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This volume is broadly divided into two main sections. The first part comprises a detailed introduction to the background of "The Dialogue", written in 1594 by George Owen of Henllys, north Pembrokeshire, followed by an updated version of the text with explanatory notes. George Owen was the most observant Welsh historians of the late sixteenth century, and in the "Dialogue" he discusses the main functions of legal institutions of government in Tudor Wales following the Acts of Union (1536-43). The discourse is not merely a description of those institutions but rather, in the form of a dialogue, it provides an analysis of the good and bad aspects of the Tudor legal structure. Emphasis is placed on the administration of the Acts of Union, and comparisons are drawn with the harsh penal legislation which had previously been imposed by Henry IV. Owen reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the Henrician settlement, but heartily praises the Tudor regime, regarding Henry VII and Henry VIII as liberators of the Welsh nation which the author, in the 'prophetic tradition', associated with the nation's historic destiny. In this 'Dialogue' Demetus is described as a native Welsh gentleman and Barthol as the German lawyer from Frankfort travelling through Europe and observing legal practices. The Socratic method applied reveals the Renaissance style of conducting debates, a framework which gives the work much of its appeal. The "Dialogue" is an invaluable Tudor source which places Welsh Tudor government and administration in a broader historical perspective.

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Histoire

Great Britain

History

Wales

Europe

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Publié par	University of Wales Press
Date de parution	18 février 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781783164035
Langue	English

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THE DIALOGUE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF WALES (1594)
CCL, Phillipps MS 2, 105, fo. 17b

CCL, Phillipps MS 2, 105, fo. 18a
THE DIALOGUE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF WALES (1594)

