an aspect of his life which is very well discussed in this book, was his dealings with the monarchs of his time, Henry II in England and Louis VII in France. In the case of the latter, Owain conducted diplomatic correspondence which indicates that he had the makings of his own chancery and that Gwynedd was not immune from European courtly influences. Not the least of his achievements was ruling over a stable Gwynedd and handing on a goodly inheritance, though his immediate heirs did not maintain his position well until his grandson Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, Llywelyn the Great, assumed the kingship of Gwynedd in the thirteenth century. It was in Owain Gwynedds time that the foundations of the supremacy of Gwynedd among Welsh kingdoms were laid, and Owain assumed the role of princeps Wallensium, prince of the Welsh. Gerald of Wales and others dubbed him the Great. If he could be brutal in his treatment of others, he also had to contend with rivalries and treachery in what appears an almost endless struggle for power. In many ways it is possible to see in the volatile and fragmentary politics of twelfth-century Wales those elements of feuding and internecine rivalry which have tended to make Wales a disunited country within itself, and therefore prone to conquest and rule by its more powerful neighbour. The lessons of this fine study of a Welsh prince are lessons for our own times. Rhidian Griffiths It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council