Ecclesiastical refuge in medieval Wales: formation and role in political processes

The article is devoted to the penetration of the concept of ecclesiastical refuge into the British Isles, its spread and regional peculiarities. The focus is on the origin and realization of the right of ecclesiastical refuge in the territory of the Welsh kingdoms from the early Middle Ages, when sources record the first signs of the allocation of the temple territory as a place with a special legal status, until the XV century, when the charters of the English kings approved the traditional privilege of Welsh religious centers to provide security to those in need. Being one of the most important achievements of church diplomacy, the right of ecclesiastical refuge was directly related to the status of a religious center: documents confirming it were preserved and copied, if there were no documents, they were forged or episodes in which they hid someone from persecution within the walls of their cell or monastery were included in the lives of the patron saints. The almost simultaneous appearance of such plots in the Lives of the late XI–XII centuries. It suggests that this was one of the main arguments of the Welsh religious communities in the struggle to maintain their position in the face of the changes that began with the arrival of the Normans on the island. For representatives of the secular authorities, the right of ecclesiastical refuge was an inconspicuous but very effective political tool that allowed, on the one hand, to control local religious communities, allowing them to exercise the privilege they needed or violating it, on the other hand, creating an opportunity at the right moment to ensure the safety of both themselves and other participants in political processes.

1. Brut y Tywysogion 1860 — Brut y Tywysogion or The Chronicle of the Princes (1860). Trans. and ed. by J. Williams. London.

2. Cox 1911 — Cox, J. C. (1911). The sanctuaries and sanctuary seekers of mediaeval England. London.

3. Cyfreithiau Hywel Dda 1990 — Cyfreithiau Hywel Dda yn ôl llawsgrif Coleg yr Iesu LVII Rhydychen (1990). Trans. and ed. By M. Richards. Caerdydd.

4. Davies 2003 — Davies, J. R. (2003). The Book of Llandaf and the Norman church in Wales. Woodbridge.

5. Davies 2009 — Davies, J. R. (2009). Wales and West Britain. A companion to the early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland c. 500-1100. Ed. by P. Stafford. Oxford, Malden, Chichester. 341-357.

6. Davies 1980 — Davies, W. (1980). The Llandaff charters. Aberystwyth.

7. Lambert 2012 — Lambert, T. B. (2012). The Evolution of Sanctuary in Medieval England. Legalism. Anthropology and history. Ed. by P. Dresch and H. Skoda. Oxford. 115–144.

8. Llawysgrif Pomffred 2011 — Llawysgrif Pomffred: An edition and study of Peniarth MS 259B (2011). Trans. and ed. By S. E. Roberts. Leiden, Boston.

9. Pryce 1986 — Pryce, H. (1986). Early Irish canons and medieval Welsh law. Peritia, 5, 107-127.

10. Pryce 1993 — Pryce, H. (1993). Native law and the church in medieval Wales. Oxford.

11. Registrum vulgariter nuncupatum 1838 — Registrum vulgariter nuncupatum "The Record of Caernarvon"; e codice MSto Harleiano 696 decriptum (1838). Ed. by H. Ellis. London.

12. Rhygyfarch’s Life of St David 2007 — Rhygyfarch’s Life of St David (2007). Trans. and ed. by R. Sharpe and J. R. Davies. St David of Wales: Cult, Church and Nation. Ed. by J. W. Evans and J. M. Wooding. Woodbridge. 107-155.

13. Shoemaker 2011 — Shoemaker, K. (2011). Sanctuary and Crime in the Middle Ages, 400-1500. New York.

14. Sims-Williams 2018 — Sims-Williams, P. (2018). Buchedd Beuno: the Middle Welsh Life of St Beuno. Dublin.

15. Sims-Williams 2019 — Sims-Williams, P. (2019). The Book of Llandaf as a historical source. Woodbridge.

16. The Acts of Welsh Rulers 2005 — The Acts of Welsh Rulers, 1120–1283 (2005). Ed. by H. Pryce and C. Insley. Cardiff.

17. The History of Gruffydd ap Cynan 1910 — The History of Gruffydd ap Cynan (1910). Trans. and ed. by A. Jones. Manchester.

18. The text of the Book of Llan Dâv 1893 — The text of the Book of Llan Dâv (1893). Ed. by J. Gwenogvryn Evans and J. Rhys. Oxford.

19. The tripartite Life of Patrick 1887 — The tripartite Life of Patrick: with other documents relating to that saint (1887). Trans. and ed. by W. Stokes. Vol. 2. London.

20. Vitae sanctorum Britannia 1944 — Vitae sanctorum Britanniae et genealogiae (1944). Trans. and ed. by A. W. Wade-Evans. Cardiff.

21. Watkin 2012 — Watkin, T. G. (2012). The legal history of Wales. Cardiff.