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GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS AND THE SEXUAL AGENDA OF THE TWELFTH-CENTURY REFORMERS Thomas O'Loughlin 1. Contexts for Giraldus Giraldus Cambrensis in his two short works on Wales, the Itinerarium Kambriae and the Descriptio Kambriae,1 has provided historians of the late-twelfth century with a source of quality observation and information on society that is without parallel in the medieval history of Wales. Whether we are interested in large questions about civil or ecclesiastical power or points of antiquarian detail, such as the route from Cardigan to Lampeter, we can turn to his works and find evidence towards an answer. Alternatively, we could look on these documents as products of a Paris- trained canon lawyer,2 who saw himself as part of the papal-led reform movement of the time, and who was anxious if unsuccessful to climb the greasy pole of church preferment to the See of St David's, and view the works as a reflection of the values and pre-occupations of such a man. These are, of course, complementary strategies, but the emphasis here shall fall on the second approach. The 'reform movement,' sometimes referred to as the 'Gregorian Reform,' within the Latin church can be seen as an attempt by the papacy 1 The edition of J. F. Dimock (Giraldi Cambrensis opera VI: Itinerarium Kambriae et Descriptio Kambriae, London 1868) will be used throughout (and when it is quoted in Latin I have retained the orthography of that edition); there is a convenient English translation of both works by Lewis Thorpe (Gerald of Wales: The Journey through Wales/The Description of Wales, London 1978); however, in this paper, unless otherwise noted, all translations are my own. 2 Not in the technical sense of a canonista, but someone who had studied in a legal atmosphere in Paris for, at least, two periods (c. 1165-72 and 1176-9), who was close to the legal processes of the church as part of an archbishop's entourage, and who was litigious himself. See R. Bartlett, Gerald of Wales 1146-1223 (Oxford 1982), p. 29 (and see n. 12 for the number of visits). This legal aspect of Giraldus's life has recently received attention from R. Kay, 'Gerald of Wales and the Fourth Lateran Council,' Viator 29(1998)79-93. 3 Since this paper is a study of propaganda which exists using the ideology of 'reformation' within the Christian Church, it is useful to take note of the study of that notion as a social ideology and theological model for innovation, cf. G. Ladner, The Idea of Reform: Its Impact on Christian Thought and Action in the Age of the Fathers (Cambridge MA 1959), as it forms the backdrop to much of Giraldus's thinking.