Monthly Archives: August 2012

08/28/12

My Welsh Ancestry

I say in my bio that my ancestors came from Wales. While Woodbury is a Saxon name, my umpteenth great grandfather, William Woodbury, self-identified as a Welshman when he came to Salem in 1628.  I discuss the origins of the name ‘Woodbury’ and its Welsh possibilities here:  http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/about/the-origins-of-the-name-woodbury/

I am also descended from a host of Morgans, Thomas’, Kemries, Johns, Rhuns etc.  The line I’ve researched most successfully descends from Llywelyn ap Ifor born around 1300.  Six generations later, Sir John Morgan (1448) was knighted and is featured here:  http://tredegarhouse.blogspot.com/2006/05/sir-john-morgan-7.html

One of his sons, Thomas, married  Elizabeth Vaughn and had Rowland (who became sheriff in 1588).  The line then goes Henry-Thomas-Robert to Samuel, who had two children:  Anna and Robert. Anna, born in 1685, married Hezekiah Ober.  Their child, Joanna, married Elisha Woodbury, 8 generations up from me through my father.  In turn, Robert married Mary Thorndike. Their son, Paul, is also 8 generations up from me, through my mother.

In addition, a reader was kind enough to inquire about my ancestry and explained that Llywelyn ab Ifor’s wife was descended from Rhydderch ab Iestyn, whose father Iestyn is thought to be another son of Owain ap Hywel Dda. The line from Rhydderch comes via his grandson Caradog ap Gruffudd. Caradog married Gwenllian, daughter of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Powys and later also of Gwynedd. Llywelyn ab Ifor’s father, Ifor ap Llywelyn, married Tangwystl, who was the daughter of Rhys ap Hywel ‘Sais’ ap Rhys ap Gruffudd, The Lord Rhys, Prince of Deheubarth. Llywelyn ab Ifor’s grandfather, Llywelyn, married Nest, daughter of Hywel ‘Felyn’, Lord of Senghenydd, son of Gruffudd ab Ifor ‘Bach’, Lord of Senghenydd whose wife was Nest, daughter of Gruffudd ap Rhys and sister of The Lord Rhys ap Gruffudd.

Some of these people can be seen here (in 2nd chart from top, begun in first chart):

He explains that this is yet another example of how dynastic lines became entwined, which makes many Welsh people kinsmen. It also (particularly in the example of Rhydderch ab Iestyn) provides a better sense of how battles between various lines began, each claiming some inheritance from a common ancestor.

08/26/12

Baby Steps to Mama

I’m delighted to welcome Brynne McKay to my blog today.  She’d the author of five novels, including her latest contemporary literary fiction, Baby Steps to Mama.  And let me just say, not only is it garnering great reviews, but it’s free at the moment at Barnes and Noble and Apple:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/baby-steps-to-mama-brynne-mckay/1112113028?ean=2940044717282

It’s wonderful to have you here, Brynne.  Can you tell us a little bit about your book?

My new novel, Baby Steps to Mama, is a story about community, motherhood, and family. When Lindy Marston moved back home to the little town of Murray,Oregon after escaping a bad relationship, she never expected to end up a housekeeper and nanny for her older sister. But when her sister dies in a car accident, Lindy at twenty-five finds herself mother to three-year-old David and infant Jenny. Unprepared, Lindy must face her own grief while struggling to help David and Jenny with theirs.

Baby Steps, however, is about more than grieving. It is ultimately about people coming together despite loss to create family and community. There are gardens, cookies, and some very cute little kids.

What about this story made you have to write it?

David and Jenny. Baby Steps came out of a short story I wrote about a month before I wrote the novel—it had nothing to do with babies. It was, in fact, a lot more in the vein of the prologue to Baby Steps (which contains parts of that short story). But when I hit ten pages of David and Jenny, I knew that this was going to really be a story about them.

I hate reading novels with babies in them where the babies are non-characters. Babies (and certainly three-year-olds!) have buckets of personality. And as it turned out, the children didn’t just have personality in this story. They were what made it worthwhile for me.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned during the creation of this book?

I did a lot of research for Baby Steps: gardening, breastfeeding, adoption laws. Also, the novel takes place in 2008, and I spent a not insignificant amount of time looking up weather and dates: Was June 21, 2008 really a Saturday? (It was.)

This was the first non-fantasy novel I wrote. I always used to joke that my life was too strange to be able to easily write normal. (I think I accidentally stole this statement from Diana Wynne Jones, even though for her, it was actually true.) And yes, real life is actually harder to write than fantasy because you cannot set the parameters for yourself. I am always careful to define the rules of my fantasy worlds before writing, but I found venturing into the real world much more daunting.

