The Last King of Wales by Michael Davies

The Last King of Wales by Michael Davies

Gruffudd ap Llywelyn was Wales' greatest king. Ambitious and battle-sure, he succeeded in doing what no Welsh king before him was capable of: he ruled all Wales as a united and independent state. He went further by turning the Viking threat to his realm into a powerful weapon and conquering border land that had been in English hands for centuries. Having emerged as a war leader, Gruffudd also proved to be much more: a patron of the arts and church, with the trappings of a king who was respected and feared on the European stage. His eventual murder at the hands of his own men narrowed the country's political ambitions and left Wales in chaos on the eve of the arrival of the Normans. Those who betrayed Gruffudd were the forebears of the famous princes who would dominate Wales until the Edwardian Conquest, meaning that the former king left no one to tell of his glory. As a result, 1,000 years after his birth, the would-be nation builder is all but forgotten. Here, Sean and Michael Davies reveal the king in all his glory, telling for the first time the story of one of Wales' greatest figures and exploring the full implications of Gruffudd's rule. For, without Gruffudd, the fate of King Harold and the outcome of the Battle of Hastings would have been very different .

Davies, Sean: - Dr Sean Davies has studied medieval warfare and the history of Wales for over twenty years, his research earning him a degree, Masters and PhD from the University of Wales. He has published extensively on the subjects, his books including War and Society in Medieval Wales and The Last King of Wales. Sean was born and bred in the valleys of south Wales and lived in Swansea and the borderlands of mid Wales before settling in Cardiff. He was a BBC journalist for over twelve years and now works as a writer and editor.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780752464602
ISBN 10	0752464604
Title	The Last King of Wales
Author	Michael Davies
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	The History Press Ltd
Year published	2012-07-01
Number of pages	160
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.