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Native Law and the Church in Medieval Wales »

Book cover image of Native Law and the Church in Medieval Wales by Huw Pryce

Authors: Huw Pryce
ISBN-13: 9780198203629, ISBN-10: 0198203624
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Date Published: April 1993
Edition: (Non-applicable)

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Author Biography: Huw Pryce

University College of North Wales, Bangor

Book Synopsis

This is the first full scholarly study of the relationship between native secular law and the church in medieval Wales. The interaction was close, despite Archbishop Pecham's condemnation of native law as the work of the devil. Huw Pryce assesses the influence of the church on Welsh law, examining the participation of churchmen in the composition of lawbooks and the administration of legal processes and analyzing ecclesiastical criticism of native customs, notably those concerning marriage. He considers the extent to which Welsh law defended the authority and possessions of the church, focusing in particular on the status of clerics and on rights of sanctuary and lordship. The book throws revealing new light on both the law and the church in Wales in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. As a study of the impact of ecclesiastical reform on a society perceived by some contemporaries as barbarian and immoral, this scholarly and lucid account makes an important contribution to medieval history.

Table of Contents

List of Maps
List of Tables
Abbreviations and Conventions
Introduction1
Pt. ICo-operation and Conflict15
1Lawbooks and Lawyers17
2The Sacred Dimension to Legal Processes37
3Ecclesiastical Criticism of Welsh Law71
4Marriage and Inheritance82
5Testamentary Disposition113
Pt. IIPrivilege and Power129
Introduction131
6The Legal Status of Clerics133
7Ecclesiastical Sanctuary163
8Land and Lordship204
9Church and State234
Conclusion252
Glossary259
Bibliography261
Index281

Subjects