But it was surprisingly easy. You won’t find Murray,Oregon on a road map, but everything else was as real as I could make it. But research aside, the greatest surprise for me was being able to take someone’s everyday life and make a story out of it. In fantasy, they always say, parents and babies weigh the story down: kids can’t have good adventures if they have involved parents, and adults can’t have good adventures if they have babies. I loved writing a story where the babies were the central plot point.

What was the hardest part to write?

My process while writing really influenced what was easy and what was hard. I was working as a nanny while I was writing Baby Steps (it doubled as research!) and so I tended to write on the computer in the early morning, and then take my notebook with me when I left for work and write more during naptime. Usually I’d back up in the notebook and rewrite part of the scene I’d already done on the computer. Then I’d come home and type it up and revise as I did so, and then write more.

There were a couple points in the process where my early-morning writing took the story in a direction I wasn’t interested in having it go. The double-rethinking I was able to do helped keep me from stalling out when I reached those points: It didn’t feel like deleting, because I was just writing in a new medium, and by the time I went in to take sentences out of my Word document, I already had twelve or fifteen handwritten pages to replace them.

I wrote very fast this way, and I don’t remember having a sticking point where I had trouble going on. Starting was hardest. It always is. Once I got going, it was all right.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Until recently I studied medieval history at a small liberal arts college. After endless reading, research, Latin study, and 150 pages of thesis, I’m done with school. So I’m taking the opportunity to read a lot. When I was younger, six novels in a day were routine, but in college I just didn’t have time. I have a lot of catching up to do!

I also crochet, bake, and sew. Lately sewing has been my most ardent love. J

Can you share a little of what you are working on now?

I’ve recently started a new project. I mentioned that I’ve become frustrated with fantasy’s tendency to preference young people having good adventures without parents or babies. My latest quest is to write a fantasy novel that isn’t about adventures at all. I have no idea if it will work or not, but we’ll find out!

What advice would you give a new writer?

First, find a story and stick with it. Write till you get to the end: finishing a novel is half the battle.

And then you will probably have to let it go. When you finish your first novel, you’re convinced it’s your one and only. You don’t necessarily have to give it up … but first novels are almost always too flawed to salvage. I don’t say this to be discouraging. You need that first novel. But write another. And another.

Links to Brynne’s web page and books …

www.brynnemckay.com

On Amazon in paperback or kindle formats:

http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Steps-Mama-Brynne-McKay/dp/1478131543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346019265&sr=8-1&keywords=baby+steps+to+mama

On Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/baby-steps-to-mama-brynne-mckay/1112113028?ean=978147813154

On Smashwords in ebook format:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/204556

08/25/12

Welsh Place Names

I just have to share with you this site I found today.  It’s a list of Welsh place names and their meanings. http://www.domesdaymaps.com/Welsh+Place+Names+Index.htm

Just some highlights:

BANGOR (Gwy) Bangor (1291). Earliest Welsh Record: Benchoer moer in Britannia (634). Meaning:from WELSH bangor ‘strong plaited rod in a fence’. The original monastic cell was either made of wattle or surrounded by a plaited fence.

BEDDGELERT (Gwy) Bedkelerd (1269). Earliest Record: Bekelert (1258). Meaning: from WELSHbedd ‘grave’ and a (probably Irish) personal name Celert or Cilert. Bethgelert, the 16th century spelling, is the first time the name appears to be linked with Llywelyn’s famous hound, Gelert(canine babysitter extraordinaire). The commemorative stone was erected by the enterprising landlord of the Royal Goat Hotel, David Prichard, in the 18th century to reinforce the legend.

CAREW (Dyf) Carew Meaning: possibly from WELSH carw ‘stag’. The Norman castle was rebuilt c. 1300.  (I discussed the meaning elsewhere on my blog:  http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/better-know-a-castle-carew/

DEE / DYFRDWY (Riv) Dee (1043) / Deverdoe (10th century). Earliest Record: Deova (in Greek) (150). Earliest Welsh Record: Dubr Duiu (c. 1214). Meaning: from BRITISH deva (related to the word divine) ‘the goddess’, thus ‘holy river’. In WELSH dwfr ‘water, river’ and Dee.

STRATA FLORIDA (Dyf) Strata Florida Meaning: a Latin form of WELSH ystrad ‘vale’ and fflur‘flowers’. The Abbey was founded in 1164.

