Native Law and the Church in Medieval Wales
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:11th Feb '93
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This is the first full scholarly study of the relationship between native secular law and the church in medieval Wales. The interaction was close, despite Archbishop Pecham's condemnation of native law as the work of the devil. Huw Pryce assesses the influence of the church on Welsh law, examining the participation of churchmen in the composition of lawbooks and the administration of legal processes and analysing ecclesiastical criticism of native customs, notably those concerning marriage. He considers the extent to which Welsh law defended the authority and possessions of the church, focusing in particular on the status of clerics and on rights of sanctuary and lordship. The book throws revealing new light on both the law and the church in Wales in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. As a study of the impact of ecclesiastical reform on a society perceived by some contemporaries as barbarian and immoral this scholarly and lucid account makes an important contribution to medieval history.
'exceptionally scholarly monograph ... The topic that he has chosen to address is a very important one ... Dr. Pryce's subject is one which commands great interest. He has tackled it with scholarly scrupulousness and historical assurance.' Welsh History Review, Vol. 17, No. 1, June 1994
'The history of the Church in medieval Wales is arguable one of the most complex issues in the already complex field of early Welsh history, and this new study by Huw Pryce makes an illuminating contribution to our understanding of it. Scholarly and thorough ... in this book, Dr Pryce has provided us with a useful, thorough and valuable exposition of a complex and important subject.' K.L. Maund. Journal of Ecclesiastical History. Vol 45 April '94
This is a substantial and significant contribution to our understanding of medieval Welsh society in general and of Welsh law in particular. * Journal of Legal History *
Negotiating a path through this morass is extremely difficult, as no easy signposts exist to help the investigator find his way. Huw Pryce's superb new book on Welsh law surmounts these challenges with seeming ease...a masterful piece of work. His ability to formulate convincingly historical arguments on the basis of scattered passages and fragments is nothing short of remarkable.
Huw Pryce begins...with an admirably informative account of the legal literature which, in the absence of records of secular or ecclesiastical courts, forms his main body of evidence...meticulous textual criticism and a perceptive use of the documentary materials are combined in a scholarly and informed study which makes an immensely valuable contribution to medieval legal and ecclesiastical history. * EHR *
Dr Huw Pryce of Bangor ... has amply conmfirmed in this book the rich promise he has shown in a number of previous articles. He has now certainly to be ranked as one of the major figures in ths field of study. He has chosen to fill one of the major gaps in our knowledge of Welsh medieval law ... Dr Pryce was admirably equipped to undertake it; not only does he have a detailed and critical knowledge of the surviving legal texts but also of many other sources of evidence ... furthermore he possesses a keen and discriminating awareness of conditions existing in other countries. * Glanmor Williams, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies *
Dr Pryce's knowledge of the sources for medieval Welsh history, Cyfraith Hywel not excepted, is enviable ... Of its overall quality there can be no doubt. * Dafydd Walters, History, Vol. 81 *
ISBN: 9780198203629
Dimensions: 223mm x 146mm x 24mm
Weight: 521g
306 pages