Ralph A. Griffiths – författare

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, John Gillingham and Ralph A. Griffiths' Very Short Introduction to Medieval Britain covers the establishment of the Anglo-Norman monarchy in the early Middle Ages, through to England's failure to dominate the British Isles and France in the later Middle Ages. Out of the turbulence came stronger senses of identity in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Yet this was an age, too, of growing definition of Englishness and of a distinctive English cultural tradition.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

'Anyone who wishes to study the reign of Henry VI will need to start from the basis which Professor Griffiths provides' A.J. Pollard, Parliamentary History Henry VI is the youngest monarch ever to have ascended the English throne and the only English king to have been acknowledges by the French as rightfully King of France. His reign was the third longest since the Norman conquest and he came close to being declared a saint. This masterly study, unparalleled in its informative detail, examines the entire span of the king's reign, from the death of Henry V in 1422, when Henry was only nine months old, to the period of his insanity at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses and his dethronement in 1461, preceding his murder ten years later. This classic re-assessment of the third Lancastrian king is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of fifteenth-century England.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1981.'Anyone who wishes to study the reign of Henry VI will need to start from the basis which Professor Griffiths provides' A.J. Pollard, Parliamentary History Henry VI is the youngest monarch ever to have ascended the English throne and the only English king

'Anyone who wishes to study the reign of Henry VI will need to start from the basis which Professor Griffiths provides' A.J. Pollard, Parliamentary History Henry VI is the youngest monarch ever to have ascended the English throne and the only English king to have been acknowledges by the French as rightfully King of France. His reign was the third longest since the Norman conquest and he came close to being declared a saint. This masterly study, unparalleled in its informative detail, examines the entire span of the king's reign, from the death of Henry V in 1422, when Henry was only nine months old, to the period of his insanity at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses and his dethronement in 1461, preceding his murder ten years later. This classic re-assessment of the third Lancastrian king is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of fifteenth-century England.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1981.'Anyone who wishes to study the reign of Henry VI will need to start from the basis which Professor Griffiths provides' A.J. Pollard, Parliamentary History Henry VI is the youngest monarch ever to have ascended the English throne and the only English king

This is a study in the social and political history of England and Wales in one of its most turbulent periods - that of the 15th and early 16th centuries, when the ancestors of the present Lord Dynevor was one of the two or three most significant families in Wales. They played a central role in the Wars of the Roses in Wales. Their most famous member, Rhys ap Thomas was the focus of support for Henry Tudor in 1485 and at the Battle of Bosworth, and he and his son, Gruffydd, were honoured members of Henry VII's court and virtually ruled much of southern Wales for the next 40 years. The family came to grief in 1531 at the hands of Henry VIII precisely because of its prominence, its pretensions to a lineage that went back to ancient princes and had royal Tudor connecitons, and Henry VIII's divorce difficulties - in fact Gruffydd's son Rhys, was King Henry's first spectacular victim on the eve of the Reformation. His decendants spent the rest of the 16th and the early part of the 17th century trying to rehabilitate the family and repair their fortunes. The 17th century "Life of Sir Rhys ap Thomas" has not been published since 1986 and is here edited in full: it forms the second part of a study that is a contribution to the understanding of the Wars of the Roses and the political developments in England, Wales and France during the early Tudor period.

Part of the Gwent County History series, this work covers the history of Gwent from pre-historic times to the twentieth century. It deals with the Age of the Marcher Lordships, 1070-1536, from the coming of the Norman conquerors to the acts of Union between Wales and England, dealing with many aspects of the region's history.

A study of the early modern period, from the creation of Monmouthshire by the Act of Union in 1536 to the beginnings of industrialization in the later eighteenth century. It explores the social concerns of this period, including the growth of urbanity and the commercial world, education, poverty and civil war, as well as religion and politics.

This fourth volume in the county history of Gwent/Monmouthshire deals with the explosion of industrial development from 1780 to the eve of the First World War, and as such is first authoritative treatment of the transformation of south-east Wales into a centre of the iron and coal industry.

