Welsh Journals

a sweeping financial and military apparatus to put it into effect. It ensured that France would be an essential element in English politics for over a century. Furthermore, although Edward managed to do this fairly inexpensively, his ambitions led to unprecedented levels of taxation and, at times, to political conflict. Edward's real genius, in Tuck's eyes, lay in his ability to accommodate opposition without aggravating tensions and exacerbating the conflict, in contrast to his father and grandson. The detailed narrative, however, leaves little room to develop topics which might help to enlighten political relations. In spite of the careful analysis of personalities and circumstances, for example, the two protagonists in this story are sometimes indistinctly drawn. On the one hand, there is little explanation of the institutional aspects of the monarchy. Finance is only discussed in terms of particular political crises and there is no overview of royal finances or financial institutions for the period as a whole nor of the institutions through which kings effected their policies. On the other hand, there is no analysis of the nobility outside the introduction. It is not always clear who constituted the nobility nor what social, economic, or institutional factors shaped their perceptions of the king and his policies. Similarly, Tuck implies that the interests of the higher nobility and gentry, as represented in the Commons, tended to diverge from the later fourteenth century, but does not provide an explanation for that divergence. The narrative, in other words, illustrates actions but does not always analyze the background to them. As a result, politics sometimes appears to have been largely a matter of personality and accident. These few shortcomings are the result of the decision to concentrate on a chronological account; in terms of that decision, Tuck has provided an admirably clear and readable account of the complex interplay of policy, administration, diplomacy, and interest over nearly two centuries. It demonstrates a masterful grasp of the subtleties of political relations over the entire period and is an excellent introduction to late medieval political history. SCOTT L. WAUGH University of California, Los Angeles LLYWELYN AP GRUFFUDD, Tywysog CYMRU. By J. Beverley Smith, Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru, Caerdydd, 1986. Tt. 460. £ 15.95. When J. E. Lloyd published his History of Wales in 1911, he devoted one chapter to the career of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd; the fact that Professor Beverley Smith has now produced this substantial volume on the same topic reflects the progress of Welsh historical studies over three quarters of a century. By any standards this is a major work of scholarship and an important contribution to our understanding of one of the most significant and, in many ways, one of the most poignant periods in our history. Professor Smith has given us far more than a narrative account of Llywelyn's career. He deals in turn with Llywelyn's early years, with the extension of his rule