Welsh Journals

A more searching re-examination of the conflict of laws could lead to a more sympathetic estimate of Edward's dilemma, but whether Llywelyn's calculations over Arwystli were necessarily related to the outbreak of war is a very different matter, Professor Prestwich tends to the view that the prince was deliberately preparing for a new conflict, gathering the disgruntled about him and generally ordering a movement which led to war. The evidence deserves closer scrutiny and the catalyst is more likely to be found in the exigencies in which Dafydd ap Gruffudd found himself in his relations with Reginald Grey in the brief period following Grey's appointment to Chester late in 1281. There is no certainty that Llywelyn was involved in the early assaults on Flint and Rhuddlan. After a very few early references in Chancery records, which may simply reflect an erroneous assumption that a war in Wales was bound to involve Llywelyn, his name does not seem to appear in royal records for several weeks, and, whereas in 1277 he was subject to a solemn excommunication nominatim, John Pecham on two occasions in the spring of 1282 did no more than pronounce a general excommunication naming no names. J. G. Edwards, on mature reflection, gave credence to Llywelyn's insistence that he was not among those who began the war, and the prince may have paused for a good deal longer than Edwards envisaged. Documents relating to the political argument in 1282 are meagre, and it would be well to look very closely at those which stem from Pecham's intervention if only to gain a firmer grasp of Edward's position. It is only with great reluctance that a reader asks for more, or asks for something different, after gaining the immense benefit of a work of such magnitude and thoroughness as this fine volume. The author's constant evaluations of the work of other writers are made with exemplary courtesy and generosity, not least in relation to that of J. E. Morris in a field in which Professor Prestwich is eminently well qualified to make his own judgements. The massive documentation derived from records is matched by the extensive use of chronicles, among them the Hagnaby text which historians of Wales have used to great advantage largely in response to the author's prompting. There is a great deal in the history of England, Wales, Scotland. Gascony and, most certainly, Ireland, which could not possibly be accommodated in a biographical study even as substantial as this. The volume will remain for a long time a cornerstone in the continuing study of the wide and diverse territories which experienced the rule and the power of the person studied in this work of thorough and objective scholarship. J. B. SMITH Aberystwyth MATINS, LAUDS AND VESPERS FOR ST. DAVID'S DAY. By Owain Tudor Edwards. Boydell and Brewer, 1990. Pp. 240. £ 29.50. Research into medieval church music in Wales is still very much in its infancy Despite the considerable efforts of a small number of scholars during recent years.