Marcher Miscellany
An online half-day conference
Date
Online Conference – Saturday 25th January 2025, 2.00pm to 4.45pm (GMT) (join from 1.45pm)
Venue
Online Only
Programme, Synopses and Biographies
Programme – Saturday 25th January 2025, 2.00pm to 4.45pm (GMT)
13.45 Participants to start to join the conference on Zoom (without video and audio)
14.00 Welcome and Introductions.
14.05 Professor Nicholas Orme
Walter Map: a mischievous Marcher monk-hater
14.45 Questions to Professor Nicholas Orme
14.55 Dr Rachel Swallow
Royalty Unveiled: The Queen of Caernarfon Castle and the Overton-on-Dee Connection
15.35 Break
15.50 Questions to Dr Rachel Swallow
15.55 Josh Williams
The Decolonisation of Later Medieval and Early Modern Cardiff
16.35
Questions to Josh Williams and the other speakers
16.45 Close
Tickets
This is an online event only
Saturday 25th January only: members £8.00; non-members £12.00
Online Booking
By telephone
0333 666 3366
(£2 booking fee)
By cheque
Make out to Mortimer History Society and post to Pamela Thom-Rowe, 8 Burwarton, Bridgnorth, WV16 6QJ including contact details (email address needs to be specified for sending the zoom link) and names of all attending participants.
Professor Nicholas Orme – Walter Map: a mischievous Marcher monk-hater
Walter Map was born in Herefordshire in the early 12th century, studied at Paris, and became an itinerant justice of Henry II. He is best known for his book De Nugis Curialium, ‘the follies of courtiers’: a humorous anthology of stories and satires, especially about Cistercian monks whom he detested. The lecture will pay particular attention to his links with the Forest of Dean, and his friendship with Gerald of Wales whom he probably entertained there, at his rectory of Westbury-on-Severn.
Nicholas Orme is emeritus professor of history, University of Exeter, and the author of numerous books on English social, religious, and cultural history including Going to Church in Medieval England and The History of England’s Cathedrals.
Dr Rachel Swallow – Royalty Unveiled: The Queen of Caernarfon Castle and the Overton-on-Dee Connection
This talk examines the captivating tale of Queen Eleanor de Castile and Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd, by exploring Welsh legends and Dr Swallow’s recently published new interpretation about the castle’s landscape and seascape. Together, we uncover the intriguing connection between this historical queen, Caernarfon’s fortress, and the lost Marcher-territory castle at Overton-on-Dee, Flintshire.
Rachel Swallow FSA is an archaeologist whose research has reshaped our understanding of castles and landscapes. Elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 2018, her work explores the social, political, and architectural significance of these sites within their broader landscapes. Rachel completed her PhD at the University of Chester in 2015. She is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Chester and holds an honorary fellowship at the University of Liverpool.
Josh Williams – The Decolonisation of Later Medieval and Early Modern Cardiff
This talk examines the processes through which the borough of Cardiff – which had been the Anglo-Norman seat of power of the Marcher lordship of Glamorgan since the late eleventh century – took on more of a ‘Welsh’ character between the late thirteenth and late sixteenth centuries. It is divided into three sections. The first includes an assessment of the changing ethnic composition of Cardiff’s residents across this period, with a particular focus on property-holding burgesses. The second provides an examination of the changing levels of indigenous participation within the municipal government of the town. The third includes an investigation of the role of the Church in driving the decolonisation process by acting as a unifying force within Cardiff, along with an analysis of the impact of the Reformation on the English and Welsh ethnic groups in the town. The talk will conclude with a brief discussion on how my findings so far compare to other instances of contemporary decolonisation within certain towns in Ireland, Prussia and Livonia.
Joshua Williams is a second year PhD student at Swansea University. He completed both his BA and MA degrees at Swansea, spending several years in full-time employment between qualifications. His PhD research, entitled ‘Decolonisation and counter-colonisation within the ‘‘capitals’’ of Wales, 1284–1600’, has enabled him to examine primary sources (such as lay subsidy rolls) and apply methodologies (such as quantitative analysis) which are new to him. His main academic interest is in medieval and modern urban centres, particularly the integration and assimilation between ethnic groups within colonial towns. He also maintains a keen interest in contemporary ‘travel writing’ and the gathering and dissemination of new geographical information across Western Europe during this period.