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The History and Topography of Ireland
Gerald of Wales was among the most dynamic and fascinating churchmen of the twelfth century. A member of one of the leading Norman families involved in the invasion of Ireland, he first visited there in 1183 and later returned in the entourage of Henry II. The resulting Topographia Hiberniae is an extraordinary account of his travels. Here he describes landscapes, fish, birds and animals; recounts the history of Ireland's rulers; and tells fantastical stories of magic wells and deadly whirlpools, strange creatures and evil spirits. Written from the point of view of an invader and reformer, this work has been rightly criticized for its portrait of a primitive land, yet it is also one of the most important sources for what is known of Ireland during the Middle Ages.
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1188
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About the author
Gerald of Wales
128 books11 followersGerald of Wales (c. 1146 – c. 1223), also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times. Born around 1146 at Manorbier Castle in Pembrokeshire, Wales, he was of mixed Norman and Welsh blood, his name being Gerald de Barri.
Gerald's writings in good quality Latin, based on a thorough knowledge of Classical authors, reflect experiences gained on his travels as well as his great knowledge of the standard authorities and he was highly respected as a scholar in his time and afterwards. The noted scholar Edward Augustus Freeman said he was "the father of comparative philology," and in the preface to the last volume of Gerald's works in the Rolls Series, he calls him "one of the most learned men of a learned age," "the universal scholar." [5] His writings were prolific, running to about ten volumes in modern printed editions. Gerald was a man of strong opinions whose works are frequently polemical, including bitter attacks on his enemies, but also had an intense curiosity recording much valuable detail of everyday life in his ethnographic works.
It is generally agreed today that his most distinguished works are those dealing with Wales and Ireland, with his two books on his beloved Wales the most important: Itinerarium Cambriae and Descriptio Cambriae which tell us much about Welsh history and geography and reflect on the Cultural relationship between the Welsh and the English. Gerald, despite his desire for an independent Welsh Church and admiration for parts of Welsh life, was very loyal to Norman Marcher rule regarding the Normans as more civilised than the Welsh, a feeling reflected in his writings.
Gerald's writings in good quality Latin, based on a thorough knowledge of Classical authors, reflect experiences gained on his travels as well as his great knowledge of the standard authorities and he was highly respected as a scholar in his time and afterwards. The noted scholar Edward Augustus Freeman said he was "the father of comparative philology," and in the preface to the last volume of Gerald's works in the Rolls Series, he calls him "one of the most learned men of a learned age," "the universal scholar." [5] His writings were prolific, running to about ten volumes in modern printed editions. Gerald was a man of strong opinions whose works are frequently polemical, including bitter attacks on his enemies, but also had an intense curiosity recording much valuable detail of everyday life in his ethnographic works.
It is generally agreed today that his most distinguished works are those dealing with Wales and Ireland, with his two books on his beloved Wales the most important: Itinerarium Cambriae and Descriptio Cambriae which tell us much about Welsh history and geography and reflect on the Cultural relationship between the Welsh and the English. Gerald, despite his desire for an independent Welsh Church and admiration for parts of Welsh life, was very loyal to Norman Marcher rule regarding the Normans as more civilised than the Welsh, a feeling reflected in his writings.
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January 18, 2015The wonderful happenings of our own time...a wolf that talked with a priest. A woman with a beard and a mane on her back. A man that was half an ox and an ox that was half a man. A cow that was partly a stag. A goat that had intercourse with a woman. A lion that loved a woman...
I was led back to reread The History and Topography of Ireland by the mention of the eight forms of marriage recognised by the traditional Brehon law of Ireland in chapter four of W.L. Warren's Henry II, and the distinctive features of Ireland and Irish life are the subject of his short book dedicated to Henry II and read aloud to Baldwin of Ford, the Archbishop of Canterbury, while he was touring Wales preaching for the Third Crusade.
The work is divided into three parts: a geographical overview, miracles and wonders and finally a brief history and account of the Irish who although good-looking and musically skilled are also in Gerald's opinion treacherous, lecherous, lazy, incestuous, "a filthy people, wallowing in vice" and more inclined to bestiality than other people.
The reader is not surprised to learn that Gerald was in Ireland the first time as the guest of his Norman-Welsh kin who were busy conquering the country and the second time as Tutor to the future King John. The subtext that the barbarous Irish need to be civilised by people like Gerald's extensive and land hungry family and that the clergy need to be reformed and guided by a conscientious and educated churchman such as Gerald himself is not far from the surface. Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain is cited to demonstrate that the Kings of Britain have authority over Ireland and that Stonehenge came originally from Ireland (Merlin moved it to Salisbury plain in case you were wondering).
Aside from his probably politically motivated ethnography the book is a listing & brief description of Ireland's geography, wonders both natural and miraculous as well as the vindictive nature of Irish saints. Gerald's animal are light and entertainingly bizarre - according to Gerald a dead Kingfisher put in your clothes chest will keep them smelling fresh and he's keen to tell us about the birds that are seeded by fir-tree trees, then grow off logs and thus are permitted to eat during lent.
Some of the stories, like the talking wolf, appear in other sources too. In this case the story was discussed by a synod, the wolves wanted to receive communion and the question of whether a Priest should share the sacraments with animals - even if they did say some reasonable things about God - clearly needed to be debated at a high level.
As a whole the work is less interesting and much less sympathetic than Gerald's books The Journey Through Wales The Description of Wales for the simple reason that Gerald of Wales was much less familiar with Ireland and unlike Wales where he had deep family roots he was much less involved and much more critical towards Ireland.
It's worthwhile seeking out editions of this book with illustrations taken from one of the early manuscripts which whether of Gallowglasses treacherously murdering each other with axe blows to the skull, the woman loved by a lion or the Falcon that lived on top of a Church tower add to the colour of the reading experience.
December 10, 2009
Gerald of Wales was a Norman who came to Ireland with the Invaders. This account describes the landscape, fauna, and inhabitants of the island. However, Gerald had a vested interest in justifying the invasion so he painted the practices of the Irish as debased and perverse. So while it is a quite interesting read, take the information with several grains of salt! Also, make sure you get an edition that replicates the author's original illustrations.
March 2, 2010
An extremely entertaining look at medieval Ireland, written by a clergyman with a very low opinion of the Irish and their distasteful habits (irreverency, drunkenness, bad temper, heretical leanings, and a fondness for bestiality are among the many).
The joy of this book lies in the lively narrative, and its jumbled combination of folk tales, superstition, and earnest psuedo-science. The author scoffs at the idea that St. Patrick mystically drove the snakes from Ireland, and then follows that up with a perfectly serious story about a magic talking fish with three gold teeth. The illustrations are also fabulous - my favorite, adorning the subsection entitled 'Bestiality, a Particular Vice of the Irish', features a woodcut of a goat making out with a lady!
A true crowd-pleaser, with something in it for everyone.
