The post-Conquest medieval tomb monuments of Wales have been sadly neglected by scholars, the only other book on the subject being Colin Gresham’s Medieval Stone Carving in North Wales, published in 1968. Monuments of South Wales have hitherto received attention in a mere handful of journal articles. This volume is based on the author’s doctoral thesis, yet, unlike many authors of ‘books of the thesis’, Biebrach has not fallen into the trap of rushing hastily into print with minimal change to the text – something that usually produces an unsatisfactory result. Instead, Biebrach appears to have totally re-cast her text in a format most suitable for a monograph. As a result, it is well written in a clear style that will make it accessible to specialists and to general readers alike. Indeed, it is a joy to read.
Another great strength of the book is that its focus is very broad, covering both the interests of the patron and the pattern of suppliers. Biebrach addresses an eclectic range of monuments, from large and elaborate tombs with carved effigial representation, to brasses and modest cross slabs, many not previously noted in print. The corpus is dominated by no single style, or place of origin, the consequence of the lack of a long-lived, thriving, prominent, local source of centralised production. The evidence for this includes expert geological analysis of the stone types used for the monuments, ranging from Somerset Dundry and Midlands alabaster to local Welsh stones such as Sutton and Quarella, all pointing to a degree of quarry-based production.
Moreover, the monuments are not viewed in isolation, but are considered within a variety of contexts, which add greatly to our understanding of them. Of especial interest in this volume is the attention paid to the political history and ethnic make-up of the region. South Wales is unique in that in the medieval period it was populated by both immigrant Anglo-Norman and uchelwyr Welsh landed proprietors, each of which adopted different patterns of monumental patronage. This is reflected in the volume.
One of the most distinctive features of the monumental culture of South Wales is its chronological development, from burgeoning growth up to the middle of the fourteenth century (in which it shows a common trajectory with contemporary trends in England), to collapse, stagnation and limited recovery prior to the Reformation. In this, it departs from English patterns to a considerable degree, in part explained by the failure of native production.
The only significant criticism is that the volume would have been enhanced by a database listing all monuments covered by the survey. Overall, however, this ground-breaking monograph is a most welcome addition to the literature.
