Editing Gerald of Wales (section)

===Travels===
Gerald became a royal clerk and chaplain to King Henry II of England in 1184, first acting as a mediator between the crown and Prince [[Rhys ap Gruffydd]]. He was chosen to accompany one of the king's sons, [[John, King of England|John]], in [[1185 in Ireland|1185]] on [[John's first expedition to Ireland]]. This was the catalyst for his literary career; his work ''[[Topographia Hibernica]]'' (first circulated in manuscript in 1188, and revised at least four times) is an account of his journey to Ireland; Gerald always referred to it as his ''Topography'', though "history" is the more accurate term.<ref>''Gerald of Wales, The History and Topography of Ireland'' tr. John J. O'Meara. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1982. ISBN 0-14-044423-8, pg. 14</ref>

He followed it up, shortly afterwards, with an account of Henry's conquest of Ireland, the ''Expugnatio Hibernica''. Both works were revised and added to several times before his death, and display a notable degree of Latin learning, as well as a great deal of prejudice against foreign people. Gerald was proud to be related to some of the Norman invaders of Ireland, such as his maternal uncle [[Robert FitzStephen]] and [[Raymond FitzGerald]], and his influential account, which portrays the Irish as barbaric savages, gives important insight into Cambro-Norman views of Ireland and the history of the invasion.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

Having thus demonstrated his usefulness, Gerald was selected to accompany the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], [[Baldwin of Forde]], on a tour of Wales in 1188, the object being a recruitment campaign for the [[Third Crusade]]. His account of that journey, the ''[[Itinerarium Cambriae]]'' (1191) was followed by the ''[[Descriptio Cambriae]]'' in 1194.

His two works on Wales remain very valuable historical documents, useful for their descriptions (however untrustworthy and inflected by ideology, whimsy, and his unique style) of Welsh and Norman culture. It is uncertain whether Gerald was a [[Welsh language|Welsh speaker]]; although he quotes Welsh proverbs and appears familiar with the language, he seems not to have been employed as an interpreter for the expedition.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Allen|first1=Rosamund|last2=Roberts|first2=Jane|last3=Weinberg|first3=Carole|title=Reading La Amon's Brut: Approaches and Explorations: Approaches and Explorations.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rQfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA615|year=2013|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=978-94-012-0952-6|page=616}}</ref>

As a royal clerk, Gerald observed significant political events first-hand and was offered appointments as bishoprics{{clarify|date=November 2022}} of [[Wexford]] and Leighlin, and apparently, slightly later, the bishopric of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory|Ossory]] and the archbishopric of [[Cashel, County Tipperary|Cashel]], and later the bishopric of [[Bangor, Gwynedd|Bangor]] in Wales; and, in 1191, that of [[Llandaff]].<ref name=Mac/> He turned them all down, possibly in the hope of landing a more prominent bishopric in the future. He was acquainted with [[Walter Map]], whose career shares some similarities with Gerald's. Retiring from royal service, he lived in Lincoln from {{circa|lk=no|1196}} to 1198, when his friend, [[William de Montibus]], was chancellor of the cathedral. In this period, ''[[De principis instructione]]'' was probably the first written, a useful historical source of contemporary events. It was an influential work at the time, spreading, for example, the legend of [[MacAlpin's treason]]. Here, Gerald is frequently critical of the rule of the [[House of Plantagenet|Angevin]] kings, a shift from his earlier praise of [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] in the ''Topographia''. He also wrote a life of St [[Hugh of Lincoln]].{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}