The joy of this book lies in the lively narrative, and its jumbled combination of folk tales, superstition, and earnest psuedo-science. The author scoffs at the idea that St. Patrick mystically drove the snakes from Ireland, and then follows that up with a perfectly serious story about a magic talking fish with three gold teeth. The illustrations are also fabulous - my favorite, adorning the subsection entitled 'Bestiality, a Particular Vice of the Irish', features a woodcut of a goat making out with a lady!
A true crowd-pleaser, with something in it for everyone.
dropped
July 16, 2022Spring 2020
College reads: I only read chapters/sections relevant to my studies, hence the dnf (Second and Third Parts. Though yuck beastiality! If this read wasn't obligatory...)
College reads: I only read chapters/sections relevant to my studies, hence the dnf (Second and Third Parts. Though yuck beastiality! If this read wasn't obligatory...)
October 21, 2016
One grouchy grumpy day, Pope Adrian IV got honked off at Ireland. The Irish were not paying their tithes, and they were Catholic in name only, living in abominable moral decay. So, he ordered England’s Henry II to conquer the rowdy heathen barbarians. Along with the invasion went a secretary, Giraldus Cambrensis (1146 – 1223), a Welsh priest and scholar. (“Giraldus Cambrensis” was Latin for “Jerry of Wales.”) Father Jerry arrived in Ireland in 1185, and wrote a description of the emerald isle, Topography of Ireland. It captured a rare snapshot of what life was like more than eight centuries ago, when the Irish were still tribal people.
At that time, Ireland was a remote and isolated frontier, largely off the radar of civilization. The landscape majored in forests, bogs, lakes, streams, and swamps. Boats were the easiest mode of travel. Stags feasted on the lavish banquet of foliage, becoming chubby and less speedy. Wolves dined on the abundant boars and wild pigs. The air and water were clean, and the rivers were loaded with fine salmon, trout, muddy eels, and oily shad.
The tribes of Ireland were wild chiefdoms, and the lads and lasses were primarily cowboys and cowgirls. The climate was mild, rainfall was gentle and abundant, and the grass was green all year. Snows were rare, and soon melted away. It was a paradise for herbivores and herders. Herders needed no structures to protect the livestock from the cold, and they had no need for cutting, drying, and storing hay. Organic milk, grass-fed meat, wild fish, and little else, were on the menu every day of the year.
The wild folks had no interest in adapting the latest European fashions — dainty, frilly, colorful attire. They refused to invest endless hours in the tedious drudgery of spinning and weaving fabric of flax or wool. Sensible people are not trend junkies, and dressing up in silly duds made you look like a goofy geek from Liverpool. It was simply too embarrassing. Sensible people wore skins and furs, which were comfortable, durable, attractive, and suitable for all occasions.
There were veins of ores, including gold-bearing quartz, but the cowboys ignored them. Mining was brutally hard work, and their cattle refused to eat gold. Their lands were home to majestic forests, but the cowboys weren’t interested in forest mining. They had no need for lumber or paper, and their finicky cattle would eat neither boards nor money. A good deal of the countryside was potentially suitable for use as cropland, but very little was tilled and sown. Cowboys knew that soil mining was miserable, backbreaking work, and their traditional way of life worked just fine. Cattle were perfectly happy to eat the delicious grass.
Tribes had abundant leisure time for making a joyful noise. Father Jerry had travelled as far as Rome, and he considered the Irish to be the finest musicians of all. Irish music was lively and rapid, and the harmonies sweet and gay. They mostly played the harp and tabor (a small drum). In those days, music was still genuinely sustainable. Musicians did not need huge tour buses, or dozens semis to haul speakers, amplifiers, lighting systems, stages, mega-screens, and dumpsters of cocaine and heroin.
The people were strong and healthy. They did not waste years in lingering sickness and decline. They preferred to leap directly from good health to their deathbeds, and promptly get it over with. They did not know the days of the week, the names of the months, or what year it was. They kept time by the sun, moon, and seasons.
The Irish have never been fond of Father Jerry’s writing, because he was an obnoxious gaseous sphincter. For example, “The Irish are a rude people, subsisting on the produce of their cattle only, and living themselves like beasts.” Or, “This people, then, is truly barbarous, being not only barbarous in their dress, but suffering their hair and beards to grow enormously in an uncouth manner… indeed, all of their habits are barbarisms.”
Father Jerry was certain that the world was very old, close to its end. He was stunned and perplexed by the Irish indifference to salvation and eternal life. You see, Saint Patrick had successfully converted all the tribes before he died in 485. Yet seven centuries later, most of the Irish savages had forgotten everything about sin, damnation, and guilt. Many Irish remained unbaptized and unmarried — shameless, adulterous, incestuous, illegitimate bastards. (Writer Michael Ventura heard of an Irish grandmother who, in the 1950s, still referred to Christianity as “the new religion.”)
Anyway, King Henry’s invasion of Ireland was the kickoff for centuries of bloodshed — similar in many ways to English colonization of New England or Australia. The Irish were low-tech guerilla warriors, skilled at hit and run ambushes. They used slings to hurl stones with skull-splitting accuracy. They had spears, javelins, and axes. The English were state-of-the-art warriors, having chain mail, armor, archers, and deadly swords. For example, “He who had seen how John de Courcy wielded his sword, with one stroke lopping off heads, and with another arms, must needs have commended him for a most valiant soldier.”
Long after Jerry’s death, after more than 450 years of fighting, the conquest was complete. The English victors seized the estates of Irish nobles, and gave them two options. They could move to a reservation, or be executed. Thousands of Irish women were sold to the owners of Caribbean sugar plantations. Countless lads were hung. One observer noted, “You may ride 20 miles and discern anything or fix your eye upon any object, but dead men hanging on trees and gibbets.”
History is clear that civilization trumps tribes. It also trumps healthy wild ecosystems. It trumps the wellbeing of generations yet to be born. But even before Henry and Jerry washed up on shore, tribal Ireland was not a place of love, peace, and happiness. Ireland was divided into many túatha, or petty kingdoms, the domains of chiefdoms. The borders often fluctuated, as chiefs ambitiously pursued the glories of perpetual growth.
History is clear that the accumulation of property, including domesticated livestock, is a routine cause of wealth inequality, social friction, and war. Before becoming cowboys, the Irish hunted and fished. They could not capture and hoard wild stags or boars, so they avoided status-seeking mania, and the dark juju of bossy rich jerks. Countless millions have perished in countless wars resulting from the insatiable obsession of insecure people for more, more, and more. Today, many blame our woes on capitalism, but the roots of the monster are far deeper.
Father Jerry wrote with flamboyance. The translation I read was clear and understandable. However, he was not skilled at remaining focused on his subject, and frequently wandered away to jabber about whatever came into his head. A free PDF of his book is HERE.
