"OwenMEdwards-AShortHistoryOfWales" - читать интересную книгу автора (Edwards Owen M)

attracts one on account of lovableness of character as Owen Gwynedd
and Owen Cyveiliog and the Lord Rees do?

When Edward entered into Snowdon, Welsh was spoken to the Dee and the
Severn, and far beyond. There were many dialects, as there are
still, though any two Welshmen could understand each other wherever
they came from, with a little patience, as they can still. But there
was also a literary language, and this was understood, if not spoken,
by the chiefs all through the country. It was more like the Welsh
spoken in mid-Wales--especially in the valley of the Dovey--than any
other. There are many signs of civilisation; one of them is the
possession of a literary language--for romance and poem, for court
and Eisteddvod.


Conquered Wales may be divided into two parts--the Wales conquered by
the Norman barons and the Wales conquered by the English king.

The Wales conquered by the English king was the country ruled by
Llywelyn and his allies. In 1284, by the statute of Rhuddlan, it was
formed into six shires. The Snowdon district--which held out last--
was made into the three shires of Anglesey, Carnarvon, and Merioneth.
The part of the land between Conway and Dee that belonged to the
king, not to barons, was made into the shire of Flint. The lands of
Llywelyn's allies beyond the Dovey were made into the shires of
Cardigan and Carmarthen. Instead of the chiefs of the Welsh prince,
the king's sheriffs and justices ruled the country. But much of the
old law remained.

The Wales conquered by the Norman barons lay to the east and south of
the Wales turned into shires in 1284. It included the greater part
of the valleys of the Clwyd, Dee, Severn, and Wye; and the South
Wales coast from Gloucester to Pembroke. It remained in the
possession of lords who were subject to the King of England, but who
ruled almost like kings in their own lordships. The laws and customs
of the various lordships differed greatly; sometimes the lord used
English law, and sometimes Welsh law. The great ruling families
changed much in wealth and power, from century to century. In
Llywelyn's time the most important were the Clares (Gloucester and
Glamorgan), the Mortimers (Wigmore and Chirk), Lacy (Denbigh),
Warenne (Bromfield and Yale), Fitzalan (Oswestry), Bohun (Brecon),
Braose (Gower), and Valence (Pembroke).

Llywelyn was the last prince of independent Wales. From that time
on, the title is conferred by the King of England on his eldest son,
who is then crowned. The present Prince of Wales also comes, through
a daughter of Llywelyn the Great, from the House of Cunedda, the
princes of which ruled Wales from Roman times to 1284. Of all the
houses that have gone to make the royal house, this is the most
ancient.