SNOWDON / YR WYDDFA (Gwy) Snaudon (1284) / Yr Wyddfa Earliest Record: Snawdune (1095).Meaning: OE snaw ‘snow’ and dun ‘hill’. Welsh Meaning: from WELSH Y gwyddfa ‘the cairn, tumulus’;Eryri, from eryr ‘eagle’ refers to the mountains in general.

 

08/23/12

Welsh Faeries

The Welsh had a pantheon of gods and goddesses before the coming of the Romans.  With the defeat of the druids and the extermination of their sites on Anglesey, the druid religion in Wales went into decline–and perhaps that is the reason there are relatively few Welsh gods and goddesses compared to the Irish, whose religion flourished during the Dark Ages and also developed a unique form of Christianity alongside it.

Within the belief system, faeries, or Tylwyth Teg, the modern designation, had a role, divisible into five classes:  the Ellyllon, or elves, the Coblynau, or mine fairies, the Bwbachod, or household fairies, the Gwragedd Annwn, or fairies of the lakes and streams; and the Gwyllion, or mountain fairies.  http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/wfl/wfl02.htm

Ellyllon:  “The Ellyllon are the pigmy elves who haunt the groves and valleys, and correspond pretty closely with the English elves. The English name was probably derived from the Welsh el, a spirit, elf, an element; there is a whole brood of words of this class in the Welsh language, expressing every variety of flowing, gliding, spirituality, devilry, angelhood, and goblinism. Ellyllon (the plural of ellyll), is also doubtless allied with the Hebrew Elilim, having with it an identity both of origin and meaning. [Pughe's 'Welsh Dictionary.' (Denbigh, 1866)]  http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/wfl/wfl02.htm

Coblynau:  “The Welsh version of the Cornish Knockers, these mine spirits were relatively good humoured, and helped the miners by knocking in places with rich lodes of mineral, or metal. The Coblynau dressed in miners’ attire, and stood at around 18 inches in height.  Belief in these mine spirits was once widespread especially in Celtic areas which were heavily mined, for example Wales and Cornwall.”  http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/wales/folklore/the-coblynau.html

Bwbachod:  “The Bwbachod or otherwise known as the Bwca or Bwbach is a Welsh household spirit. The Bwbachod performs tasks when appreciated but becomes mischievous and destructive when offended. The Bwbachod detest people that don’t drink alcohol . . .”  The modern update is that this creatures also hates church and ministers.  http://www.mythcreatures.co.uk/celtic/bwbachod.asp

Gwragedd Annwn:  “The Gwragedd Annwn are Welsh water faeries who live in towns and villages beneath lakes. Often using glamour to disguise these dwellings, the most famous example of which was the Lady of the Lake, whose palace was disguised with a magical lake. Gwragedd Annwn as kithain do not live in underwater communities like those of their faerie cousins; the relative lack of glamour makes this impractical, and the encroachment of humanity, and the pollution it brings with it, on lakes and bodies of water makes the construction of underwater cities impossible. Now the Gwragedd Annwn have to cling to what sparing freshwater they can safely haunt.

They have an innate aptitiude for all things medicinal. There are reports of secret gardens hidden on islands in the middle of lakes, which are impossible to find except by a special entrance which is only opened on New Year’s Day. Everything in these gardens is sacred and removal of even the most trivial of items, such as a flower, leads to the permanent closure of the garden, except to the Gwragedd Annwn. Now, these precious few secret gardens serve as moderately powerful freeholds, but those which still exist are difficult in the extreme to enter, having long been left by their faerie denizens.

It is said of Gwragedd Annwn who take mortals for partners that if they should be struck three times causelessly, they must leave their partner, never to be seen by them again, and to Gwragedd Annwn, this is as strong as the most powerful oath. Gwragedd Annwn have contrary reactions to most collective emotions; they might cry and lament at a wedding, or laugh and sing at a funeral. These unusual feelings must be learned to be dealt with if the kithain is to get along in ordinary society.”  http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/dataweaver/play/changeling/gwargeddannwn.html

Gwyllion:  “The Gwyllion is a mythological creature from Wales. Even though these elfish creatures are mostly harmless you should always invite them into your house and treat them well, because if you don’t, it may result in destruction. The female faerie is very hideous and its only job is to cause travelers to become lost. Many times they just bother you or possibly frighten you by sitting on either side of a mountain path and following the traveler with their eyes. These ladies usually like on mountain trails, but if the weather becomes bad they resort to going to the valley. If you do happen to be threatened by a Gwyllion just take out a knife and point it directly at her. It is strongly recommend to have a knife handy if one plans on hiking in the night time, for this is there prime time for terror. Just beware next time you plan on going on any trails.”  http://www.pantheon.org/articles/g/gwyllion.html

08/21/12

King Edward I of England

“The English have a lot to answer for.”