At that time, Ireland was a remote and isolated frontier, largely off the radar of civilization. The landscape majored in forests, bogs, lakes, streams, and swamps. Boats were the easiest mode of travel. Stags feasted on the lavish banquet of foliage, becoming chubby and less speedy. Wolves dined on the abundant boars and wild pigs. The air and water were clean, and the rivers were loaded with fine salmon, trout, muddy eels, and oily shad.
The tribes of Ireland were wild chiefdoms, and the lads and lasses were primarily cowboys and cowgirls. The climate was mild, rainfall was gentle and abundant, and the grass was green all year. Snows were rare, and soon melted away. It was a paradise for herbivores and herders. Herders needed no structures to protect the livestock from the cold, and they had no need for cutting, drying, and storing hay. Organic milk, grass-fed meat, wild fish, and little else, were on the menu every day of the year.
The wild folks had no interest in adapting the latest European fashions — dainty, frilly, colorful attire. They refused to invest endless hours in the tedious drudgery of spinning and weaving fabric of flax or wool. Sensible people are not trend junkies, and dressing up in silly duds made you look like a goofy geek from Liverpool. It was simply too embarrassing. Sensible people wore skins and furs, which were comfortable, durable, attractive, and suitable for all occasions.
There were veins of ores, including gold-bearing quartz, but the cowboys ignored them. Mining was brutally hard work, and their cattle refused to eat gold. Their lands were home to majestic forests, but the cowboys weren’t interested in forest mining. They had no need for lumber or paper, and their finicky cattle would eat neither boards nor money. A good deal of the countryside was potentially suitable for use as cropland, but very little was tilled and sown. Cowboys knew that soil mining was miserable, backbreaking work, and their traditional way of life worked just fine. Cattle were perfectly happy to eat the delicious grass.
Tribes had abundant leisure time for making a joyful noise. Father Jerry had travelled as far as Rome, and he considered the Irish to be the finest musicians of all. Irish music was lively and rapid, and the harmonies sweet and gay. They mostly played the harp and tabor (a small drum). In those days, music was still genuinely sustainable. Musicians did not need huge tour buses, or dozens semis to haul speakers, amplifiers, lighting systems, stages, mega-screens, and dumpsters of cocaine and heroin.
The people were strong and healthy. They did not waste years in lingering sickness and decline. They preferred to leap directly from good health to their deathbeds, and promptly get it over with. They did not know the days of the week, the names of the months, or what year it was. They kept time by the sun, moon, and seasons.
The Irish have never been fond of Father Jerry’s writing, because he was an obnoxious gaseous sphincter. For example, “The Irish are a rude people, subsisting on the produce of their cattle only, and living themselves like beasts.” Or, “This people, then, is truly barbarous, being not only barbarous in their dress, but suffering their hair and beards to grow enormously in an uncouth manner… indeed, all of their habits are barbarisms.”
Father Jerry was certain that the world was very old, close to its end. He was stunned and perplexed by the Irish indifference to salvation and eternal life. You see, Saint Patrick had successfully converted all the tribes before he died in 485. Yet seven centuries later, most of the Irish savages had forgotten everything about sin, damnation, and guilt. Many Irish remained unbaptized and unmarried — shameless, adulterous, incestuous, illegitimate bastards. (Writer Michael Ventura heard of an Irish grandmother who, in the 1950s, still referred to Christianity as “the new religion.”)
Anyway, King Henry’s invasion of Ireland was the kickoff for centuries of bloodshed — similar in many ways to English colonization of New England or Australia. The Irish were low-tech guerilla warriors, skilled at hit and run ambushes. They used slings to hurl stones with skull-splitting accuracy. They had spears, javelins, and axes. The English were state-of-the-art warriors, having chain mail, armor, archers, and deadly swords. For example, “He who had seen how John de Courcy wielded his sword, with one stroke lopping off heads, and with another arms, must needs have commended him for a most valiant soldier.”
Long after Jerry’s death, after more than 450 years of fighting, the conquest was complete. The English victors seized the estates of Irish nobles, and gave them two options. They could move to a reservation, or be executed. Thousands of Irish women were sold to the owners of Caribbean sugar plantations. Countless lads were hung. One observer noted, “You may ride 20 miles and discern anything or fix your eye upon any object, but dead men hanging on trees and gibbets.”
History is clear that civilization trumps tribes. It also trumps healthy wild ecosystems. It trumps the wellbeing of generations yet to be born. But even before Henry and Jerry washed up on shore, tribal Ireland was not a place of love, peace, and happiness. Ireland was divided into many túatha, or petty kingdoms, the domains of chiefdoms. The borders often fluctuated, as chiefs ambitiously pursued the glories of perpetual growth.
History is clear that the accumulation of property, including domesticated livestock, is a routine cause of wealth inequality, social friction, and war. Before becoming cowboys, the Irish hunted and fished. They could not capture and hoard wild stags or boars, so they avoided status-seeking mania, and the dark juju of bossy rich jerks. Countless millions have perished in countless wars resulting from the insatiable obsession of insecure people for more, more, and more. Today, many blame our woes on capitalism, but the roots of the monster are far deeper.
Father Jerry wrote with flamboyance. The translation I read was clear and understandable. However, he was not skilled at remaining focused on his subject, and frequently wandered away to jabber about whatever came into his head. A free PDF of his book is HERE.
November 7, 2016
After reading The History and Topography of Ireland, I can clearly see why this book will never be a book of the year in Ireland. Gerald of Wales gives an account of the Irish topography/geography, with the flora and fauna included (even going to lenghts of describing what is lacking in Ireland); then goes on with the description of the (ferocious) Irish saints and their miracles (this was the part I enjoyed the most, probably because I was reading it with the modern view) and concluding with the relatively short political history (enumeration of the Irish kings and their (mis)deeds), as well as with an eulogy to the king of England, Henry II (even in those days, one was careful enough not to anger the potential sponsors!!). Of the Irish people, Gerald rarely and scarcely finds anything good to say; he is also harsh when it comes to his brethren, the Irish clergy. However, his style of writing is very succinct, precise and agreeable to read.
March 23, 2014
It is transparently obvious that the writer of this book desperately sought reasons to justify the Norman conquest of the Irish, of which he was part. Although these people had been Christian for nearly a thousand years, he had nothing but contemptuous words for them ... filthy, given to bestiality, etc. His silly stories about a well that drowned a town because some lady left the top off, talking werewolves and such, were really not very interesting to me either.
March 3, 2022
this could be summed up with: "ireland is a lovely place to live except for the irish--of which there are plenty"
December 25, 2021
Gerald of Wales first went to Ireland in 1183 as a curious traveler and also as a member of a leading Norman family that would later invade the country. His account of Ireland isn’t entirely accurate or even realistic, and it certainly isn’t an objective history or study, but it is a fascinating account because it is a unique look at Ireland in the 12th century, and it represents a very particular medieval perspective. The book is highly critical of the Irish people, it is obviously biased and many times outrageous, but it has such character and charm that it is hard not to find it amusing and enjoyable.
