An Annotated Bibliography of Printed and Online Primary Sources for the Middle Ages

Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis, Gerallt Gymro, Gerald de Barri)
lived c. 1146-1223

Gerald of Wales was born around 1146 at Manorbier Castle in Pembrokeshire to a noble family of mixed Norman and Welsh blood. After his education in Gloucestor and Paris, he was sent by Richard of Dover, the Archbishop of Canterbury, on ecclesiastical missions in Wales before becoming archdeacon of Brecon. In 1176, the chapter at St. David’s suggested Gerald to King Henry II as most likely to withstand the aggressions of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was rejected for the nomination as bishop, however, and instead returned to Paris to continue his education and teach. Gerald then became the royal clerk and chaplain to Henry II in 1184, and journeyed to Ireland with one of the king’s sons, which he wrote about in Topographia Hibernica and Expugnatio Hibernica. In 1188, he traveled through Wales with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Baldwin of Exeter, to recruit for the third Crusade, which was recounted in Itinerarium Cambriae and Descriptio Cambriae. Gerald was offered several bishoprics, but chose rather to move to Lincoln in 1196 where he wrote the influential and important chronicle of contemporary events in De instructione principis. He was once again nominated as bishop of St. David’s in 1198 and traveled to Rome for confirmation, but was ultimately rejected by Pope Innocent III. The rest of his life was spent teaching and writing. TLM

• Wikipedia
• Catholic Encyclopedia

OMSB Records by Gerald of Wales:

• Wright, Thomas, trans.; Hoare, Richard Colt, trans.; Forester, Thomas, trans., The Historical Works of Giraldus Cambrensis, containing the Topography of Ireland and the History of the Conquest of Ireland (Bohn's Antiquarian Library. New York: AMS Press, 1863 [Rpt. 1968]).
• Amt, Emilie, ed., Medieval England 1000-1500: A Reader (Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures, VI. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press, 2000).
• Brewer, J.S., James F. Dimock and George F. Warner, eds., Giraldi Cambrensis, Opera. (London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts (Rolls Series, No. 21), 8 vols., 1861-91).
• Williams, William Llewelyn, trans., The Itinerary through Wales, and the Description of Wales (London: J.M. Dent, 1908).
• O'Meara, John J., trans., The History and Topography of Ireland (New York: Penguin Classics, 1982.).
• Thorpe, Lewis, trans., The Journey Through Wales / The Description of Wales (New York: Penguin Classics, 1978).