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Gerald of Wales, also called Giraldus Cambrensis or Gerald De Barri ( c. 1146-c. 1223), was the archdeacon of Brecknock and a historian whose accounts of late 12th century Britain and France contain vivid anecdotes about the Christian church, the universities of Paris and Oxford, and about notable clerics. His work, Topographia Hiberniae, is an arresting account of his travels in Ireland, with vivid descriptions of the island’s fauna and flora and its natural beauty.

An inter-dynastic dispute lead to an invitation to the English king Henry II to intervene in Ireland, and an invasion followed through the east coast town of Wexford. This intervention was the first step in the colonization of Ireland by the Anglo-Normans of the English crown. Gerald’s account of the coming of the Normans in AD 1166-1185 was the first history book on Ireland penned by a non-Irish author. Most historians of the British Isles do not considered the book as accurate, truthful history, but rather as a poetical fiction motivated by family concerns.

Who is behind the mysterious advert reading ‘Wife available – what offers?’ What prompted a ‘third girl’ to suddenly pack her bags and leave her flatshare? And when a newly married couple’s honeymoon period comes to an abrupt end, is the wedding dress to blame? Conceived by respected...