Gerald breaks the book into three parts: the first being about the geography and rivers and animals of Ireland; the second being about the wonders and miracles and strange nature of Ireland; the third being about its people and their customs, their appearance, their history and kings.
Each part is filled with anecdotes and observations and reports that Gerald has compiled through his travels and readings, his reflections on these things, his amazement or criticisms or alarm or confusion. More often than not, he describes a world of mystery and magic and unreal creatures and unlikely events, strange occurrences, myth-history and folklore, much which he has clearly not observed but has heard about and is relating confidently.
Here are some quotes from Gerald that tell us what he thinks of the Irish:
“This is a filthy people, wallowing in vice.”
“They do not avoid incest.”
“Moreover, above all other peoples they always practice treachery.”
“From an old and evil custom,” which he later explains is derived from the habits of the Norsemen who began building settlements in Ireland, “they always carry an axe in their hand as if it were a staff. In this way, if they have a feeling of any evil, they can the more quickly give it effect.”
“…so strongly has the pest of treachery grown and put roots here; so natural through long usage have bad habits become… that foreigners coming to this country almost inevitably are contaminated by this, as it were, inborn vice of the country — a vice that is most contagious.”
Gerald characterizes the Irish as barbarians who have never mastered or understood basic things like farming, or clothing, who live like wild people in forests instead of as civilized people on tilled land. He describes them as physically large and handsome and domineering, but spiritually and mentally uncultivated, unfamiliar with most of the things that he considers markers of the good and decent. He does however admire their skill at music, and he loves sharing stories about how backwards and uncivilized he believes these people to be.
He tells an outlandish story of a certain custom for establishing new kingship in Kenelcunill, in Ulster, the veracity of which historians seem to be in disagreement about. When all the people of the dominion are gathered, they bring a white mare into the crowd and the man who will be king has intercourse with it, showing that he is as much beast as he is chief. Afterward the mare is killed and cut up, and boiled in a large tub of water. The new king climbs into this bath of blood and horse meat and all the people gather around and eat the meat directly from the bath, the king-to-be included. He then drinks the water straight from the bath by putting his face down into it, swallowing everything that gets in his mouth. When everyone has finished, the man climbs out and is now confirmed as king.
Some of the less wild or disturbing anecdotes and tales are just as interesting, like the various stories about the early kings of Ireland. Many of these seem to be blends of myth and history, such as the story of the Norse ruler Turgesius, who was deceived by the father of the girl he wanted to wed.
Murchad Ua Maelechlainn, king of Meath, hated Turgesius, and when the latter asked to marry the king’s daughter, Murchad agreed to send his daughter and 15 maidens to meet him and his men at a special location. When Turgesius arrived, he found instead 15 men cleverly disguised as women, bearing daggers beneath their dresses, who swiftly killed Turgesius and his men, inspiring the rest of the Irish people to stand up against the remaining Norse in Ireland, driving them from the country. It’s a great story, but Herodotus tells an almost identical story in the Histories, 1600 years earlier. How much of this story is true and how much is folklore is unclear.
There are equally great stories about early invaders, mostly taken from the Irish Book of Invasions, detailing the arrivals of various conquerors and their offspring, how they became rulers of the island for a time, what miraculous and odd things happened during their rule, how their dynasties came to an end, and who came next.
Other fantastic observations and stories include Gerald’s tale of a phantom island that would move and sink of its own accord until it was tamed by a flaming arrow shot into its surface; or his strange explanations for why no poisonous animals appear on Ireland (the island does not allow them, and any poisonous animal that is taken there immediately dies—this is how he rationalizes that the Isle of Man must belong to Britain, because poisonous animals thrive there, meaning it can’t possibly be part of Ireland).
There’s the tale of a certain lake that emerged from a well and flooded a region because of the sinful lives of the inhabitants, whose church steeples can reportedly still be seen beneath the surface of the water; or reports of wolves talking to priests, a saint so compassionate a bird nests in his hands, men who are half ox and oxen who are half men; rumors of goats and lions who have sex with human women; tales of mysterious fires with powerful holy qualities; a stone cross that talks and forces the truth out of liars; a falcon who becomes a beloved member of the community; tales of miraculous and wonderful wells, a well that turns things dropped into it to stone, another that causes intense rain simply by looking at it, which cannot be stopped until a very specific ritual has been performed, a well that erupts water when someone approaches it wearing red.
We even have a couple mentions of Merlin in this work, interestingly enough, who seems to be considered a historical figure at this point. In one example, taken from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain, he is included alongside Aurelius Ambrosius, who according to legend is the uncle of King Arthur, in helping to bring the stones of the ‘Giants Dance’ over to Britain—to make what is now called Stonehenge. Cool myth-history like this prevails over genuine history, but that’s the charm in work written in an age of wonder and magic and enigmas and superstition.
In later years Gerald added to this work, encouraged by its popularity to elaborate and add more fluff to its pages. Apparently these later renditions were progressively worse and less interesting than this, his original manuscript. But his other works, like his history of Wales, are considered a valuable piece of twelfth century literature on medieval culture and history.
Gerald breaks the book into three parts: the first being about the geography and rivers and animals of Ireland; the second being about the wonders and miracles and strange nature of Ireland; the third being about its people and their customs, their appearance, their history and kings.
Each part is filled with anecdotes and observations and reports that Gerald has compiled through his travels and readings, his reflections on these things, his amazement or criticisms or alarm or confusion. More often than not, he describes a world of mystery and magic and unreal creatures and unlikely events, strange occurrences, myth-history and folklore, much which he has clearly not observed but has heard about and is relating confidently.
Here are some quotes from Gerald that tell us what he thinks of the Irish:
“This is a filthy people, wallowing in vice.”
“They do not avoid incest.”
“Moreover, above all other peoples they always practice treachery.”
“From an old and evil custom,” which he later explains is derived from the habits of the Norsemen who began building settlements in Ireland, “they always carry an axe in their hand as if it were a staff. In this way, if they have a feeling of any evil, they can the more quickly give it effect.”
“…so strongly has the pest of treachery grown and put roots here; so natural through long usage have bad habits become… that foreigners coming to this country almost inevitably are contaminated by this, as it were, inborn vice of the country — a vice that is most contagious.”
Gerald characterizes the Irish as barbarians who have never mastered or understood basic things like farming, or clothing, who live like wild people in forests instead of as civilized people on tilled land. He describes them as physically large and handsome and domineering, but spiritually and mentally uncultivated, unfamiliar with most of the things that he considers markers of the good and decent. He does however admire their skill at music, and he loves sharing stories about how backwards and uncivilized he believes these people to be.
