tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post873540616133123543..comments2024-02-02T06:07:56.982+00:00Comments on LIVING THE HISTORY: MEDIEVAL MONDAY: The poisoned pen of Gerald of WalesElizabeth Chadwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16911841862257909703noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post-6485956121996032262010-01-10T19:34:55.418+00:002010-01-10T19:34:55.418+00:00Libraryat:No
No,times haven't changed much. ...Libraryat:No<br /><br />No,times haven't changed much. Only nowadays, they're called "fatheds". Some of them turn around and write "tell-all" memoirs or autobiographies. Maybe Gerald of Wales was doing the medieval equivalent.<br />Anne gAnne Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03045500116098233731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post-89526886790087244352010-01-10T06:45:33.889+00:002010-01-10T06:45:33.889+00:00Times haven't changed. There are still self i...Times haven't changed. There are still self important individuals that over estimate the importance of their work and their opinions. Dare to disagree with them or not recognize their "greatness" and they will be certain to paint you with an unfavorable brush.librarypatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post-40253364118565658472010-01-08T19:34:51.224+00:002010-01-08T19:34:51.224+00:00Well, like I said, it sounds like Gerald of Wales ...Well, like I said, it sounds like Gerald of Wales had a "personality problem", and a grudge. and he wrote about it. . . <br />Anne GAnne Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03045500116098233731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post-31229523974180988642010-01-08T15:45:09.001+00:002010-01-08T15:45:09.001+00:00Yup, from that excerpt he certainly comes over as ...Yup, from that excerpt he certainly comes over as completely up himself and extremely miffed at being snubbed. You can just imagine him in a bar, having a pint and complaining to anyone who'd listen (and the other punters gradually moving away to other, more distant tables).Jules Frusherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08207281934232383811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post-13564378603810347222010-01-07T18:14:10.319+00:002010-01-07T18:14:10.319+00:00yes, poor Gerald, he didn't feel appreciated. ...yes, poor Gerald, he didn't feel appreciated. I think it's funny that he says "I completely wasted my time..." such arrogance I find hilarious.4everQueenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18381384266269279356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post-80147826600115086162010-01-07T05:11:08.886+00:002010-01-07T05:11:08.886+00:00Ashmodai:
Yeah. Whatever his other faults, John ...Ashmodai:<br /><br />Yeah. Whatever his other faults, John was certainly well-educated and quite literate.<br />Anne GAnne Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03045500116098233731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post-47985724701230467222010-01-06T17:15:12.975+00:002010-01-06T17:15:12.975+00:00Oooh, poor Gerald. ;)
And I think that Henry II. (...Oooh, poor Gerald. ;)<br />And I think that Henry II. (and Richard and John, too) loved the written word. I have the impression that he was a very well educated man.Rowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923211901062787444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post-87145631196539498062010-01-05T19:19:23.403+00:002010-01-05T19:19:23.403+00:00I'll have to admit I don't know much about...I'll have to admit I don't know much about Gerald of Wales, other than he was a chronicler, of sorts, of his time and place. OTOH, if neither Henry II nor Richard I would let him be Bishop of St. David's, that must have been something of a blow to his pride. I can therefore see how someone with a certain kind of personality, would "fight back" the only way he could. It's also too bad they <b><i>wouldn't</i></b> let him be Bishop of St. David's; he might have made a perfectly good one, after overcoming the "distrust" of various parties(if he was good at winning people over). Perhaps his real problem was his personality, not his "ethnic origins".<br />Anne GAnne Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03045500116098233731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post-24354596454685369302010-01-04T23:20:36.336+00:002010-01-04T23:20:36.336+00:00Neither Henry nor Richard would let him be Bishop ...Neither Henry nor Richard would let him be Bishop of St. David's. He was part Welsh and distrusted by the Normans and part Norman and distrusted by the Welsh. I've come across him being snide before and describing people in opposite or unflattering terms that obviously stick for posterity, but are hardly the truth. He was extremely talented, but something of a poisoned package was our Gerald!Elizabeth Chadwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911841862257909703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24348391.post-4755889461791138842010-01-04T21:08:11.029+00:002010-01-04T21:08:11.029+00:00My impression is similar to yours, that Henry II w...My impression is similar to yours, that Henry II was "interested in the written word". He showed that, though, by paying attention to laws and customs, and trying AFAIK, to make them "nationwide". I don't know if he succeeded or not and that, in any case, is another story. Whether he was interested in <b><i>literature</i></b> or not, I don't know. Richard I apparently liked to compose poetry and was, I understand, fairly good at it.So Gerald of Wales may have been underestimating Richard, although there may have been other reasons why Gerald took a dislike to the Angevin father and son.<br />Anne GAnne Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03045500116098233731noreply@blogger.com