UPDATED TEXTAND COMMENTARY
John Gwynfor Jones
© John Gwynfor Jones, 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the University of Wales Press, 10 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff, CF10 4UP.
www.uwp.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0-7083–2229-1 e-ISBN 978–1-78316–403-5
The right of John Gwynfor Jones to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 79 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Cover image: Sir William Cecil presiding over the Court of Wards and Liveries , c.1585; by permission of the Trustees of the Goodwood Collection
Cyflwynaf y gyfrol hon i’m hwyrion Thomas Rhys, Rhian Mair, Mathew Llywelyn a Siôn Robert
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Note on texts
Introduction
The Dialogue of the Government of Wales (1594)
Appendix
Bibliography
Preface
This volume is broadly divided into two main sections. The first part comprises a critical introduction to the background of the Dialogue , written in 1594 by George Owen of Henllys, Pembrokeshire, which is followed by a modernized version of the text. Compared to other sixteenth-century texts relating to Wales, such as Rhys Meurig’s Morganiae Archaiographia (c.1578) and Sir John Wynn’s History of the Gwydir Family (c.1600), this substantial commentary on government and legal administration by one of Wales’s foremost early modern historians and antiquaries has not been given the attention it merits. Its contents have frequently been used by historians, and references have been made to it and its commentary in a variety of scholarly works on sixteenth-century Wales, but a convenient updated edition of the text has not, as yet, been made available. The manuscript versions are contained in BL Harleian MS 141 and Cardiff Central Library Phillipps MS 2,105. The original text was edited by Henry Owen in volume III of The Description of Penbrokshire , published by the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (1906), a pioneering publication, together with several of Owen’s other works, including Penbrokshire (in volume I). That text, Owen’s major work, was presented in modern form by the late Dillwyn Miles and published by Gomer Press, Llandysul, in 1994.
George Owen was one of the most critical historians of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and in the Dialogue he discusses the main functions of legal institutions of government in Tudor Wales following the Acts of Union (1536–43). The discourse is not merely a description of those institutions, but rather a dialogue between Demetus and Barthol, two imaginary characters, which analyses the good and bad aspects of the Tudor legal structure in Wales. The emphasis is placed principally on the enlightened methods used to administer the new framework imposed by Union legislation, and comparisons are drawn with the harsh penal legislation previously imposed by the Lancastrian king Henry IV (1401–2). Owen reveals the chief features of the Henrician settlement, as he interpreted them, and the whole work is characterised by fulsome praise for the Tudor regime, which identifies the role of the Tudor kings Henry VII and Henry VIII as the liberators of the Welsh nation and the initiators of the ‘great metamorphosis’ which the author, in the prophetic tradition, linked to the nation’s historic destiny.
In this Dialogue Demetus, representing Owen himself, is described as a native of Pembrokeshire, steeped in knowledge of local government in Wales of his day. He is a sharp commentator, while Barthol is a genuinely inquisitive, observant and knowledgeable German lawyer from Frankfurt, travelling Europe to learn about the legal systems of various countries. The Socratic method used to facilitate the lengthy conversation between them reveals the Renaissance style of conducting a debate on philosophical and allied matters, a framework which gives the Dialogue much of its appeal.
Owen divides his discourse broadly into three themes. He devotes half of the text to examining the chief courts by which Wales was governed after the Acts of Union. Detailed attention is given to the functions of the main organs of local and regional government, namely the Council in the Marches, the Courts of Great Sessions and the Justices of the Peace in their Quarter Sessions. Then follows a critical analysis of Base Courts, principally the County, Hundred, Commotal and Manorial courts, most of which Demetus condemns because of their inefficiency. Following the structure adopted in his treatise on Pembrokeshire, George Owen, in the last section of the dialogue, provides a favourable appraisal of that county and discusses its disadvantaged administrative position relative to adjoining Carmarthenshire, particularly in matters of defence and taxation.
Doubtless the text of the Dialogue merits being presented in modern form, primarily as a source available for further studies of Tudor government in Wales. It is one of the few critical discourses available which places the legal aspects of Welsh Tudor government in a broader perspective. Despite the strong pro-Tudor bias, which is consistently and understandably featured throughout the work, Owen attempts to maintain the reputation of the ‘new order’ in government and reflects on contemporary attitudes and on several aspects of late Tudor community life in Wales. It is primarily a discourse which reveals the way in which the Welsh Tudor gentry interpreted royal policy in Wales, and consequently the gains they made from it. It concentrates on those factors in Welsh society which were in close contact with the administrative machinery, and hardly any attention is given to the lower orders, in a period – principally the 1580s and 1590s – when severe economic stringency seriously affected rural life. Basically, George Owen is interested in exalting the Tudor regime in Wales in the light of the prosperity enjoyed by the social milieu to which he belonged.
Acknowledgements
I wish to acknowledge all the assistance I have received during the preparation of this work, especially from Peter Keelan, Head of Special Collections and Archives, Mrs Alison Harvey and other members of the staff in the Arts and Social Science Library at the University of Cardiff. I gratefully appreciate the guidance given by Brian Ll. James, the staff at Cardiff Central Library and the National Library of Wales as well as the valuable advice and assistance which I received from Sarah Lewis, Dr Dafydd Jones and Elisabeth Edwards of the University of Wales Press at the time when the volume was being prepared. I also wish to thank Mrs Eleri Melhuish for her assistance in compiling the index, and my wife, Enid, for her unfailing support and encouragement.
Abbreviations BBCS Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies BL British Library Cal.CQSR W. Ogwen Williams (ed.), Calendar of the Caernarvonshire Quarter Sessions Records , I, 1541–1558 (Caernarfon, 1956) CCL Cardiff Central Library CSP Dom . Calendar of State Papers Domestic Desc. Pembs . George Owen, The Description of Pembrokeshire , ed. Dillwyn Miles (Llandysul, 1994) Dialogue George Owen, ‘The Dialogue of the Government of Wales’, in The Description of Penbrokshire , vol. III, ed. Henry Owen (Cymmrodorion Record Series, London, 1906) DP George Owen, The Description of Penbrokshire , vols I–III, ed. Henry Owen (Cymmrodorion Record Series, London, 1892–1906) DWB Dictionary of Welsh Biography (London, 1959) HMC Historical Manuscripts Commission HMSO Her Majesty’s Stationery Office LPFDom . Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic NLW National Library of Wales NLWJ National Library of Wales Journal ODNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography PRO Public Record Office SR Statutes of the Realm Statutes I. Bowen (ed.), The Statutes of Wales (London, 1908) Trans. Cymmr . Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion WHR Welsh History Review
Note on texts
The original texts of the Dialogue are contained in BL, Harleian MS 141, folios 28–85, and in CCL, Phillipps MS 2,105 (replacing the old number 21769), 44 folios. The Harleian text is written in two hands, the first, neatly set out, in folios 1–43b, and the second in folios 68b–85, less carefully written in places and less ornate. Sections where major differences between the texts occur are noted, with material found only in BL Harleian MS 141 inserted in round brackets, and similar material in CCL, Phillipps MS 2,105 in square brackets.
The Phillipps MSS form a rich collection owned by Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792–1972), son of Thomas Phillipps, calico manufacturer and printer of Manchester, who inherited the Middle Hill estate in Worcestershire ( ODNB , 44, pp. 91–4). He was an avid collector of manuscripts, records and books, and accumulated the largest private collection of Welsh manuscripts. They were purchased by auction in 1895 by Cardiff Central Library, where they were deposited in 1896.
A xerograph copy of the text, entitled ‘A Dialogue of the Present Government of Wales, circa 1594’, is kept in the Worth Library at Dr Stephens’ Hospital, Dublin. It closely corresponds to the Phillipps MS. See NLW Annual Report, 1966–67 , p. 37 and facsimile no. 45, with a report on the text.
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