Abbeys and Priories of Medieval Wales

Abbeys and Priories of Medieval Wales is a comprehensive, illustrated guide to the religious houses of Wales from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. It offers a thorough introduction to the history of the monastic orders in Wales (the Benedictines, Cluniacs, Augustinians, Premonstratensians, Cistercians, the military orders, and the friars), and to the life inside medieval Welsh monasteries and nunneries, as well as providing the histories of almost sixty communities of religious men and women, and descriptions of the standing remains of their buildings. As well as a being a scholarly book, a number of maps, ground plans, and practical information make this moreover an indispensable guide for visitors to Wales's monastic heritage. The monastic houses of medieval Wales were of great cultural and political, as well as religious significance, yet to many they remain picturesque ruins of a bygone age. This book brings these institutions to life for readers, and locates them firmly within the broader history of Wales and the Welsh.