One of my graduate professors said this in reference to Africa (and I in no way mean to absolve the US of what IT has to answer for), but I think of it now whenever I think of Edward I.

Because I’m a Welshophile.

At the same time, history should not judge the man by 21st century standards.  That said, Edward I should be remembered for the following, both ‘good’ and bad’:

1239:  born 17 June

1254:  married Eleanor of Castille (he was 15, she 9)

1265:  Defeated Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham

1270:  Joined the 9th crusade to the Holy Land

1274:  Returned to England to take up the throne (Henry III, his father, had died in 1272)

1275-1290:  Codified existing statues into a more cohesive system of law, some of which was based in the Magna Carta.

1277-1282:  War against the Welsh

The official web site of the British monarchy says:  “Llywelyn maintained that the rights of his principality were ‘entirely separate from the rights’ of England; he did not attend Edward’s coronation and refused to do homage. Finally, in 1277 Edward decided to fight Llywelyn ‘as a rebel and disturber of the peace’, and quickly defeated him. War broke out again in 1282 when Llywelyn joined his brother David in rebellion.

Edward’s determination, military experience and skilful use of ships brought from England for deployment along the North Welsh coast, drove Llywelyn back into the mountains of North Wales. The death of Llywelyn in a chance battle in 1282 and the subsequent execution of his brother David effectively ended attempts at Welsh independence.”  Ha.

1283:  Hanged, drew, and quartered Prince Dafydd ap Gruffydd in Shrewsbury, first man of standing to die in such a fashion, thus ending all hopes of an independent Wales (see above).

1290:  Expelled the Jews from England (http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/its-all-about-money/)

1296:  Began war with Scotland

1305:  Hanged, drew, and quartered William Wallace in London

1307:  Died 7 July

Another pro-Edward page says:  “Edward’s character found accurate evaluation by Sir Richard Baker, in A Chronicle of the Kings of England: He had in him the two wisdoms, not often found in any, single; both together, seldom or never: an ability of judgement in himself, and a readiness to hear the judgement of others. He was not easily provoked into passion, but once in passion, not easily appeased, as was seen by his dealing with the Scots; towards whom he showed at first patience, and at last severity. If he be censured for his many taxations, he may be justified by his well bestowing them; for never prince laid out his money to more honour of himself, or good of his kingdom.”  http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon30.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_I_of_England

http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/ThePlantagenets/EdwardILongshanks.aspx

08/19/12

Medicinal Herbs in Wales

Most plants and herbs used as medicines can cause harm when taken in excess or used inappropriately (see Medieval Poisons), but a whole host of plants were employed for medicinal purposes during the Dark and Middle Ages in Wales.

“Medical activity in Wales has a long history:  although no primary sources now exist it seems likely that at the time of Hippocrates, around 430 BC, the laws of Dynwal Moelmud acknowledged and protected the art of medicine in Wales.  It is possible to ascertain with greater certainty the contribution to medicine made in the tenth century by the Welsh King, Hywel Dda (c. 890 – 950AD) when he drew up the code of laws which were to be used in Wales until the time of Edward I.  The physician was an important member of the household: his remuneration was clearly described but he also had considerable responsibilities:

‘…he is to administer medicine gratuitously to all within the palace, and to the chief of the household; and he is to have nothing from them but their bloody clothes … he is never to leave the palace, but with the King’s permission’.”  http://www.gatewaygardenstrust.org/fe/master.asp?n1=164&n2=352&n3=374

In particular, the Myddfai, a rural area in eastern Carmarthenshire with rugged mountains, fertile dales, rivers and steep wooded valleys which has become famous for its physicians.  “One of the earliest of these was Rhiwallon of Myddfai, physician to Rhys Gryg, Lord of Dinefwr and Llandovery in the thirteenth century, under whose patronage Rhiwallon made a collection of medicinal remedies. These are remarkable for the care which was taken to write down the quantities and methods of preparation involved for each treatment and because they form the earliest written records of plant remedies in Wales. These are to be found in the Red Book of Hergest.”  http://www.gatewaygardenstrust.org/fe/master.asp?n1=164&n2=352&n3=374

