Synopsis: The history of women in medieval Wales before the English conquest of 1282 is one largely shrouded in mystery. For the Age of Princes, an era defined by ever-increased threats of foreign hegemony, internal dynastic strife and constant warfare, the comings and goings of women are little noted in sources. This misfortune touches even the most well-known royal woman of the time, Joan of England (d. 1237), the wife of Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd, illegitimate daughter of King John and half-sister to Henry III. With evidence of her hand in thwarting a full scale English invasion of Wales to a notorious scandal that ended with the public execution of her supposed lover by her husband and her own imprisonment, Joan's is a known, but little-told or understood story defined by family turmoil, divided loyalties and political intrigue.
From the time her hand was promised in marriage as the result of the first Welsh-English alliance in 1201 to the end of her life, Joan's place in the political wranglings between England and the Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd was a fundamental one. As the first woman to be designated Lady of Wales, her role as one a political diplomat in early thirteenth-century Anglo-Welsh relations was instrumental. This first-ever account of Siwan, as she was known to the Welsh, interweaves the details of her life and relationships with a gendered re-assessment of Anglo-Welsh politics by highlighting her involvement in affairs, discussing events in which she may well have been involved but have gone unrecorded and her overall deployment of royal female agency.
This was a difficult review for me not due to the content but how to formulate my many and varied thoughts on this book as they are at odds with each other.
On the one hand, this is a detailed study on the role of royal / noble women of the Welsh ruling houses (the titles are interchangeable) during the late 12th and early 13th centuries. To illustrate her points, the author's chosen subject is Joan, daughter of John of England, one of the predominant women at this time. Messer provides us with a well researched and thought out argument for her choice of Joan's mother, which she utilises throughout the narrative.
A number of chapters cross over with each other as certain themes are discussed, and at times we jump forward and backwards in the timeline so that there is no strict chronological order to things. A number of other notable women are also used to provide examples of their influence in the areas of hospitality, patronage, marriage, and some times, in the changing of prevailing attitudes and customs - most of these women have some connection of Joan.
What I am at odds with is the documentation used to support the theory that Joan played a dominant political role in Wales at this period. Messer acknowledges that ".. invisibility in sources doesn't naturally preclude invisibility in life ..". It also doesn't preclude an active political role. There is quite a bit of "it is likely" and "it is possible"and to conclude that Joan may have been one of the "unnamed" persons who may or may not have been awarded safe conduct to attend meetings without factual evidence does not make it fact. Alternatively, to assume that the granting of land and property to Joan and Llwellyn is payment for Joan's role as political negotiator or "peace weaver" would be to make fact out of supposition and assumptions, and to insert her into the narrative that may not be hers to own, and ponder the possibilities.
I have no doubt that Joan may have played an important political role as wife of the reigning prince, however, I would like to have seen some more supporting documentation from the multiple sources used - an image of a document, a translation of a text, a pipe role entry. To tell us that "... simply because details are non-existent does not mean .. Joan did not parley behind the scenes as she was so wont to do on many occasions ..". That is a rather bland and empty statement to put forth as a solidly researched argument.
In fact, as Messer admits, there is only one case that we actually know that Joan had a hand in it - the rest remains a matter of "contextualisation". And so Joan, like many women of her era are left to ".. languish in the shadows of the feats, tragedies and majesties of the powerful men .." in their lives, and that Joan's life has and will remain a mystery.
Look, this is a decent work on the role of women in Wales - maybe that should have been the focus, using what is known of Joan and the many other notable women, to provide a discussion on the different areas where women did have a documented involvement in society and politics.