He tells an outlandish story of a certain custom for establishing new kingship in Kenelcunill, in Ulster, the veracity of which historians seem to be in disagreement about. When all the people of the dominion are gathered, they bring a white mare into the crowd and the man who will be king has intercourse with it, showing that he is as much beast as he is chief. Afterward the mare is killed and cut up, and boiled in a large tub of water. The new king climbs into this bath of blood and horse meat and all the people gather around and eat the meat directly from the bath, the king-to-be included. He then drinks the water straight from the bath by putting his face down into it, swallowing everything that gets in his mouth. When everyone has finished, the man climbs out and is now confirmed as king.
Some of the less wild or disturbing anecdotes and tales are just as interesting, like the various stories about the early kings of Ireland. Many of these seem to be blends of myth and history, such as the story of the Norse ruler Turgesius, who was deceived by the father of the girl he wanted to wed.
Murchad Ua Maelechlainn, king of Meath, hated Turgesius, and when the latter asked to marry the king’s daughter, Murchad agreed to send his daughter and 15 maidens to meet him and his men at a special location. When Turgesius arrived, he found instead 15 men cleverly disguised as women, bearing daggers beneath their dresses, who swiftly killed Turgesius and his men, inspiring the rest of the Irish people to stand up against the remaining Norse in Ireland, driving them from the country. It’s a great story, but Herodotus tells an almost identical story in the Histories, 1600 years earlier. How much of this story is true and how much is folklore is unclear.
There are equally great stories about early invaders, mostly taken from the Irish Book of Invasions, detailing the arrivals of various conquerors and their offspring, how they became rulers of the island for a time, what miraculous and odd things happened during their rule, how their dynasties came to an end, and who came next.
Other fantastic observations and stories include Gerald’s tale of a phantom island that would move and sink of its own accord until it was tamed by a flaming arrow shot into its surface; or his strange explanations for why no poisonous animals appear on Ireland (the island does not allow them, and any poisonous animal that is taken there immediately dies—this is how he rationalizes that the Isle of Man must belong to Britain, because poisonous animals thrive there, meaning it can’t possibly be part of Ireland).
There’s the tale of a certain lake that emerged from a well and flooded a region because of the sinful lives of the inhabitants, whose church steeples can reportedly still be seen beneath the surface of the water; or reports of wolves talking to priests, a saint so compassionate a bird nests in his hands, men who are half ox and oxen who are half men; rumors of goats and lions who have sex with human women; tales of mysterious fires with powerful holy qualities; a stone cross that talks and forces the truth out of liars; a falcon who becomes a beloved member of the community; tales of miraculous and wonderful wells, a well that turns things dropped into it to stone, another that causes intense rain simply by looking at it, which cannot be stopped until a very specific ritual has been performed, a well that erupts water when someone approaches it wearing red.
We even have a couple mentions of Merlin in this work, interestingly enough, who seems to be considered a historical figure at this point. In one example, taken from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain, he is included alongside Aurelius Ambrosius, who according to legend is the uncle of King Arthur, in helping to bring the stones of the ‘Giants Dance’ over to Britain—to make what is now called Stonehenge. Cool myth-history like this prevails over genuine history, but that’s the charm in work written in an age of wonder and magic and enigmas and superstition.
In later years Gerald added to this work, encouraged by its popularity to elaborate and add more fluff to its pages. Apparently these later renditions were progressively worse and less interesting than this, his original manuscript. But his other works, like his history of Wales, are considered a valuable piece of twelfth century literature on medieval culture and history.
October 29, 2018
This text was bizarre in its mixing of history, nature, and mythology. It was definitely the more mythological and folklore-esque sections that stood out to me as the most interesting (GIANTS AND WHIRLPOOLS!) but some of the other parts did get a little slow. Still, this was a very useful read and I appreciate how important (but also problematic) it is to history.
October 15, 2018
The author of this book was able to but in a lot of wisdom in this book which made it more fun to read.
March 9, 2025
Fascinating for the class discussions it spurred about category crisis and miscegenation anxiety, specifically while considering Gerald's status as a Norman-Welsh 'hybrid' himself.
Also, if I saw a wolf fold back its skin like a banana peel to reveal a human woman, I'd be scared too.
"For human nature is so made that only what is unusual and infrequent excites wonder or is regarded as of value. We make no wonder of the rising and the setting of the sun which we see every day; and yet there is nothing in the universe more beautiful or more worthy of wonder. When, however an eclipse of the sun takes place, everyone is amazed."
Also, if I saw a wolf fold back its skin like a banana peel to reveal a human woman, I'd be scared too.
"For human nature is so made that only what is unusual and infrequent excites wonder or is regarded as of value. We make no wonder of the rising and the setting of the sun which we see every day; and yet there is nothing in the universe more beautiful or more worthy of wonder. When, however an eclipse of the sun takes place, everyone is amazed."
March 25, 2018
Didn't really interest me tremendously -- and I'd only recommend if it's assigned for a "History of Medieval Europe" class (which is how this book originally ended up in my possession) or you're really really into Ireland. Gerald of Wales describes the land, animal life, and people of Ireland -- albeit through his flawed eyes and sometimes (many times) through fantastical second-hand stories. It reads, really, as a collection of stories and was a bit too disjointed for my liking. That all being said, this reading does provides some insight into the mindset of British / other European invaders to an island they viewed as mystical / primitive. I think I will go in a different direction as I explore the history of these islands, but I will say that this book provided some baseline perspective of British-Irish relations.
Read
September 25, 202312th century racism is wild
July 22, 2024
An interesting look from the 13th century written by an ecclesiastic who was part of a conqueror’s entourage. Part history, part topography, part fable, this short work gives the most thorough account of this time period in Ireland still extant.
April 25, 2025
A fun read. Loses a star for the bigotry.
February 20, 2019
god gerald's boring isn't he
December 31, 2023
"... as the world began to grow old, and, as it were, began to slip into the decrepitude of old age, and to come to the end, the nature of almost all things became corrupted and changed for the worse."
"They seem to me to be incomparably more skilled in [musical instruments] than any other people that I have seen... It is remarkable how, in spite of the great speed of the fingers, the musical proportion is maintained. The melody is kept perfect and full with unimpaired art."
Between 1184-1185 Gerald travelled across Ireland with the son of King Henry II where he penned this short account, the overall tone of which is rather less flattering than his book on Wales: on the very first page he calls the Irish 'secret and distant freaks' and later denounces them as 'so barbarous that they cannot be said to have any culture'.
Much space is given here to the habits of birds and beasts, local superstitions, unnatural couplings and phantom islands rising out of the sea, but, nevertheless, this account is still a valuable source for early Irish history, be it mythic or otherwise. Gerald tells of five separate arrivings to the land, settlers who struggled against giants and pestilence before being completely wiped out - the very first of these settlers was Cesara, granddaughter of Noah, who thought (erroneously) that here on this distant island she'd somehow be able to escape the coming flood.