As an example, with fevers:  “The mugwort, madder, meadow sweet, milfoil, hemp, red cabbage, and the tutsan, all these seven herbs enter into the composition of the medicine required.  Whosoever obtains them all, will not languish long from a wounded lung, or need fear for his life. Any of the following herbs may be added thereto, butcher’s broom, agrimony, tutsan, dwarf elder, amphibious persicaria, centaury, round birth wort, field scabious, pepper mint, daisy, knap weed, roots of the red nettle, crake berry, St. John’s wort, privet, wood betony, the roots of the yellow goat’s beard, heath, water avens, woodruff, leaves of the earth nut, agrimony, wormwood, the bastard balm, small burdock, and the orpine.”  http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/meddigion_myddfai.html

Some common medicinal herbs from 1000 years ago are:

Agrimony:  “Agrimony stops bleeding of all sorts . . . It helps relieve pain too, and has a long tradition as a wound herb as well as for treating liver, digestive and urinary tract problems.”

Calendula (pot marigold):  “Calendula has a long history of use as a wound-healing and skin-soothing botanical. This lovely marigoldlike flower (although called pot marigold, it is not a true marigold) is considered a vulnerary agent, a substance that promotes healing. Calendula also has anti-inflammatory and weak antimicrobial activity. It is most often used topically for lacerations, abrasions, and skin infections; less commonly, it is used internally to heal inflamed and infected mucous membranes.”

Comfrey:  “Comfrey’s old name of knitbone refers to its strong healing action for broken bones. It will also knit flesh together, speeding the healing of wounds. Applied as a poultice or ointment, it can be used to treat bruises, dislocations and sprains.”

Moss:  S. cymbifolium has been used for centuries to dress wounds and aid healing.  ”A Gaelic Chronicle of 1014 relates that the wounded in the battle of Clontarf ‘stuffed their wounds with moss,’ and the Highlanders after Flodden stanched their bleeding wounds by filling them with bog moss and soft grass.”

St. John’s Wort:  “St. John’s wort has been intensively researched. It contains hypericin, the source of its antidepressive action. It also contains antiviral compounds and immune-boosting chemicals, known as flavonoids, that explain its action against viral, bacterial, and fungal infections.”

Violet:  “Their use in medicine dates back 2500 years.  In fact, some herbalists feel that the health benefits of the violet (Viola odorata) are such as to make its physical beauty of secondary importance.  Medicinally, is an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient, expectorant, laxative, and may also be anti-tumor.”

Willowherb:  “The small-flowered willowherbs are a specific remedy for prostate problems, including benign prostate hyperplasia (BHP). Plants in this informal group help shrink the tissues, arrest cell proliferation and normalise urinary function.  Small-flowered willowherbs are also effective for a wide range of bladder and urinary problems, for women as well as men, with the astringent and diuretic action serving to tone and detoxify the urinary tract.”  http://www.hedgerowmedicine.com/?herb=Willowherb

08/16/12

The Fall of Rome

The coming of the ‘Dark Ages’ was predicated on the fall of Rome.  Rome had dominated Europe (and parts of Africa and Asia) for nearly 800 years when Alaric, a Visigoth, sacked it.  According to the excellent documentary, The Dark Ages (available on Netflix here), Alaric had served in the Imperial forces until passed over for a promotion, at which point, he took his cause directly to the City of Rome.  He and his men then camped outside the walls in 408 AD, cutting off all food and succor to the city, for two years, until in 410 the citizens opened the gates.  That Rome no longer had the military resources to relieve the city in all that time indicates the extent of its decline.

Read a great description of the 40-year lead-up to the sacking here:  http://www.mmdtkw.org/VAlaric.html

The story continues:  “Late in 407, Alaric again appears to have allied himself with Rome to participate in Stilicho’s projected expedition to the far borders of the Eastern Empire. Some modern historians interpret this as a Stilicho plan to get the Visigoths as far away as possible from northern Italy, but other events intervened. [Read about Stilicho here]

Everyone knew that “those horrible northern barbarians” had caused most of Rome’s troubles, and “anti-blond” racism and discrimination became rampant in the Western Empire. Wives and children of some Visigoth soldiers, officers, and noblemen, who until then had been faithful to Rome, were murdered in Italian-led pogroms. Visigoths fled en masse to Alaric’s protection, making Alaric’s forces all the stronger. Only Stilicho could save the day.

