The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales (Penguin Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Gerald of Wales (Author), Betty Radice (Editor), Lewis Thorpe (Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: January 1, 1995

Scholar, churchman, diplomat and theologian, Gerald of Wales was one of the most fascinating figures of the Middle Ages and "The Journey Through Wales" describes his eventful tour of the country as a missionary in 1188. In a style reminiscent of a diary, Gerald records the day-to-day events of the mission, alongside lively accounts of local miracles, folklore and religious relics such as Saint Patrick's Horn, and eloquent descriptions of natural scenery that includes the rugged promontory of St David's and the vast snow-covered panoramas of Snowdonia. The landscape is evoked in further detail in "The Description", which chronicles the everyday lives of the Welsh people with skill and affection. Witty and gently humorous throughout, these works provide a unique view into the medieval world.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin

About the Author

Gerald of Wales was born c.1145 in Pembrokeshire. He died in obscurity, possibly in Lincoln in 1223. He wrote seventeen books, all of them in Latin, and was well-connected to the Royal Family of his day. Lewis Thorpe was Professor of French at Nottingham University from 1958 to 1977. He was President of the British Branch of the International Arthurian Society. He died in 1977.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140443398
• ISBN-13: 978-0140443394
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #485,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Travel > Europe > Great Britain > Wales

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent source for Students of Medieval Wales, February 25, 2000

By 

Dana Huff "English Teacher" (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

If I was writing a book set in Medieval Wales, I would not be without this book. Descriptions of the country and its people are given, as are extensive biographies of many of the famous rulers and clergymen of the day. On the other hand, it isn't the easiest reading. The material is easy to comprehend, but at times the text itself is dry.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book of delights and wonders, April 18, 2002

By 

J. Angus Macdonald "bibliovore" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Giraldus Cambrensis was a curmudgeon with a vivid imagination. He has an eye for detail and an ear for a good story. As such, his works combine many different elements -- travelogue, miracle tales, slander, complaints, and puffed-up pride. I love him for all this; Gerald is a very real person, warts and all.

This book serves as a great introduction to medieval writing in many ways. First of all, it is relatively short and is full chapers. Each one could be read in connection with the others or solo. One chapter might be about the lay of the land. The next might have to do with a miraculous lake of birds. The next might include scurulous reports about cannibalism. This book, then, is not a history book, not a religious book, not a travelogue, but instead the notes and jottings of a mind interested in many topics. While a lot of the writing speaks of God, Christ and miracles, not all of it does -- this will help give a general reader a broader understanding of the medieval world-view.

Give him a try. You might find the Middle Ages a truly engaging time, a time when people, then as now, were people.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Taking A Trip Through Medieval Wales, August 28, 2005

By 

Notnadia (Currently upstairs.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

First, I want to say thank you, wherever he is today, to Mr. Jones, himself a Welsh patriot, for recommending this book to me nine years ago. What these two books (collected in one volume) are is an invaluable resource that takes a reader on a village-by-village, region-by-region tour of 12th century Wales. Gerald, a Benedictine monk in royal service, had a scholarly eye and a novelist's touch in describing what he encountered on his trips thru the westernmost nation on the island of Britain. Gerald tells of a Wales still independent from England, still Celtic and very much a fiercely independent state in its own right. He describes the hair styles, clothing, dining preferences, architecture, religious and historical sites (including a legend of the burial place of one King Arthur) and does it in a way that never loses the spark of immediacy, even for those of us centuries in Gerald's future. This book reads a lot like a piece from National Geographic, only it's nine-hundred years old! Without Gerald, we never would get to meet so many interesting human beings who once lived out lives in a time and place far removed from where we dwell today. This descriptive memoir is an improbable survivor, and a treasure in the collective library of the human race.