"They seem to me to be incomparably more skilled in [musical instruments] than any other people that I have seen... It is remarkable how, in spite of the great speed of the fingers, the musical proportion is maintained. The melody is kept perfect and full with unimpaired art."
Between 1184-1185 Gerald travelled across Ireland with the son of King Henry II where he penned this short account, the overall tone of which is rather less flattering than his book on Wales: on the very first page he calls the Irish 'secret and distant freaks' and later denounces them as 'so barbarous that they cannot be said to have any culture'.
Much space is given here to the habits of birds and beasts, local superstitions, unnatural couplings and phantom islands rising out of the sea, but, nevertheless, this account is still a valuable source for early Irish history, be it mythic or otherwise. Gerald tells of five separate arrivings to the land, settlers who struggled against giants and pestilence before being completely wiped out - the very first of these settlers was Cesara, granddaughter of Noah, who thought (erroneously) that here on this distant island she'd somehow be able to escape the coming flood.
March 9, 2024
The twelfth century Topographia Hibernia has been heavily criticised for being a fanciful, erroneous piece of propaganda asserting Henry II's claim to the region. Gerald's book is more legend than history. Ireland is ‘inimical to poisons, no poisonous animal can live here […] the air is so healthy that there is no disease-bearing cloud, or pestilential vapour, or corrupting breeze. The island has little use for doctors.’ Lakes often appear out of nowhere and talking wolves convert natives to Christianity. Despite the many inaccuracies and magical accounts, it is still a pleasing account of how Ireland was viewed in medieval England. Gerald paints a descriptive picture of the low-lying coast and high mountains inland. The dew and green of the land is tantalising and some of the accounts of the clergy are hilarious. The simple illustrations in this edition help this playful account do what it was intended to do: entertain.
January 14, 2008
With the benefit of Jeffrey Cohen's On Difficult Middles, I noticed something this time around that I hadn't before: the multiple 'origins' of the Irish Gerald records in the third book. It was the bestiality that first grabbed me, but it's the historiographical and ethnic anxiety that keeps me coming back for more.
November 20, 2020
The Topographia Hibernica (Topography of Ireland) by Gerald Cambrensis is a report to the King of the English Henry II. He describes to Henry the geography and people of Ireland, presumably for political purposes as Ireland was later imperialized by England. I'm sure it was of great importance in its own time, but as a casual reader today it's not very enjoyable or helpful. Gerald himself was a talented writer of both prose and verse, and he has a good ability to make bland things more interesting through his writing style. Despite that, this is a rather dull read. It is split into three long chapters and I will analyze each.
The first chapter describes the physical geography of Ireland; its location relative to other things, its terrain and its fauna mainly. However, this is where the book is at its most dull. Describing physical geography for pages on end when you already know where Ireland is and what its landscape is like is not enjoyable at all. Also, it isn't entirely correct, as Ireland is in fact not particularly mountainous. I did find two things here interesting; his descriptions of birds, because I personally like birds, and is definition of Thule, one of the most mysterious toponyms of the classical and medieval world. According to Gerald it is an island in the north Atlantic above the arctic circle. This chapter is quaint and at times relaxing, and a glimpse into how medieval geography was conveyed, but otherwise is mostly boring.
The second chapter is significantly more interesting. This is where Gerald recounts the wonders, mysteries and miracles of Ireland. Contained within are many stores about magic wells, saintly escapades, cursed villages, human-animal hybrids, magic islands and even a woman getting raw-dogged by a goat. It gets tedious towards the end because catholic miracles aren't quite as interesting as the surreal and fantastical stuff, but overall this part of the book was enjoyable because I really do enjoy hearing about medieval people seeing the world through such a magical lenses, and because the well that dumps rain on you and only you when you spill out water from an ox horn onto a nearby rock is funny.
The third chapter, about the history and human geography of Ireland, is where the book falls apart. Irish creation mythology about the biblical flood and various legendary kings is potentially interesting but Gerald recants it rather dryly which is a disappointment. He then discusses the Irish people, and does so in a shockingly uncharitable way. He describes them as pastoral savages who are wicked and not Christian enough, without giving much insight to their culture or social structure which is a big disappointment. The blatant racism and lack of juicy details other than a few tid-bits about bathing in horse soup and creative methods of legal kinslaying is not very praiseworthy. The book ends with more contemporary political history but once again Gerald fails to provide much of interest or drama, and I can't help but feel that there are much better books on Irish history regarding this time period.
Overall this is a largely unenjoyable and unhelpful book whose information is for the most part unhelpful on account of being provably untrue of fantastical, or redundant, or uninteresting and incomplete because, frankly, Gerald was a poor historian. The fact that he uncritically cites Geoffrey of Monmouth, a grifter pseudo-historian, is indicative of this. This I imagine is important for scholars but I don't recommend this for casual readers unless you really wanna hear about magic wells, islands that kill women, and extremely catholic talking dogs.
The first chapter describes the physical geography of Ireland; its location relative to other things, its terrain and its fauna mainly. However, this is where the book is at its most dull. Describing physical geography for pages on end when you already know where Ireland is and what its landscape is like is not enjoyable at all. Also, it isn't entirely correct, as Ireland is in fact not particularly mountainous. I did find two things here interesting; his descriptions of birds, because I personally like birds, and is definition of Thule, one of the most mysterious toponyms of the classical and medieval world. According to Gerald it is an island in the north Atlantic above the arctic circle. This chapter is quaint and at times relaxing, and a glimpse into how medieval geography was conveyed, but otherwise is mostly boring.
The second chapter is significantly more interesting. This is where Gerald recounts the wonders, mysteries and miracles of Ireland. Contained within are many stores about magic wells, saintly escapades, cursed villages, human-animal hybrids, magic islands and even a woman getting raw-dogged by a goat. It gets tedious towards the end because catholic miracles aren't quite as interesting as the surreal and fantastical stuff, but overall this part of the book was enjoyable because I really do enjoy hearing about medieval people seeing the world through such a magical lenses, and because the well that dumps rain on you and only you when you spill out water from an ox horn onto a nearby rock is funny.
The third chapter, about the history and human geography of Ireland, is where the book falls apart. Irish creation mythology about the biblical flood and various legendary kings is potentially interesting but Gerald recants it rather dryly which is a disappointment. He then discusses the Irish people, and does so in a shockingly uncharitable way. He describes them as pastoral savages who are wicked and not Christian enough, without giving much insight to their culture or social structure which is a big disappointment. The blatant racism and lack of juicy details other than a few tid-bits about bathing in horse soup and creative methods of legal kinslaying is not very praiseworthy. The book ends with more contemporary political history but once again Gerald fails to provide much of interest or drama, and I can't help but feel that there are much better books on Irish history regarding this time period.
