Wales and Ireland in medieval times [closed]

Question

There is a very interesting article on wikipedia on Welsh Law. Though it defines the structure of the Court in Wales in the late medieval period, it says nothing of the status of other nobles and notable personages compared to those in the king's household.

In addition to that I read that both Ireland and Wales consisted (pre-Normanisation) of petty kingdoms. What was the way these kingdoms worked? Did they have a common social structure and laws? Were they classic fiefdoms with the king appointing the power to the Nobles and they in turn to other minor ones? Was there a reason why these two nations have so much in common (common ancestry maybe?) or is it far-fetched to even propose that. Even their laws seem to have been of the same philosophy.

Answer 1

The modern conception of kingdoms is viewed as synonymous with the nation/state - i.e. Great Britain or Spain or Sweden. A kingdom could be viewed as a unit of sovereign law - thus if I run things on some island and the island is not otherwise 'possessed' by another country then I am 'king'.

Migratory tribes tend to have leaders responsible for making rules and settling disputes, the term we usually use today are 'chieftains' such as for American Indians or the Irish. If a tribe occupies and claims a fixed territory then it becomes a 'kingdom'. In such a circumstance the king becomes responsible for law, dispute resolution, and defense. Often such kingdoms formed alliances with other kingdoms for common defense, but over time the strongest of these tended to take over neighboring territories, and the 'kings' of these subordinate territories became lesser ranked nobles. This is what we see coming out of the Middle Ages, such as when the Tudor family assumed control of England.

At some point the combination of sovereign kingdoms into a greater whole creates an 'empire'. Thus we have a Japanese empire that was the assimilation of various sovereign families that controlled distinct regions within Japan. Often a kingdom in the early middle ages might control an area that we would currently describe as a 'county' - just large enough to see the borders from a central fort or castle.