Welsh Journals

CONCEPTS OF ORDER AND Gentility IN WALES, 1540-1640. By J. Gwynfor Jones. Gomer Press, Llandysul. Pp. xxxix, 272. £ 15.95. LAw, ORDER AND GOVERNMENT IN CAERNARFONSHIRE, 1558-1640. Justices of the Peace and the Gentry. By John Gwynfor Jones. University of Wales, Press, Cardiff. Pp. xv, 240. £ 25.00. In both these books Dr Jones is concerned with the problems of order, social status, authority and government at a local level in Wales. In the first he concentrates upon the mentalites of the Welsh gentry, in the second upon the structure and performance of local government in a single county. However, there is material about the institutions of government in the first book and about ideas in the second. The principal theme of Concepts of Order is the continuance of the medieval bardic tradition into the sixteenth century and its gradual decline from the reign of Elizabeth onwards under the pressure of social change. Bardic eulogies, although exaggerated, tell us something of the values of society and the ways in which they are transformed. Essentially, as Dr Jones shows, the emphasis at the beginning of the period was upon military glory and upon descent and lineage as the bases of gentility. Gradually the stress upon some of the older virtues faded before respect for civil justice rather than valour, and a stress upon property rather than birth as a basis of status. But the transition was never abrupt or complete. Discussion of such themes is inevitably vague, since clear boundaries are not possible. However, Dr Jones provides few chronological guidelines to enable one to gain a picture of what exactly was going on and when. Dr Jones's work on Caernarfonshire examines 'the manner in which county governors met the challenges of the Elizabethan era and adapted themselves to the growing tensions of the early seventeenth century', focusing upon the Justices of the Peace and Quarter Sessions, as both were formed by the acts of 'union'. While the greater part of the work deals with institutional matters, its final and most interesting chapter returns to the intellectual themes of the earlier book. Dr Jones's overall judgment of the magistracy is favourable. Although they were self-interested, they were in general concerned for the wellbeing of the county as a whole. The praises of the bards are given greater credence than the less favourable evidence of double-dealing and oppression. On occasion 'circumstances demanded that priority be given to private interest. It seems that the structure of local government did not suffer unduly as a consequence.' (p. 196) Maybe the structure did not suffer, but the reputation of the country rulers and the justice of their conduct certainly did. Interesting and informative as both books are, they suffer from serious weaknesses. To begin with, both are unnecessarily long-winded and