Giraldus Cambrensis [key], c.1146–1223, Norman-Welsh churchman and historian, also called Gerald of Wales and Gerald de Barri. He was associated (from 1184) with the king and court of England. His historical works include two descriptive works on Ireland (resulting from a visit) and Descriptio Cambriae [description of Wales]. They contain rare glimpses of medieval life and folklore. He also wrote autobiographical works, lives of churchmen, pastoral admonitions, Latin poetry, and treatises on the rights of the see of St. David's.
See his autobiography (ed. and tr. by H. E. Butler, 1937); biography by R. Bartlett (1982).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Historians, British and Irish: Biographies
