Welsh Journals

The claims and counter-claims involved in the attempt by the canons of St. David's to choose Giraldus as their bishop are examined, and some interesting reasons for the opposition of Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury, and of Pope Innocent III appear. Probably sometime after 1195 Giraldus wrote a book praising Geoffrey, archbishop of York (d. 1212), illegitimate son of King Henry II and a constant source of trouble during the reigns both of Richard and John. Geoffrey's actions brought him into conflict with Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury (1193-1205) and chief justiciar (1193-98), ruler in all but name of England during the reign of Richard and the first years of John. Naturally Giraldus's book aroused the opposition of Canterbury. The policy of the pope was dictated by the disputed succession to the German throne, which arose after the death of the Emperor Henry VI in 1197. As Innocent III desired the victory of Otto, nephew of the king of England, the pope was forced to support the opposition of Hubert Walter who spoke for the English king. Dr. Richter ends with a consideration of the contribution which Giraldus made to the political, ecclesiastical and cultural life of Wales, marshalling evidence which places him among the leaders of the fight against the encroachment of the Anglo-Norman power upon the Welsh natio. The bibliography supplies much information for those who wish to read more widely, and the index is of the greatest value. A few misprints have escaped mention in the addenda and corrigenda, while two more important errors must be mentioned. On page 6 Richard is mistakenly called brother of King Henry II, while on page 43 the date for the end of the vacancy at Canterbury is given as January 1138 instead of 1139. Lastly, in n. 20 on page 29, although vol. LXXXVII contains papers covering sessions 1952-53, the date of publication is 1955. I. J. SANDERS Aberystwyth. BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION: STUDIES PRESENTED TO S. B. CHRIMES. Edited by H. Hearder and H. R. Loyn. University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 1974. Pp. 250. £ 5.00. S. B. Chrimes belongs to that small but distinguished group of English scholars whose teaching and writings raised the status of the fifteenth century from the most misunderstood and neglected period of the middle ages to the popular, indeed fashionable, area of study which it is today. His English Constitutional Ideas in the Fifteenth Century (1936) was a pioneer work in its field which has never been superseded. From the first, however, his interest in ideas has had its strongly pragmatic side. Much of the book is concerned with the interpretation and application of theory by working lawyers in the courts, and his preoccupation with the funda- mental importance of law is reflected in his definitive edition of Sir John Fortescue's De Laudibus Legum Anglie (1942). Practice took over from theory in his admirable Introduction to the Administrative History of Medieval England (1952), which remains the best short synthesis of its