Overall this is a largely unenjoyable and unhelpful book whose information is for the most part unhelpful on account of being provably untrue of fantastical, or redundant, or uninteresting and incomplete because, frankly, Gerald was a poor historian. The fact that he uncritically cites Geoffrey of Monmouth, a grifter pseudo-historian, is indicative of this. This I imagine is important for scholars but I don't recommend this for casual readers unless you really wanna hear about magic wells, islands that kill women, and extremely catholic talking dogs.
May 13, 2024
This review concerns John J. O'Meara's translation of Topographia Hibernica by Giraldus Cambrensis (or Gerald of Wales).
Written and illustrated in the twelfth century, Gerald of Wales' The History and Topography of Ireland is significant in a number of key respects, amongst which is that it offers us useful insights into Romanesque Ireland as well as elucidating the political motivations of its Cambro-Norman author. The text is an early form of British ethnography and bears the hallmarks of the political project of its sycophantic and deeply misogynistic author, which was in part to unite Christendom as well as to incorporate populations at the figurative and literal margins of the British monarchy's control during Henry II's reign.
As a written work of the Middle Ages composed with an aristocratic British audience in mind, the text threads Biblical themes through its descriptions of the plants, animals, and topographical features of Ireland in the earlier sections. This interweaving of ecclesiastical maxims through varied topics continues into the later historical and cultural episodic accounts, which ruminate by turns on issues of female sexuality, bestiality, and cultural deficits amid sweeping surveys of various invasions, conquerors, and kingdoms from ancient times to the author's present.
Through the perspective of the Cambro-Norman clerical author, we receive highly charged and politically motivated accounts of the Irish as a "filthy people, wallowing in vice" (p. 106). These accompany equally disparaging accounts of their inadherence to Christian mores: "Of all people, it is the least instructed in the rudiments of the faith." These observations intend to justify the author's personal political project and serve his vested interest in persuading Henry II to continue the incorporation of Irish people and territories in the wake of the Anglo-Norman invasion.
The juxtaposition of topics demonstrates how medieval, elite thinkers like Gerald of Wales understood knowledge as a dispersal of varied social, political, natural, and supernatural entities and ways of being, which in their wonder, mystery, and profanity revealed deeper ecclesiastical truths (or their abasement). Through careful, theologically informed observation, the opacity of the distant and foreign could be reduced and rendered more or less intelligible through the deployment of Christian cosmology, whose deepest mysteries were lying in wait to be revealed to the understanding of this perceptive, literate ecclesiastical elite. While a contemporary reader might find these juxtapositions dissonant, they reveal a medieval ontology grounded in a Christian cosmological view wherein wondrous and profane entities populate a vast visual field stretching out toward the literal and figurative frontier of Western. This survey of entities in the visual field forms the logical binding of the account, rather than the kind of disciplinary methodologies that organize the themes and conjunctions of knowledge familiar to post-nineteenth century readers.
This work will appeal to scholars of medieval Ireland, Western patriarchy, Celtic culture, pre-colonial ethnography, historical ecological literature, and the process of European Christianization; neurodivergents who have a hyperfocus/special interest that includes the aforementioned subject areas; or the casual reader with a particular and perhaps acute interest in Ireland during the medieval period.
And to conclude on a personal note, the description and illustration of the mare stew king's ritual is particularly wild and will likely persist in my memory longer than I would prefer.
Written and illustrated in the twelfth century, Gerald of Wales' The History and Topography of Ireland is significant in a number of key respects, amongst which is that it offers us useful insights into Romanesque Ireland as well as elucidating the political motivations of its Cambro-Norman author. The text is an early form of British ethnography and bears the hallmarks of the political project of its sycophantic and deeply misogynistic author, which was in part to unite Christendom as well as to incorporate populations at the figurative and literal margins of the British monarchy's control during Henry II's reign.
As a written work of the Middle Ages composed with an aristocratic British audience in mind, the text threads Biblical themes through its descriptions of the plants, animals, and topographical features of Ireland in the earlier sections. This interweaving of ecclesiastical maxims through varied topics continues into the later historical and cultural episodic accounts, which ruminate by turns on issues of female sexuality, bestiality, and cultural deficits amid sweeping surveys of various invasions, conquerors, and kingdoms from ancient times to the author's present.
Through the perspective of the Cambro-Norman clerical author, we receive highly charged and politically motivated accounts of the Irish as a "filthy people, wallowing in vice" (p. 106). These accompany equally disparaging accounts of their inadherence to Christian mores: "Of all people, it is the least instructed in the rudiments of the faith." These observations intend to justify the author's personal political project and serve his vested interest in persuading Henry II to continue the incorporation of Irish people and territories in the wake of the Anglo-Norman invasion.
The juxtaposition of topics demonstrates how medieval, elite thinkers like Gerald of Wales understood knowledge as a dispersal of varied social, political, natural, and supernatural entities and ways of being, which in their wonder, mystery, and profanity revealed deeper ecclesiastical truths (or their abasement). Through careful, theologically informed observation, the opacity of the distant and foreign could be reduced and rendered more or less intelligible through the deployment of Christian cosmology, whose deepest mysteries were lying in wait to be revealed to the understanding of this perceptive, literate ecclesiastical elite. While a contemporary reader might find these juxtapositions dissonant, they reveal a medieval ontology grounded in a Christian cosmological view wherein wondrous and profane entities populate a vast visual field stretching out toward the literal and figurative frontier of Western. This survey of entities in the visual field forms the logical binding of the account, rather than the kind of disciplinary methodologies that organize the themes and conjunctions of knowledge familiar to post-nineteenth century readers.
This work will appeal to scholars of medieval Ireland, Western patriarchy, Celtic culture, pre-colonial ethnography, historical ecological literature, and the process of European Christianization; neurodivergents who have a hyperfocus/special interest that includes the aforementioned subject areas; or the casual reader with a particular and perhaps acute interest in Ireland during the medieval period.
And to conclude on a personal note, the description and illustration of the mare stew king's ritual is particularly wild and will likely persist in my memory longer than I would prefer.
January 28, 2022
Ah. Gerald of Wales. This book is one of the best sources for medieval Ireland and it is something not overly appreciated by scholars of Irish history. While Gerald's family, the Fitzgeralds were key figures in the (papal-supported) Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, he spent limited time there. And he was not very fond of the Irish, viewing them as so barbarous they don't have a culture, lazy, fond of bestiality... but also said they were a handsome people with good musical ability. And they had really vindictive saints.
While remarking that while Ireland had plenty of saints, none of them were martyrs, he inserts a comment from the Archbishop of Cashel to say:
"although our people are very barbarous, uncivilized, and savage, nevertheless they have always paid great honour and reverence to churchmen, and they have never put out their hands against the saints of God. But now a people has come to the kingdom which knows how, and is accustomed, to make martyrs. From now on Ireland will have its martyrs, just as other countries".
Is this a real anecdote and the Archbishop commenting on Henry II (of Thomas Becket infamy) or Gerald himself criticising his king. Hmm...
