HERITAGE IN WALES ISSUE 70
WOMEN OF FEW WORDS… Dr Erin Lloyd Jones, Cadw’s Senior Digital and Publications Manager, talks about her mission to rewrite history to herstory in Wales.
‘You don’t look like an archaeologist’ is something I have heard many times over the years. I’m not exactly sure what an archaeologist is supposed to look like, but let me tell you — we come in all shapes and sizes. And women dig archaeology too. How about the history books though? I’m sure you’ve heard of Owain Glyndŵr, Harri Tudur aka King Henry VII and St David, but where were all the women? Cooking, cleaning and making tapestries? Not quite. In fact, far from it… From as early as the tenth century, Wales was a pioneer of equal rights. The Laws of (King) Hywel Dda, a system of native Welsh law, were incredibly forward-thinking, especially compared to rules introduced by the English kings. For example, marriage was treated very differently; if a man cheated on his wife, he was punished. The woman’s dowry was the woman’s right; only if a couple had been married for over seven years did they have an equal share. 16
King Hywel’s laws stretched further than just women, too. Illegitimate children, for example, held the same rights as those born in wedlock. And it worked both ways, of course. One of my favourite examples is that if a woman ‘wished a blemish on her husband’s beard’, it was punishable by a beating! Back in 2016, I worked on interpreting the complex history of Beaumaris Castle, the last castle built by Edward I in north Wales. As it was a royal castle, many of the accounts survive, including the details of the skilled workers responsible for building the castle. Whilst working on the project, though, it became clear that there was hardly any information about the role of women on a medieval building site such as Beaumaris Castle. When Beaumaris was being built, we know that there were masons, carpenters, glaziers and soldiers. But every worker I read about in the history books was male. So where were all the women? Did wives follow their husbands to wherever paid work took them? Or were homes and families abandoned for long periods of time as the male workers left to take on new building projects around the land? A passage from the early fourteenth-century accounts of the building works at the castle offers a tantalising glimpse. Rather than being ‘left behind’ at home or simply ‘camp followers’, it became clear that women held a much stronger and more significant role in medieval Britain. Top left: Dr Erin Lloyd Jones — archaeologist, explorer, presenter and a voice for women, past and present. Above: A new publication, Welsh Women Making History, was launched by Cadw at Beaumaris Castle to celebrate International Women’s Day.
