Castell Dinas
“Castell Dinas” in Welsh means “City Castle”, making the name in a way reflective of what is known about the place–which is not much! That said, the castle was once an impressive edifice, so the name is in no way a reflection of its worth, at least at one time. Though attributed to the Normans, the castle is situated much more like a Welsh castle, as it is located on the top of a hill, with wide views of the surrounding countryside. In fact, the castle is notable for being the highest castle in Wales! It seems to have been built to defend the Rhiangoll pass between Talgarth and Crickhowell. The site was originally an iron age hillfort, which makes sense given its location, and was originally occupied by native Britons between 600 BC and 50 AD. The stone castle Read more…
The Origins of Saxon England
In recent years there has been some controversy regarding the origins of Saxon England. From the evidence of the written record, the dominance of the English language, and the distribution of Saxon place-names across the landscape, the assumption throughout most of history was that it came about through a series of invasions. However, in some contemporary scholarship, the use of the word ‘invasion’ or even ‘migration’ has fallen out of favor. Not only is it posited that there was no Saxon invasion at all–justified in part by the fact that we have found no massive battlefields–but that there was not even a migration. The Saxon conquest was, rather, a cultural takeover where the native British people remained living in all the same places throughout Britain, but gave up their language, culture, religion, traditions, and place names in order to adopt Read more…
Castles of the Welsh Princes
Today I’m going to be talking about the castles of the Welsh kings and princes of Gwynedd. The kingdoms of Wales existed as separate entities long before the arrival of the Normans in 1066. In those days however the Welsh did not build castles so much as administrative centers. Today these are known as llys which means ‘palace’. Only one, Llys Rhosyr on the island of Anglesey, has been excavated. Thus, while the rulers of the different kingdoms did lead armies against each other they were not based on Castle defenses. When the Welsh did build defensive structures, they tended to continue the iron age tradition of building forts, hence the word ‘caer’ which is in so many Welsh place names. These forts were built on high ground, and usually built out of wood rather than stone. A perfect example Read more…
Welsh Resistance in South Wales
The theme of this video is Welsh Resistance in South Wales. Deheubarth was a kingdom in South and West Wales, one of several along with Gwent and Morgannwg. It was one of the major kingdoms during the age of Welsh independence, beginning with the ascension of Hywel Dda in 934. While certain scholars claim that Deheuabarth was conquered by the Normans in 1093, after which the Welsh were ‘allowed’ to hold certain lands only, that isn’t a perspective that would necessarily be shared by the Welsh themselves. With the coming of the Normans, the subsequent centuries were characterized by conflict. The power of the Kings of Deheubarth, like in Powys and Gwynedd, ebbed and flowed over the decades, in large part depending upon the skills of the leader at the time and the resolve of the Normans they opposed. Starting Read more…
The Lords of Chepstow
This video focuses on two sites in South Wales established by the Lords of Chepstow: Chepstow Castle and Tintern Abbey Chepstow Castle was begun in 1067 by the first Earl of Hereford, William Fitz Osbern, who was a close friend of William the conqueror. As you can see by the early date at which the first motte and bailey castle was begun, Chepstow was seen as a crucial early castle for control of the March. It is located on the western, or Welsh, bank of the Wye River, and thus for hundreds of years gave the Normans a foothold in Wales. Crucially, though it is in Wales, it can be supplied from the river in the event of a siege. Subsequent Lords of Chepstow included William Marshal, the Earl of Pembroke and Roger Bigod, the Earl of Norfolk, each of Read more…
Llansteffan Castle
Llansteffan is located on the south coast of Wales, It was built by the Normans as part of their conquest of South Wales. The site itself has been occupied since the Iron Age, since it provides commanding views of the Tywi estuary. Even today the original earthwork fortifications can still be seen, and they were incorporated into the defenses of the later Norman construction. As it exists today, the castle is very much a ruin, consisting of a curtain wall and towers, all dating to the 12th and 13th centuries. After the Normans completed their conquest of Wales, it fell into ruin and by 1367 was what Wikipedia describes as “a poor state”. I was excited to visit the castle because some of the people who fought over the castle, both Norman and Welsh, appear in my Gareth and Gwen Read more…
Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd
Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd was born sometime around 1100 AD, the youngest daughter of Gruffydd ap Cynan, the King of Gwynedd, and his wife Angharad. She was born at Aberffraw, which was one of the major seats of the Gwynedd kings in the middle ages. Somewhere after the age 13, Gruffydd ap Rhys, the King of Deheubarth, came on a diplomatic mission to Gwynedd. Despite the age difference, she and Gruffydd fell in love and eloped! There’s obviously a significant story there about which we know nothing more. Gwenllian was Gruffydd’s second wife, so she became stepmother to Anarawd and Cadell, both of whom became Kings of Deheubarth after their father’s death in 1137. Gwenllian herself had at least seven children with Gruffydd. Throughout Gwenllian’s marriage to Gruffydd, the Welsh of Deheubarth were struggling to hold back the Norman conquest of Read more…
The Church of the Holy Cross at Mwnt
The Church of the Holy Cross, or in Welsh, Eglwys y Grog, is an ancient church at Mwnt, and is an example of a medieval sailor’s “Chapel of Ease”–meaning it was built to allow sailors to attend service without having to walk all the way to Mwnt. It is located at a secluded cove in Ceredigion. The church was established during the Age of Saints although it is not credited to a specific saint. The name comes from a cross which was built on the heights above the church as a landmark that could be seen a great distance from land or sea, and it was known as a stopping point for pilgrims traveling north to Bardsey Island and south to St. Davids. In addition, according to legend, a contingent of Flemings–men from Flanders, brought in by the Norman Read more…
Holt Castle
Holt Castle is located in the town of Holt, near Wrexham on the Welsh-English border. It is a medieval castle, begun in 1277 as part of King Edward’s initial conquest of Wales. It wasn’t completed until 1311. Although King Edward began the work at Holt, in 1282, after the final conquest of Wales, he presented the castle to John de Warenne, one of his most loyal vassals. Warenne pledged to complete both the castle and the adjacent town, which would be exclusively for English settlers. The castle was known in the middle ages as ‘Lyons Castle’ because of the lion carved into the stonework above the main gate. The only sizable part of Holt Castle that remains are masonry features perched on the top of its sandstone base. These include the lower walls of the inner keep, the postern gate, Read more…
Prestatyn Roman Bath
The Prestatyn Roman Bath lies five miles north of the main Roman road that ran east to west across north Wales, starting at Chester. The baths were built as an adjunct to the Roman administrative complex that oversaw the region’s lead mining industry. It was also home to the 20th legion. A settlement had been located at Prestatyn before the arrival of the Romans, as evidenced by bronze working, round houses, and an infant burial dating to 30 BC. Roman attributes have been found from 70 AD, and the village continued to be occupied through the 4th century. Today, the baths are the only remains of the ancient settlement, the rest of the site having been covered over or destroyed by a housing development. The bathhouse was built around 120 AD and expanded in 150 AD with the addition of Read more…
Caerhun (Canovium)
Canovium is located on the Conwy River, at what is known now as Caerhun. It was a Roman fort built to guard the northernmost ford across the Conwy River. The road associated with this ford ran from Holyhead to Llanfaes, across the Menai Strait via the Lafan Sands, to Garth Celyn (Aber), and then over the Bwlch y Ddeufaen to Caerhun and points east. Rather than build a brand new road, the Romans improved this ancient pathway. (And we have made videos of many of these places) The fort was originally built around 75 AD in timber, to house upwards of 500 men. The fort was rebuilt in stone in the 2nd century and acted as the Roman administrative headquarters in this area. In addition to a headquarters building, granaries, and barracks, the fort also included a bathhouse outside the Read more…
About The Last Pendragon
The ‘Dark Ages’—the era in which The Last Pendragon is set—were ‘dark’ only because we lack historical material about the period between 407 AD, when the Romans marched away from Britain, and 1066, when William of Normandy conquered England. For Wales, the time was no more or less bright than any other. The relative peace the Romans brought was predicated on the brutal subjugation of the British people. When the Romans left, the Britons faced the Irish from the west, the Scots from the northwest, the Picts from the northeast and ‘Saxons’ (who were Angles and Jutes too, not just ‘Saxons’) from the east. To a certain degree, it was just more of the same. The Britons had their lands back—the whole expanse of what is now Wales and England—for about five minutes. It does seem that a ruler named Read more…
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