Somewhat credulous, Gerald has inadvertently created an intriguing compendium of folklore. I love his storytelling (when we move pass his descriptions of fish and birds). The Penguin copy has cute line drawings of pictures from one of the earliest manuscripts of the work.
While remarking that while Ireland had plenty of saints, none of them were martyrs, he inserts a comment from the Archbishop of Cashel to say:
"although our people are very barbarous, uncivilized, and savage, nevertheless they have always paid great honour and reverence to churchmen, and they have never put out their hands against the saints of God. But now a people has come to the kingdom which knows how, and is accustomed, to make martyrs. From now on Ireland will have its martyrs, just as other countries".
Is this a real anecdote and the Archbishop commenting on Henry II (of Thomas Becket infamy) or Gerald himself criticising his king. Hmm...
Somewhat credulous, Gerald has inadvertently created an intriguing compendium of folklore. I love his storytelling (when we move pass his descriptions of fish and birds). The Penguin copy has cute line drawings of pictures from one of the earliest manuscripts of the work.
December 3, 2023
Gerald of Wales, who seems to think of the Irish as a lesser group of people in his History and Topography of Ireland, describes the Irish as ugly, inbred, and inferior. Gerald was a clergyman and historian who aspired to become a bishop. He rejected many offers in hopes of landing the bishopric of St. Davids but this never transpired. He first traveled to Ireland in 1185 which inspired him to write History and Topography of Ireland.
In History and Topography of Ireland, Gerald of Wales begins by describing the landscape, plants, and animals he encountered on his journey. Later the work turns ugly as he details his disdain for the Irish and their culture, even detailing an encounter with a woman that had a beard and another individual he refers to as an hermaphrodite, being half man, half woman. It is clear that Gerald of Wales was extremely biased in his dislike of the Irish people. It is also well documented that Gerald of Wales added to this work consistently over the course of his life and was well known as being adverse to foreigners. As it relates to his work on the geography and flora and fauna I would find a lot of value in his work. Otherwise I would skip his commentary on Irish people and culture.
In History and Topography of Ireland, Gerald of Wales begins by describing the landscape, plants, and animals he encountered on his journey. Later the work turns ugly as he details his disdain for the Irish and their culture, even detailing an encounter with a woman that had a beard and another individual he refers to as an hermaphrodite, being half man, half woman. It is clear that Gerald of Wales was extremely biased in his dislike of the Irish people. It is also well documented that Gerald of Wales added to this work consistently over the course of his life and was well known as being adverse to foreigners. As it relates to his work on the geography and flora and fauna I would find a lot of value in his work. Otherwise I would skip his commentary on Irish people and culture.
September 30, 2025
Ok, I would not read this for fun. It's very boring in the beginning: he goes over and over on descriptions of the landscape, fauna, and flora, but eventually it gets interesting in a sort of disturbing way. Gerald of Wales, son of the very first fitzGerald, I have come to find out, associates the Irish with barbaric rituals and habits of bestiality to justify the British (Norman, at the time) colonial incursion on this side of the Northern Sea. It checks all the boxes of a colonialist narrative: the uncivilized natives were in dire need of Christian intervention because they did not know how to behave, dress, or properly take advantage of the land. However, its relevance lies exactly there, from what I've gathered, because it was the first manuscript of that kind to ever be circulated, at the end of the 12th century. So all in all pretty interesting. I also find it funny how anthropomorphization is manifested differently in the colonial writings of different regions - in Portuguese literature, Brazilian Indigenous peoples were associated with alligators, fish, monkeys, and other animals that were found in tropical weather, but Gerald of Wales linked the Irish with wolves, horses, and goats. Intriguing to see how the environment shapes those kinds of myths.
November 23, 2021
It must be said that Gerald's book needs to be taken with a good pinch of salt! Prim, judgemental, superior, and sometimes breathtakingly unselfconscious, he makes a boisterous guide to his subject matter. For me the saving graces of the book are the lively snippets of gossip and folklore Gerald captures. Witty bishops, birds that grow on trees, magic wells and islands, and talking wolves populate the pages. Oh, and the charming reproductions of illustrations within the text have a freshness that belies their age. When Gerald gets off of his proverbial high horse, he's actually a tolerable companion. But I do wish he'd spent less time showing off his 'erudition', and more time recording people and things he'd actually witnessed happening around him!
Update: I take that last bit back- apparently Gerald DID write a separate book on the Conquest of Ireland, which you can find online, but sadly not included in this volume.
Update: I take that last bit back- apparently Gerald DID write a separate book on the Conquest of Ireland, which you can find online, but sadly not included in this volume.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2017
A glimpse into early historical research during the period of British conquest into Ireland. Although Gerald's description of Ireland and its people are flawed (as he never actually visited the land he wrote about--instead relying on the stories of "reputable men") it certainly provides insight into the original context of British discrimination against the Irish. Gerald's work covers topics from the land and animals, including the famous myth about St. Patrick and the snakes, how the Irish dressed, the weapons they used, and why the British should claim the island. A fascinating read for historians studying historiography and for anyone looking for fantastical (and often hilariously unbelievable) stories.
October 28, 2018
I thought with this book being short, big font, and having illustrations, that I would be able to read it in one sitting but it just felt so tiring. The introduction wasn’t very helpful, with O’Meara assuming the reader is a ‘he’, and Giraldus’ own annotations we’re not needed. In places I found the ‘observations’ intriguing and baffling but most of the time it felt repetitive and like reading a page of statistics. I’m struggling whether to recommend it or not. As a resource for research it is a valuable reference, however, as a read it’s rather tedious and a little boring during the parts without fantastical beasts (which is most of it).
June 1, 2019
Invaluable as a historical document, and really well written for the time. Unfortunately Gerald of Wales is a little prick. But I think that is almost universally accepted in scholarship where his views on Ireland and the Irish come into play. It's a pity when he had such an opportunity to document the medieval society of the country, especially when had such a talent for talking about the animals and the natural environment, that he decided construct a nearly wholly fictitious built-environment. He had a strange obsession with bestiality aswell, and tied it repeatedly to stories of the native Irish. In fact, he didn't really say anything else about the Gaels at all.
September 25, 2025
lol what am I doing even reading this? It’s a funny book—and has to be when described as “the Irish found its text infuriating…While the reader may judge for themselves the amount of credit to be invested in some of Gerald’s statements…the author possessed a matchless gift for storytelling.”
You can just imagine the Irish people, having been conquered by the Normans, giving a bunch of wacky stories to their conquerors as a joke. And here is the most gullible person in the world believing in basically werewolves and shit.
At one point he describes a cool frog his guys found.
He also complains that the people he literally just conquered were treacherous.
You can just imagine the Irish people, having been conquered by the Normans, giving a bunch of wacky stories to their conquerors as a joke. And here is the most gullible person in the world believing in basically werewolves and shit.
At one point he describes a cool frog his guys found.
He also complains that the people he literally just conquered were treacherous.
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