This book honours the achievement of J. Beverley Smith during a notable career as a teacher and writer of history, and an editor in the service of his profession. The essays are contributed by fellow historians from across Britain and include some of the country's outstanding scholars. 'Wales and the Welsh in the Middle Ages' has three overlapping themes that offer new insights: (1) the politics and political culture of Wales, from early kingdoms and the succession of their rulers, the clash of Welsh, French and English cultures and the inter-relationships forged, two of hitherto puzzling chronicle sources associated with the abbeys of Cwmhir and Neath, to the implications of the Edwardian conquest as revealed by later medieval poetry and the reputation of Welsh soldiers in English armies; (2) the comparative study of law, the economy and society, not only in English, Welsh and Marcher contexts but also drawing comparisons with Spain and Brittany, opportunities for social advancement in town and country, including the patronage of church building, with illustrative narratives at St David's cathedral, Grosmont and Newton Nottage in south Wales, and Llanidloes in central Wales; and (3) the emergence of approaches to the study of medieval Wales in the early twentieth century that added new strands to our understanding of Wales's history, taking William Rees as a pioneer example. And each theme is seen in a wide historical context. A memoir of Beverley Smith and a list of his writings complete the book.

Two distinguished historians of twentieth-century Britain, especially Wales, marshal seventeen fellow historians to describe the momentous twentieth century in the history of south-east Wales. The book is the fifth and last volume in a magisterial survey of Gwent/Monmouthshire from prehistoric times to the present day. Two World Wars and deep depression tested the resilience of the county's people, while the decline of mining and heavy industry shifted the balance of the county's economy. Other chapters analyse the life and leisure of ordinary people, their cultural, intellectual and sporting interests, their religion which formerly bulked so large in their lives, and the changes in the landscape of town and country.

Tudor monarchs have consistently attracted more popular and scholarly attention than any other royal dynasty in British history. The peculiar origins of the Tudor family and the improbable saga of their rise and fall and rise again in the centuries before the Battle of Bosworth have, however, received far less attention.Based on original sources from Britain and France, The Making of the Tudor Dynasty sets the record straight by providing the only authoritative account of the ancestors of the Tudor family in North Wales at the start of the thirteenth century; their royal English and French connections in the fifteenth century; their unique role in the Wars of the Roses; and Henry Tudor’s victory at Bosworth Field in 1485.

Henry VI is the youngest monarch ever to have ascended the English throne and the only English king to have been acknowledged by the French as rightfully King of France. His reign was the third longest since the Norman conquest and he came close to being declared a saint. This masterly study, unparalleled in its informative detail, examines the entire span of the king's reign, from the death of Henry V in 1422, when Henry was only nine months old, to the period of his insanity at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, his dethronement in 1461 and his murder ten years later. This classic re-assessment of the third Lancastrian king is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of fifteenth-century England. The third edition includes an additional chapter on recent research.

This is a new edition of the authoritative study of the family of Sir Rhys ap Thomas in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It places the family in the social and political context of Anglo-Welsh history: the turbulent career of Gruffydd ap Nicholas of Newton (Carmarthenshire) and his sons during the Wars of the Roses, the crucial importance of Rhys ap Thomas to the establishment of the new Tudor dynasty in both Wales and England; the close relationship between Sir Gruffudd ap Rhys and Prince Arthur, and the execution for treason of Sir Gruffudd's son in 1531 which crippled the family for two generations. A new introduction reviews aspects of the Wars of the Roses in Wales and the impact that the new Tudor dynasty had on the relationship between England Wales after 1485.

This is a study of royal government in the southern counties of the principality of Wales between the beginning of Edward I’s conquest in 1277 and Henry VIII’s ‘act of Union’. This reprinted edition of the book, first published in 1972, includes a new introduction to incorporate recent writings on the subject. Part I discusses the administrative framework of Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire and the way in which it evolved in response to the political needs and reactions of governors and governed. Part II is a comprehensive biographical calendar of the officers of English kings and princes in south Wales, based on a wide range of published and unpublished sources – their careers, experience and wealth. The book has been of great value to political and administrative historians, not only of Wales but of England too, and it also retains a value for students of Welsh society, and for literary and personal-name scholars. No comparable comprehensive study of the involvement of men (rarely of women) in public service in late-medieval Wales (or indeed England) exists for this level of society and government.

A study of the thirty-five Carnegie libraries built in towns and industrial communities in Wales before the First World War. The library system is in a transformative phase that attracts much attention; these Carnegie buildings have never been fully recorded, and some are in critical condition. This book illustrates their social, cultural and architectural significance, and how they reflect Carnegie’s extraordinary philanthropic vision. It reviews the free and public library system in Wales and Great Britain from the first Public Libraries Act of 1850, followed by an account of Carnegie’s career as ‘the richest man in the world’ and the importance he attached to promoting libraries for all, regardless of age and gender. The haphazard development of public libraries in the nineteenth century is the context in which Carnegie’s links with Wales are noted, along with the circles in which he moved in Britain. The largest section discusses the libraries’ locations, sites and patrons, and the buildings themselves. It concludes with Carnegie’s legacy in Wales, not least the role of his UK Trust in the county library movement after 1911.