The experiences of the Montgomeryshire gentleman and lawyer, Edward Vaughan, provide a remarkable story of law, civil war and gentry life in mid seventeenth-century Wales. In this podcast Lloyd Bowen, Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Cardiff, uncovers a rich narrative of how local enmities were shaped by national events.
Born in 1600, Vaughan was the fifth son of a landed gentleman and could not have expected much in life beyond a career as a lawyer. However, by fair means and foul (mostly foul) he managed to gain possession of one of the largest estates in seventeenth-century Wales. His tenure was not to be a quiet one, however, as the Protestant Vaughan endured a bruising legal contest with a powerful Catholic magnate over these lands. Vaughan’s case was then swept up in the politics of the civil wars. A moderate parliamentarian, during the 1640s and 1650s Vaughan fought new battles with local radicals to secure his patrimony.
The trials of Edward Vaughan reveal much about the confrontational and sometimes bloody nature of law, politics, and faction in early modern England and Wales. Rich with accusations of attempted murder, treason, and a lengthy legal battle with one of the most powerful Catholic families in the country, this is a surprising story and one that has yet to be told.
As Professor Bowen discusses with Publisher Mike Gibbs, Vaughan’s courtroom battles reveal much about the bloody nature of law, politics and faction in early modern England and Wales.
