Llanfaglan (St. Baglan)
Baglan ap Dingad was a 6th century saint, whose church is located a few miles south of Caernarfon. Much of the church as seen today dates to the 18th century. The churchyard is circular, however, indicating the site was used for worship possibly even before St. Baglan established his church. Although many coastal churches were raided by vikings during the early medieval period, there is no record of it having happened to St Baglan’s. At one time St. Baglan’s was a center of community life, but modern times have isolated it and it no longer has a parish. The beautiful wooden interior furnishings date to the 18th century. Further evidence for St Baglan’s antiquity comes from several stones built into the fabric of the church itself. The inscription on the stone indicates it was the grave of someone named Lovernius. Read more…
The Prince of Wales
What is the actual origin of the Prince of Wales? With the death of Queen Elizabeth, and the ascension of Charles to the throne of England, Charles has designated his son, William, to replace him as the Prince of Wales. Readers of my books will be aware that the reason the Prince of Wales is the son of the English king is because, back in 1284, after King Edward I conquered Wales, he hauled his 8 month pregnant wife to Caernarfon so she could give birth to Edward II in his half-built castle there. Then in 1301 Edward gave this son the title, Prince of Wales. Ever since, the Prince of Wales has been the son of the English king. King Charles himself was invested as the Prince of Wales in 1969 at Caernarfon Castle. Though both Wikipedia and many Read more…
King Edward’s Planted Towns
Welcome to our video about King Edward’s planted towns in North Wales! Planted towns, which in modern words might be called planned towns or planned communities, have been in existence for millenia. The Romans were well known for establishing grid patterns in any new settlement they built, and their street system remains in many British towns. The Anglo-Saxons established planned towns, and as the middle ages progressed, lords and kings at times wanted to establish a town where there hadn’t been one before. The Normans called these bastides. They were usually created for economic purposes, and were designed for the mutual benefit of the king, the landowner, and the new townsfolk to provide an efficient way of marketing surplus food and other goods and supplying a newly established castle. The landowner would charge a rent for a building plot (a Read more…
King Edward and King Arthur
Both King Edward and King Arthur have been the topic of other videos. Today I wanted to put them together, specifically to talk about how the Normans, in a triumph of medieval propaganda, claimed King Arthur for themselves and King Edward, in particular, used the King Arthur legend to justify his conquest of Wales. Many historians don’t believe King Arthur ever existed, but medieval people were certain that he did. The first mentions of him are in Welsh sources, namely the Welsh bards Taliesin and Anieren, writing in the 6th and 7th centuries respectively. To them, Arthur was a late 5th century British war-leader, credited with holding back the Saxon advance for a generation. With the coming of the Normans, the story of this Welsh warlord, who might not even have been a king, was expanded and embellished (and outright Read more…
Conwy Castle
Conwy Castle was begun in March 1283 as part of Edward’s Iron Ring of Castles and mostly completed by 1289 to the tune of 15,000 pounds (over ten million today). The previous castle in the area was at Deganwy, which is visible from Conwy’s walls but was destroyed during the wars with King Henry and not rebuilt. Edward built the castle on the western side of the Conwy River as a foothold in the heart of Gwynedd in order to control an important river crossing. To build the castle and town Edward destroyed the monastery of Aberconwy, patronized by the Welsh princes. He also destroyed Llywelyn’s llys (palace). Like many castles of the iron ring, Conwy consisted of a castle and planted town of English settlers, all surrounded by massive stone walls with 8 great towers in a relatively compact Read more…
An Iron Ring of Castles
An Iron Ring of Castles is in many ways just like it sounds: a series of castles built around Wales to control the populace after the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last Prince of Wales. In the 1270s and 1280s primarily, Edward I began the construction of this ring. The castles were focused in the north, in Gwynedd, since that region had always been a hotbed of Welsh resistance and resentment of English authority, and it was there that he built some of the most impressive monuments to his victory. http://www.castlewales.com/edward1.html He began in the northeast with three castles: Hawarden, Flint, and Rhuddlan, all built before the 1282 war. Hawarden was the first castle attacked by Dafydd ap Gruffydd on Palm Sunday, 1282, when he started what became the final war with England. Edward began Flint in 1277, bringing Read more…
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