Stilicho, ever the realist, went to the Senate and asked for money to buy off Alaric. The Senate responded with anti-Visigoth polemics and personal attacks on Stilicho. Hadn’t he purposely allowed Alaric’s repeated escapes? And weren’t Stilicho and Alaric even now planning joint conquests in the east? Why was Stilicho trying to enrich Alaric? Wasn’t Stilicho half barbarian himself? (True.) Why should Rome pay tribute to blond, blue-eyed Barbarians — even if they had an overwhelmingly superior force?

And in Ravenna, Stilicho’s rivals in the Court of Honorius (now removed to the north) were busy convincing Honorius that Stilicho was plotting a coup that would put Stilicho’s own son, Eucherius, on the Imperial throne. Honorius, who had never been noted for his mental acuity, believed the story and signed a warrant for Stilicho’s arrest. It was served on Stilicho in a churchyard in Ravenna. With his troops far away and with popular sentiment turning against him, he took sanctuary in the church. He came out again after receiving assurances of a trial after which he would keep his head. But the local commander had lied and Stilicho was decapitated without trial on August 22, 408 AD.

So now we have a greatly expanded (and very angry) Visigoth army on the loose in Italy, and the only Roman general capable of opposing them is headless in Ravenna. The predictable result was that a few months later Alaric’s long siege of Rome began. The Senate now offered to buy off the Visigoths with gold, silver, and food, the last of which, of course, would have to be provided from outside Rome, probably by Honorius. Alaric withdrew for a while after receiving the Senate promises (and some gold and silver), but Honorius, well fed in Ravenna, was not susceptible to the pleas of the starving (some accounts say eventually cannibalistic) Romans. All deals fell through, and Alaric renewed the siege. Finally, on August 24, 410, someone opened the Salaria Gate (now the Pincian Gate at the end of Via Venetto), and Alaric’s Visigoths poured through.”  http://www.mmdtkw.org/VAlaric.html

The consequences for Britain were profound.  It is in 410 AD, in fact, that the Roman legions leave Britain undefended.  This is the entry for Gildas (a 6th century British cleric) and Zosimus (a Bytanzine historian from Constantinople, writing 491-518 AD):

410   Gildas

From Britain

    envoys set out with their complaints … to beg help from the Romans. … The Romans … informed our country that they could not go on being bothered with such troublesome expeditions … for the sake of wandering thieves who had no taste for war. Rather, the Britons should stand alone, get used to arms, fight bravely, and defend with all their powers their land, property, wives, children, and, more importantly, their life and liberty.  …  they should not hold out to them for the chaining hands that held no arms, but hands equipped with shields, swords and lances, ready for the kill. This was the Romans’ advice.

Zosimus

When Alaric (the leader of the Visigoths) neither gained peace on the terms he proposed nor received any hostages, he again attacked Rome … and finally captured it. … Honorius sent letters to the cities of Britain, urging them to fend for themselves.

http://www.cit.griffith.edu.au/~s285238/DECB/DECBbestest.html

The following years in Britain were marked by near constant warfare, plague, and a flight from the cities.

08/14/12

The Third Crusade

In 1188, Gerald of Wales travelled through Wales as part of Archbishop Baldwin’s tour, the purpose of which was specifically to find recruits for the Third Crusade.  He wrote both his Journey through Wales and On the Education of a Monarch as part of his devotion to the Crusade ideal.   http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/whatson/?event_id=3923

Here is the link to the map:  http://www.medievaltymes.com/courtyard/images/crusades/third/third_crusade_route_map.jpg

The Third Crusade ”was led by Frederick I Barbarossa of Germany, Philip II Augustus of France and Richard I the Lionheart of England . . . all of whom were experienced military leaders, although Philip and Richard were already at odds before the crusade began. The crusaders travelled by two separate routes. Barbarossa marched overland from Germany, leaving in the spring of 1189. His march was one of the best organised of any crusade . . . but late in the summer Frederick was drowned, and after that the German force fell apart – only 1,000 of the 30,000 who had left Germany reached Acre late in 1190 where they joined the crusaders already engaged in the siege of Acre (1189-1191). Philip and Richard both travelled by sea, spending the winter of 1190-1 on Sicily, where their relationship suffered even more.

