Best welsh history books according to redditors

Thanks for asking!

I think the main thing is to avoid Llewellyn publications. Even the Arthurian scholar R.S. Loomis's books are extremely outdated but are probably easier to find on the market as they can serve as "proof" behind the new age books.

I'd recommend anything by Kenneth Jackson, O.J. Padel (great Arthurian source!), Proinsias MacCana, Rachel Bromwich... Miranda Green also comes to mind, but iirc it's her work on the Green Man that I would take with a grain of salt.

Hope that helps!

edit to add: A.O.H.Jarman and Patrick Sims-Williams too!

edit2 for personal favourites:

After Rome by Thomas Charles-Edwards Note: this is on "post Roman Britain" not "dark age Britain"

Celtic Mythology by Proinsias MacCana. Some of the research is outdated but it is still considered, to this day, an awesome go-to book (pretty pictures!).

Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature by O.J. Padel. Hands down, the best book I've come across on Arthurian origins and it's extremely accessible for the average reader. It's quite short so anyone interested in this subject should absolutely pick this one up. The prices in this link are ridiculous though. (Great news - this one will be reissued in August 2013!)

Telling Lies About Hitler. Irving sued a journalist in 2000, this book is by the history professor brought in to examine Irving's historical claims. He went over the evidence Irving cited, and look at his conclusions.

The outcome is unequivocal, and Irving lost the case (tht he himself brought). It's actually a little sad that his specific failures are not more often presented, but denialists are of course not amenable to reason because they do not argue in good faith.

Got you covered, my dude! This is the best translation of this I've found to date. There are others but they tend to be a bit flowery. You can smell the mud in some of these....
https://www.amazon.com/Mabinogion-Gwyn-Jones/dp/9063329113

I haven't come across many that I've thought worth reading, unfortunately. Those that are readily available at bookshops tend to be reference works with a few paragraphs (or a page or two for the larger castles) set aside for each. That may be exactly what you're looking for, but they all tend to retread old ground - ground I'm already familiar with.

I did appreciate Castles of the Welsh Princes for its slightly more focused scope and the wonderful reconstructions it provided for some of its castles.

The website Castles of Wales is, despite its aged appearance, a great resource that covers everything you're likely to get from such reference books and then some.

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I like the story of Hywel Dda ("the Good") who gave property rights to women more than a hundred years before the English French arrived and rolled back his laws. It's vaguely reminiscent of Prasutagus (or whatever his real name was), who tried to challenge Roman inheritance law only for his wife to be beaten and his daughters raped as a result of his progressive thinking.

Source

La Technique, Jacques Pépin

Good Things in England, Florence White

Home Made, Sandra Oddo

Feasting Naturally, Mary Ann Pickard

Pépin is well-known, the rest are a little obscure, but excellent cookbooks that deserve a wider audience. Good Things in England has recipes dating back about 700 years. Home Made not only has recipes, but a lot of household tips and home remedies. It will teach you some food preservation, too. Feasting Naturally has wonderful recipes for simple, natural foods.

I know they only have a handful of reviews on Amazon, but these are not the usual suspects when cookbook requests are made. If you want to try something different, here you go. I especially love Oddo’s Home Made. It has been on my coffee table for the past five years or so.

Pépin’s book is out of print and a little pricey used, but you should be able to get all of the rest for under $20 total. Please pick them up and give them some love - you’ll be happy with the results.