Welsh Journals

coastal water by the Glamorganshire Canal (1794) and later by the Taff Vale Railway (1841). Through the enterprise of the second marquis of Bute the first dock was constructed and opened in 1839. It was followed by others until Cardiff became the chief coal-exporting port in the world. But the great merit of this study is that it is a continuous history. This is admirably demonstrated by a careful selection of illustrations. Even on the ground, however, an observant person can see evidences of the past. Roman masonry survives in parts of the castle walls, a small remnant of the medieval wall has been preserved, the foundations of the two friaries can be traced, there is the fine tower of St. John's, and the ruins of the house which Sir William Herbert built on the Grey Friars site still stand. Place-names will challenge future generations to ask questions: Womanby Street, Crockherbtown Lane, Quay Street, and the Golate are some instances in which the old Cardiff peeps through. J. F. REES. Cardiff. THE HISTORY OF FLINTSHIRE, VOL. I: FROM EARLIEST TIMES TO THE ACT OF UNION. Edited by C. R. Williams. Gee and Sons, Ltd., Denbigh, 1961. Pp. 175. 21s. OWAIN GLYNDWR, c. 1354-1416. By Gwilym Arthur Jones. University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 1962. Pp. 71. 3s. 6d. The history of Flintshire has, in large measure, been determined by its strategic position on the border between England and Wales. The coastal belt leading from the Cheshire plain has provided a natural highway for Roman, Saxon, and Norman invaders of North Wales and the proximity of the Norman earldom of Chester made the county particularly susceptible to the tensions arising from the clash of two vigorous, but alien, cultures. It is this central role of Flintshire in the Anglo-Welsh conflicts of the Middle Ages which constitutes the main theme of The History of Flintshire. After an introductory geographical survey, twelve chapters, written by the editor from material supplied by individual researchers, trace the development of Flintshire from prehistoric times to the Act of Union and describe various aspects of the civil and ecclesiastical organization of the medieval county. A valuable series of maps and plates illustrates the text. Some general points need qualification. It is implied (p. 86) that the rising of Palm Sunday, 1282, was the result of a conspiracy between Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and his brother Dafydd; it is likely, however, that Llywelyn was as much taken by surprise by Dafydd's attack on Hawarden as was the English government. Gerald of Wales' strictures on the Cistercians are quoted at some length (p. 130) but with no indication that he was an unreliable and partial critic. A curious summary of the origins of the friars (p. 134) fails to take account of the social and religious changes of the late twelfth century and of the essential difference between