When spring came in 1191, Philip sailed straight to Acre to join the siege, while Richard stopped to conquer Cyprus, which gave him a secure base. He arrived at Acre on 8 June 1191, taking control of the siege, and only four days later (12 July), Acre surrendered, ending a two year siege. Soon after this, Philip returned to France, where he began to plot the conquest of Richard’s French lands, breaking the convention that one did not attack the lands of a crusader. Meanwhile, Richard took control of the crusading army, now 50,000 strong, and in August began to march down the coast. Richard managed to create one of the best organised of crusader armies, and marched slowly down the coast, keeping his troops free, and denying Saladin any chance to pick away at the crusading army. Finally, Saladin set up an ambush (battle of Arsouf, 7 September 1191), but Richard had a pre-prepared plan to deal with this, and when it was put in place, the Turks were routed. Saladin never again risked a direct attack on Richard. The crusaders wintered at Ascalon, and in 1192 marched on Jerusalem. However, Saladin used a scorched earth strategy, and denied supplies of water and fodder Richard had to abandon his plans to besiege the city. However, he was able to negotiate a treaty with Saladin, which gave Christian pilgrims special rights in Jerusalem. Both Richard and Saladin emerged from the Third Crusade with enhanced reputations, Saladin as the best of the infidels, and a honourable enemy, Richard as one of the great generals, and as a heroic knight.”  http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_crusade3rd.html

Gerald narrates in his first chapter on the Archbishop’s success and female perfidity in turning aside a noble intention:  “The archbishop proceeded to Radnor, on Ash Wednesday (Caput Jejunii), accompanied by Ranulph de Glanville, privy counsellor and justiciary of the whole kingdom, and there met Rhys,  son of Gruffydd, prince of South Wales, and many other noble personages of those parts; where a sermon being preached by the archbishop, upon the subject of the Crusades, and explained to the Welsh by an interpreter, the author of this Itinerary, impelled by the urgent importunity and promises of the king, and the persuasions of the archbishop and the justiciary, arose the first, and falling down at the feet of the holy man, devoutly took the sign of the cross.

His example was instantly followed by Peter, bishop of St. David’s,a monk of the abbey of Cluny, and then by Eineon, son of Eineon Clyd,prince of Elvenia, and many other persons. Eineon rising up, said to Rhys, whose daughter he had married, “My father and lord! with your permission I hasten to revenge the injury offered to the great father of all.” Rhys himself was so fully determined upon the holy peregrination, as soon as the archbishop should enter his territories on his return, that for nearly fifteen days he was employed with great solicitude in making the necessary preparations for so distant a journey; till his wife, and, according to the common vicious licence of the country, his relation in the fourth degree, Guendolena, (Gwenllian), daughter of Madoc, prince of Powys, by female artifices diverted him wholly from his noble purpose; since, as Solomon says, “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.”

As Rhys before his departure was conversing with his friends concerning the things he had heard, a distinguished young man of his family, by name Gruffydd, and who afterwards took the cross, is said thus to have answered: ‘What man of spirit can refuse to undertake this journey, since, amongst all imaginable inconveniences, nothing worse can happen to any one than to return.’”  http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Cambrensis_Tour&c_id=3&cpub_id=0

In his writings, Gerald claims that the Archbishop recruited 3000 men to travel to the Holy Land.  http://www.freewebs.com/llanddew/

08/12/12

The First Crusade

The Crusades, Christendom’s attempts to win back the Holy Land and Jerusalem, began in 1095 with the First Crusade.  The Muslims had taken Jerusalem in 1076.

Pope Urban incited the Christians of Medieval Europe with the words: ”Christians, hasten to help your brothers in the East, for they are being attacked. Arm for the rescue of Jerusalem under your captain Christ. Wear his cross as your badge. If you are killed your sins will be pardoned.”

The Crusaders had to follow an overland route to Constantinople, where they gathered in preparation for moving south to Palestine. By 1097, after a brutal journey to reach it, nearly 10,000 people had gathered in Constantinople.  http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cru2.htm

The Crusaders encountered little resistance for the most part, and reached Jerusalem by June 7, 1099.  They began their attack on the 13th, and by the 17th, had slaughtered every Muslim in the city.  They established the Kingdom of Jerusalem and held it for nearly 100 years.

By 1187, however, “Saladin had enough of broken treaties, renegade Crusader Princes’ (see Reginald of Chatillon) attacking Arab caravans and the harassment of his people. Saladin’s army started a march on Jerusalem. His army met up with King Guy [de Lusignon] at the Horns of Hattin on July 4th, 1187. Guy was poorly advised. He was greatly outnumbered but he attacked, and after a long, bloody battle, was taken prisoner. Balian of Ibelin was also captured at this time, but begged permission to return to Jerusalem to look after his ailing wife, the former wife of Amaury. Saladin wasn’t heartless, and allowed Balian to go.

