Gerald of Wales
Biography
Gerald of Wales (in Latin: Giraldus Cambrensis; in Welsh: Gerallt Gymro; in French: Gerald de Barri; c. 1146 – c. 1223) was a Cambro-Norman archdeacon of Brecon and a historian. Gerald became a royal clerk and chaplain to King Henry II of England in 1184. He was chosen to accompany one of the king's sons, John, in 1185 on John's first expedition to Ireland. Gerald says he spent three years traveling through Ireland.
Topographia Hibernica
Gerald's text describing his travels in Ireland, Topographia Hibernica, first appeared in manuscript in 1188. Gerald always referred to it as his Topography, though "History" is the more accurate term. It is a travel narrative, a description of things he saw or was told by the people he met. He followed it up with an account of Henry's conquest of Ireland, the Expugnatio Hibernica. He revised and added to the Topographia Hibernica four times before his death. Gerald's writing displays a notable degree of Latin learning. As was common in his time, Gerald did not think highly of the Irish people; his description of them and their culture is often racist as well as inaccurate.
The Topographia Hibernica is in three sections, which Gerald called "distinctions":
Animals
Though not always accurate - Gerald tended to believe whatever stories he heard - the Topographia Hibernica is a valuable source of information on the animals and birds of medieval Ireland. In Distinction 1, Gerald wrote on the following animal topics (chapter number in [brackets]; the chapter numbers are those given by Forester, 1863; the chapter order does not always match the order in transcriptions of the Latin text).
Manuscripts
Gerald revised the Topographia Hibernica five times over several years, adding new material. There are at least 37 manuscript copies of the text. (Some are listed under the Manuscripts tab above; for a more complete list see Giraldus Cambrensis Topographia Hibernica Manuscripts).
Some of the manuscripts are illustrated with simple marginal drawings of a few animals. The drawings are almost identically repeated in several of the manuscripts, suggesting that the artists had access to previous copies or perhaps a common example.
Gerald's writings were used in several bestiaries and other manuscripts, though he was usually not credited. Two manuscripts that quote him almost exactly are Bodleian Library, MS. Bodley 764 and British Library, Harley MS 4751.