Giraldus Cambrensis (c. 1146–c. 1220)

Welsh historian, born in Pembrokeshire. He studied in Paris, took holy orders in about 1172, and soon afterwards became archdeacon of Brecknock. In 1184 he accompanied Prince John to Ireland. He was elected bishop of St Davids in 1198, but failed to gain possession of his see. He wrote a history of the conquest of Ireland by Henry II.

His books include Expugnatio Hibernica (The Conquest of Ireland); Topographia Hibernica (The Topography of Ireland), a descriptive account of the island; Itinerarium Cambriae (Journey through Wales) (1191); and De Rebus a se Gestis: Gemma Ecclesiastica (Concerning Things Done by Himself: the Jewel of the Church), an autobiography.