Early life , birthplace of Gerald of Wales Born at
Manorbier Castle in
Pembrokeshire, Wales, Gerald was of mixed
Norman and
Welsh descent. Gerald was the youngest son of William Fitz Odo de Barry (or Barri), the common ancestor of the
de Barry family of
Barry,
Glamorganshire, who subsequently invaded Ireland, a retainer of
Arnulf de Montgomery and
Gerald de Windsor, and one of the most powerful
Anglo-Norman barons in Wales. His mother was Angharad FitzGerald, a daughter of
Gerald FitzWalter of Windsor, Constable of
Pembroke Castle, and his wife
Nest ferch Rhys, daughter of
Rhys ap Tewdwr, King of
Deheubarth, making Gerald the king's great grandson. Through his mother, Gerald was also a nephew of
David FitzGerald, Bishop of St Davids, as well as a great-nephew of
Gruffydd ap Rhys, the son and heir of Rhys ap Tewdwr, and a cousin of
Rhys ap Gruffydd, the famous Arglwydd (Lord) Rhys and his family. Gerald received his initial education at the Benedictine house of
Gloucester, followed by a period of study in Paris from –74, where he studied the
trivium. He was employed by
Richard of Dover, the Archbishop of Canterbury, on various ecclesiastical missions in Wales, and distinguished himself by his efforts to remove supposed abuses of
consanguinity and tax laws flourishing in the Welsh church at the time. He was appointed in 1174 as
Archdeacon of Brecon, to which was attached a residence at
Llanddew. He obtained this position by reporting the existence of the previous archdeacon's mistress; the man was promptly dismissed. While administering this post, Gerald collected tithes of wool and cheese from the populace; the income from the archdeaconry supported him for many years. Upon the death of his uncle, the Bishop of
St Davids, in 1176, the chapter nominated Gerald as his successor. St Davids had the long-term aim of becoming independent of Canterbury, and the chapter may have thought that Gerald was the man to take up its cause. King
Henry II of England, fresh from his struggle with Archbishop
Thomas Becket, promptly rejected Gerald in favour of
Peter de Leia, one of his Norman retainers, possibly because Gerald's Welsh blood and ties to the ruling family of
Deheubarth made him seem like a troublesome prospect. According to Gerald, the king said at the time: "It is neither necessary nor expedient for king or archbishop that a man of great honesty or vigour should become Bishop of St Davids, for fear that
the Crown and Canterbury should suffer thereby. Such an appointment would only give strength to the Welsh and increase their pride." The chapter acquiesced in the decision, and Gerald, disappointed with the result, withdrew to the
University of Paris. From -8, he studied and taught canon law and theology. He returned to England and spent an additional five years studying theology. In 1180, he received a minor appointment from the Bishop of St Davids, which he soon resigned. He followed it up, shortly afterwards, with an account of Henry's conquest of Ireland, the
Expugnatio Hibernica. Both works were revised and added to several times before his death, and display a notable degree of Latin learning, as well as a great deal of prejudice against foreign people. Gerald was proud to be related to some of the Norman invaders of Ireland, such as his maternal uncle
Robert FitzStephen and
Raymond FitzGerald, and his influential account, which portrays the Irish as barbaric savages, gives important insight into Cambro-Norman views of Ireland and the history of the invasion. Having thus demonstrated his usefulness, Gerald was selected to accompany the
Archbishop of Canterbury,
Baldwin of Forde, on a tour of Wales in 1188, the object being a recruitment campaign for the
Third Crusade. His account of that journey, the
Itinerarium Cambriae (1191) was followed by the
Descriptio Cambriae in 1194. His two works on Wales remain very valuable historical documents, useful for their descriptions (however untrustworthy and inflected by ideology, whimsy, and his unique style) of Welsh and Norman culture. It is uncertain whether Gerald was a
Welsh speaker; although he quotes Welsh proverbs and appears familiar with the language, he seems not to have been employed as an interpreter for the expedition. As a royal clerk, Gerald observed significant political events first-hand and was offered appointments to the bishoprics of
Wexford and Leighlin, and apparently, slightly later, the bishopric of
Ossory and the archbishopric of
Cashel, and later the bishopric of
Bangor in Wales; and, in 1191, that of
Llandaff.
Attempts to become bishop of St Davids today On the death of Peter de Leia in 1198, the chapter of St Davids again nominated Gerald for the bishopric, but
Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, refused confirmation. Representatives of the canons followed Richard I to France, but before they could interview him, he died; his successor, King John, received them kindly and granted them permission to hold an election. They were unanimous in their selection of Gerald, and Gerald acted as bishop-elect for much of the next four years; and, as Hubert still refused to confirm the election, Gerald started for Rome to have his election confirmed. There he had an interview with
Pope Innocent III. He visited Rome on three occasions (1199–1200; 1201; 1202–3) in support of his claims. But in 1198, the archbishop had forestalled him, and his agents in Rome undermined Gerald's case; and as the pope was not convinced that St David's was independent of Canterbury, Gerald's mission failed. Gerald had pleaded not only his own cause, but that of St Davids as a
Metropolitan archbishopric (and thus of the same status as Canterbury) reviving the earlier claims of
Rhygyfarch and
Bishop Bernard of St Davids. It was in connexion with this cause that he wrote his books
De jure Menevensis Ecclesiâ and
De Rebus a Se Gestis. Gerald returned, and his cause was now supported by the Princes of Wales, most notably
Llywelyn the Great, and
Gruffydd ap Rhys II, while King John, frequently in conflict with the Welsh, warmly espoused the cause of the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1202, Gerald was accused of stirring up the Welsh to rebellion and was put on trial, but the trial came to nothing as the principal judges were absent. After this long struggle, the chapter of St David's deserted Gerald, and having been obliged to leave Wales, he fled to Rome. The ports had been closed against him, so he travelled in secret. In April 1203 Pope Innocent III annulled both elections, and Geoffrey of Henlaw was appointed to the See of St Davids, despite the strenuous exertions of Gerald. Travelling back to France, he was briefly imprisoned there for these actions. He was afterwards reconciled with the king and was forced to vow never again to support the primacy of St Davids over Canterbury. The expenses of his unsuccessful election were paid by the crown. Gerald maintained his appointment had been prevented by fear of its possible effect on national politics in Wales. He famously complained in a letter to Innocent III, "Because I am a Welshman am I to be debarred from all preferments in Wales? On the same reasoning so would an Englishman in England, a Frenchman in France, and Italian in Italy. But I am sprung from the Princes of Wales and the Barons of the Marches, and when I see injustice in either race I hate it." At this point he resigned his position as archdeacon of Brecon.
Later life Gerald spent the remainder of his life in academic study, most probably in Lincoln, producing works of devotional instruction and politics, and revising the works on Ireland and Wales he had written earlier in his life. He spent two years (1204–6) in Ireland with his relatives and made a fourth visit to Rome, purely as a pilgrimage, in 1206. The controversy over St Davids soured his relationship with the crown. In 1216, a baronial plan to put
Louis VIII of France on the throne of England in the
First Barons' War was warmly welcomed by him. He died in about 1223 in his 77th year, probably in
Hereford, and he is, according to some accounts, buried at
St Davids Cathedral. There is a statue, by
Henry Poole of Gerald in
City Hall, Cardiff, and he was included in the vote on
100 Welsh Heroes for his
Descriptio Cambriae and
Itinerarium Cambriae. His reputation in Ireland, due to his negative portrayal of the Irish, is much less friendly. ==Works==