Balian arrived in Jerusalem to find chaos. He placed himself in charge, as he was the highest ranking officer. He then proceeded to fortify the city in preparation for a possible siege. Saladin arrived at the Mount of Olives on September 26th. Balian held the city till September 30th, when he and Saladin finally agreed to come to terms and Balian surrendered the city to Saladin. The Crusaders left the city of Jerusalem, their capitol, to the armies of Saladin, thirty days later.”  http://www.medievalcrusades.com/kingsofjerusalem.htm

An associated aspect of the Crusades was the attack on European Jews along on the way.  One account of a massacre in Germany reads:  ”As soon as the enemy came into the courtyard they found some of the very pious there with our brilliant master, Isaac ben Moses. He stretched out his neck, and his head they cut off first. The others, wrapped by their fringed praying­shawls, sat by themselves in the courtyard, eager to do the will of their Creator. They did not care to flee into the chamber to save themselves for this temporal life, but out of love they received upon themselves the sentence of God. The enemy showered stones and arrows upon them, but they did not care to flee, and [Esther 9:5] “with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter, and destruction” the foe killed all of those whom they found there. When those in the chambers saw the deed of these righteous ones, how the enemy had already come upon them, they then cried out, all of them: “There is nothing better than for us to offer our lives as a sacrifice.” [The outnumbered Jews had no chance to win: Emico is reported to have had about 12,000 men.]

The women there girded their loins with strength and slew their sons and their daughters and then themselves. Many men, too, plucked up courage and killed their wives, their sons, their infants. The tender and delicate mother slaughtered the babe she had played with, all of them, men and women arose and slaughtered one another. The maidens and the young brides and grooms looked out of the Windows and in a loud voice cried: ‘Look and see, O our God, what we do for the sanctification of Thy great name in order not to exchange you for a hanged and crucified one….’”  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1096jews-mainz.html

08/9/12

Forest Laws in the Middle Ages

One of the hallmarks of the feudal system that William of Normandy imposed on England after 1066 were laws.  In the case of forest laws, Norman law superseded the prior Anglo-Saxon laws in which rights to the forest (not necessarily just woods, but also heath, moorland, and wetlands) were not exclusive to the king or nobles, but were shared among the people.  Feudal forest laws, in contrast, were harsh, forbidding not only the hunting of game with in the forest, but even the cutting of wood or the collection of fallen timber, berries, or anything growing within the forest.

The New Forest was set aside by King William in 1079 as his right, primarily for hunting deer.  “‘Forest’” in a medieval sense was a legally defined area  . . . where the “beasts of the chase” (deer & wild pig) and their food were protected for the pleasure of the monarch. It was not necessarily a wooded area in the modern meaning – nearly half the New Forest is open heath, grassland and bog.

The laws enacted to preserve the deer for the royal pleasure were the Forest Laws. The odious penalties of Forest Law for interference with the king’s deer and its food (“browse”) became less severe over the centuries, but remnants of the legal structure that policed the area for the Crown are still present in the New Forest as the Verderers’ Court.”  http://www.newforest.hampshire.org.uk/introduction.html

The height of enforcement of the forest laws were the 12th and 13th centuries, where up to 1/3 of England, including whole counties, were subject to them.   The king subsequently  charged a fee for certain uses of the forest, bringing him substantial income, which he increased by setting aside more expansive tracts of land.

Wales was never conquered by William and was thus not subject to this change in husbandry.  The people of Wales also were not Anglo-Saxon, and held to the laws of Hywel Dda, codified around 950 AD.  These laws were extensive and are considered by historians to be ‘laws of the people’, lacking stress on royal power, as opposed to the Anglo-Norman ‘laws of the King’ which were imposed by the state.

Forest laws in Wales, then, only existed in respect to the infringement upon the right of ownership by one landowner to another.  And unlike the English kings, the princes of Wales did not claim all the land in their country for themselves, which they then parceled out to those who pleased them.

The English forest laws, on the other hand, ”were set up to protect the beasts of the chase and their habitats including  the vert. They precluded poaching and taking wood from the forest. The punishments for breaking these laws were severe and ranged from fines to, in the most severe cases, death.

Because of these forest laws the local peasants who lived on the land faced severe restrictions on their lifestyles. They were banned from enclosing their land by fencing or other means as this restricted the hunt. The forest laws were therefore extremely unpopular with the local population, who were unable to continue in their way of life that had existed up until the Norman rule. They were not allowed to protect their crops by fencing, they could not use the timber from the woodland for building houses and they were not allowed to hunt game to provide food for their families. As the ‘underwood’ was also protected they also faced a severe restriction on the availability of fuel.”  http://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/history1-forweb.pdf