Departure Times From Pier Head, Liverpool,

Wales, Giraldus Cambrensis AND THE PROBLEM OF MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

, Gerald of Wales, Gerallt Gymro or Gerald of Wales, was an ecclesiastical authority, who lived between 1140 and 1220. Noble son of Welsh, he toured British Isles, collecting culture and habits of the peasants in various regions of Northumbria to Ireland, from Cornwall to Scotland.
As we understand about the work of Giraldus, it becomes extremely valuable for those studying the Celts and the possible evidence of their ancient religion surviving amid the folklore of these regions. It's his description of the ritual sacrifice of the mare in Ireland, as well as a description of Awenyddion Wales.
So if he is so valuable because it is in the title, the word "problem"? Because, Giraldus, at the height of the medieval era, was far from a man who could be called neutral. Son of nobles not only Welsh, but the Normans, it was obedience to the British crown and, moreover, should also obedience the Church itself. So if he is so kind to give us good information, many others can see that it conceals information under his blanket clerical, under the crown of England and Wales under the facade. And it is a facade that he defends well. Describes the Welsh as a people close to perfection, a terror to his enemies, but had already been conquered by the Normans at the time, and few battles. This defense of the Welsh people has more to do with the fact that these descendants of the Celts have been overwhelmed with more tricks than with political battles, and was a form of government the Anglo-Norman pretend that recognized their characteristics, they were real or imagined, yet it also showing them their faults, these very real. So when they tell us about the Welsh going into battle so terrifying and shouting, but are quickly defeated by organized units of battle, we see an almost identical story about how the Romans overcame the Celts. It was also true in the habit of drawing from the Celts, especially among their own tribes. This disunity was a major cause of his downfall. True was also the great respect for the family lineage among the Celts. A very interesting fact is seen when he speaks of corals. Welsh folk music is less known for their reels and jigs, Scottish and Irish like (although it does have them, usually played on flutes, violins and not using), but for its beautiful corals, showing that this is a tradition that had started the time before the Norman conquest. And the hospitality and generosity have always been virtues even Celts. But we must always be aware of the excesses of medieval chroniclers Giraldus and others, wanting to exalt his own people, the most diverse possible. For the Welsh were men, with much of Celtic yet, but humans (as the Celts themselves were) and certainly suffer from hunger, unlike the Welsh in that Giraldus describes below.