Description

Despite a frustrated ecclesiastical career - his ongoing failure to secure the See of St David's embittered him - Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales, Gerald de Barry, c.1146-1220/3) composed many remarkable literary works, initially while employed as a royal clerk for Henry II and, subsequently, in semi-retirement in Lincoln. Eight volumes of his works were compiled as part of the Rolls Series of British medieval material. Noted for his vigorous Latin and anecdotal style, Giraldus gives a vivid portrait of medieval Britain and the intrigues of the Angevin court. Volume 2, edited by historian J. S. Brewer (1809-79) and published in 1862, contains the 'Gemma ecclesiastica', Giraldus' handbook on sacraments and morals, addressed to his clergy. Comprising the Latin text with an editorial preface in English, it gives a vivid picture of the medieval ecclesiastical world, and also illuminates nineteenth-century interest in the period.