This project aims to create the first holistic cultural history of the medieval March of Wales, the borderlands between Wales and England, occupied by a diverse population of Welsh and English speakers in the period between 1282 and 1550.
The main aims are:
(1) to uncover and analyse the literary texts and manuscripts produced and circulated in the medieval March;
(2) to create an original series of snapshot maps of the Marcher lordships at various date points during the period;
(3) to link the texts and the maps by means of a prosopography of the Marcher lords, a visualisation of the major gentry houses and abbeys, and a distribution of the texts/manuscripts across the maps showing where they were produced and who read/owned them;
(4) to assess the cultural and regional identities of the March and its relations with its more powerful neighbour, England. MOWLIT will be the first systematic study of the geo-cultural politics of the March from both sides of the border, revealing new information about cultural networks in this multilingual region of medieval Britain.
This project will for the first time document and define the distinctive culture of the March as an unstable border region, marked by multilingualism, conflict, emergent identities, and networks of readers and writers. It will also create the first-ever set of maps of the Marcher lordships, using historical records to determine the boundaries of the lordships which have never previously been authoritatively determined. A comparative dimension will be introduced through a smaller-scale study of the medieval Scottish Borders, its literature and its patrons, leading to revolutionary new understandings of regional nationhood and borders in the history of modern federated states. The resulting resources will provide historians, linguists, and literary critics with unprecedented access to the cultural geography of the Welsh and Scottish border regions, opening up new avenues for comparative research and analysis.
Please see a published report here and video below.
Researchers
Professor Helen Fulton, Chair in Medieval Literature, Department of English
Postdoctoral Researchers:
Dr Rachael Harkes, Research Associate, Department of History (Historical Studies)
Dr Matt Lampitt, Research Associate, Department of English
Project Partners:
Scott Lloyd and Jon Dollery, Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
Research IT:
Mike Jones, Senior Software Engineer, IT Services
Research Administrator:
Abi Freeman