Edward I's Conquest of Wales

"Edward I's conquest of Wales was a key formative event in the history of Britain, but it has not been the subject of a scholarly book for over 100 years. ... While Edward I is one of the best-known English kings, his principal opponent, Llewelyn ap Gruffud [Gruffyd] and the other Welsh princes - and the nature of their rule - remain a mystery to most general readers. ... [Davies'] account is set in the context of Welsh warfare and society from the end of Rome to the time of Edward's opening campaign in the late thirteenth century. It offers an alternative to the clichéd view of the inevitable advance of a more sophisticated military culture at the expense of a primitive people fighting for freedom. The narrative describes in vivid detail the military history of the conflict, the sequence of campaigns, Welsh resistance, Edward's castle building and English colonization and the cost of the struggle to the Welsh and English - and the uneasy peace that followed."--Book jacket.