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Welsh in Their History
Gwyn A. Williams was a leading social historian of Wales. His books The Merthyr Rising , Madoc and The Search for Beulah Land have all been acclaimed as major studies of modern Welsh History.
In this book – a sequence of interrelated essays – Gwyn Williams aims to redirect attention to some critical moments in Welsh history from Roman Times to the present. Each of the essays breaks new ground, argues for a new approach or opens a new discourse.
At a time when Welsh history is the subject of intense and often highly political debate, this book will be welcomed as an engaging and refreshing radical perspective on the subject.
In this book – a sequence of interrelated essays – Gwyn Williams aims to redirect attention to some critical moments in Welsh history from Roman Times to the present. Each of the essays breaks new ground, argues for a new approach or opens a new discourse.
At a time when Welsh history is the subject of intense and often highly political debate, this book will be welcomed as an engaging and refreshing radical perspective on the subject.
- GenresHistory
206 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1985
About the author
Gwyn Alfred Williams
27 books4 followersGwyn Alfred "Alf" Williams was a Welsh historian particularly known for his work on Antonio Gramsci and Francisco Goya as well as on Welsh history.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 6, 2026
It is not surprising that a book about Welsh history starts with a wizard and ends with a utopian call for salvation. Gwyn A. Williams was a Marxist Gramscian historian whose scholarship blended stories and social conflict, following in his master's footsteps. It tells the story of a nation whose identity and fate were defined by its ambiguous relationships with its stronger English neighbors. The Welsh in their history is a good work on nationalism, and I recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary politics.
Published in 1982, the book is an anthology, dominated by its final paper, When was Wales? a popular BBC lecture. Gwyn A. Williams's essays resume his work, tracing myths, the ambiguous interactions with London, the dramas caused by its industrialization, or its working class. The author achieved an interesting mixture of scholarship and normativity, which is difficult to replicate. I read it for a study of nationalism so this review will focus on identity issues.
It is often forgotten today that the winner of the War of Roses, the Tudor dynasty came from Wales, from a mixed family. In one of his essays, Gwyn A. Williams describes how Henry VII posed as King Arthur reborn, with the Red Dragon flag of Merlin, and brought many of his fellows to court. His granddaughter, Elizabeth I, was portrayed as the Fairy Queen, another Arthurian avatar. Her wizard was John Dee, the Rosicrucian and Cabbalist who invented the name "British Empire," as a revived Camelot and inspired Shakespeare.
The ending essay shows that there is no Welsh national essence. As the country's English name suggests, identity is a process of symbolic interaction that interacts with social and foreign conflicts, one that lacks a definite form or fate. The culture of Renaissance and Enlightenment organic intellectuals (collaborators) was not the same as the one of coal producing Wales, or of Romantic movement. The historian argued that people and nations are different, the latter being modern and relying more on choice.
Gwyn A. Williams pointed out that there is also a British nation, which includes the Welsh, the creation of oligarchy, conquest, and capitalism. He hoped that emancipation from capitalism would give freedom to his society, yet that remained a pious hope. It is ironic that English nationalism is ascending today, and that Neil Farage's Reform is popular in Wales, competing against local patriots and former supporters of Remain. Identity is still being remade.
Additional sources
Jac Larner, James Griffiths, Consolidation, Not Conversion: Understanding Wales`s Ongoing Realignment (Cardiff University, 17 December 2025)
Published in 1982, the book is an anthology, dominated by its final paper, When was Wales? a popular BBC lecture. Gwyn A. Williams's essays resume his work, tracing myths, the ambiguous interactions with London, the dramas caused by its industrialization, or its working class. The author achieved an interesting mixture of scholarship and normativity, which is difficult to replicate. I read it for a study of nationalism so this review will focus on identity issues.
It is often forgotten today that the winner of the War of Roses, the Tudor dynasty came from Wales, from a mixed family. In one of his essays, Gwyn A. Williams describes how Henry VII posed as King Arthur reborn, with the Red Dragon flag of Merlin, and brought many of his fellows to court. His granddaughter, Elizabeth I, was portrayed as the Fairy Queen, another Arthurian avatar. Her wizard was John Dee, the Rosicrucian and Cabbalist who invented the name "British Empire," as a revived Camelot and inspired Shakespeare.
The ending essay shows that there is no Welsh national essence. As the country's English name suggests, identity is a process of symbolic interaction that interacts with social and foreign conflicts, one that lacks a definite form or fate. The culture of Renaissance and Enlightenment organic intellectuals (collaborators) was not the same as the one of coal producing Wales, or of Romantic movement. The historian argued that people and nations are different, the latter being modern and relying more on choice.
Gwyn A. Williams pointed out that there is also a British nation, which includes the Welsh, the creation of oligarchy, conquest, and capitalism. He hoped that emancipation from capitalism would give freedom to his society, yet that remained a pious hope. It is ironic that English nationalism is ascending today, and that Neil Farage's Reform is popular in Wales, competing against local patriots and former supporters of Remain. Identity is still being remade.
Additional sources
Jac Larner, James Griffiths, Consolidation, Not Conversion: Understanding Wales`s Ongoing Realignment (Cardiff University, 17 December 2025)
April 12, 2015
Gwyn Alf Williams was one of the last Gramcisan historians applying the intellectual insights of the Sardinian Marxist to interpret the emergence of 19th century Wales. polemic, witty and challenging, Williams steps beyond dogma and nostalgia to unravel the historical detail of events such as the Merthyr election of 1835.
In an engaging but often dense telling of the story of industrialising South Wales, William shows how real people shape their history and how nations and classes emerge from our decisions about life. Maybe he stretches his points but a healthy antidote to the bland managerialism and complacency that underpins modern social thinking.
In an engaging but often dense telling of the story of industrialising South Wales, William shows how real people shape their history and how nations and classes emerge from our decisions about life. Maybe he stretches his points but a healthy antidote to the bland managerialism and complacency that underpins modern social thinking.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews