The Battle of Cymerau
The fortunes of the Welsh ebbed and flowed in the 13th century, but between 1255 (the Battle of Bryn Derwin when Llywelyn defeated his brothers, Dafydd and Owain) and 1277, they were on the rise. One of the first important battles was that of Cymerau. In September of 1256, Stephen Bauzan, Prince Edward’s officer in south-west Wales, brought a substantial force of men to Ystrad Tywi, located in the northern portion of Deheubarth at the base of the Cambrian Mountains. Thus, on the eve of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd’s advance into Perfeddwlad, a force was arraigned against Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg, the Welsh lord of those lands. Llywelyn and Maredudd, eyeing each other with mutual concern about their own power and authority, struck an alliance, and perhaps this is the true impetus for Llywelyn’s foray east of the Conwy River. After Read more…
Owain Gwynedd’s birthday
When was Owain Gwynedd born? Here’s the truth: no idea. Okay, that’s not entirely true. Like Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, nobody seems to have recorded the date Owain Gwynedd was born, or even the year. This is fine as far as it goes, because we can make some general estimates. The problem arises when the birthdays for his many, many children haven’t been recorded either. Nor his siblings. Nor the dates of his marriages. My go-to-guide, John Davies History of Wales doesn’t discuss birthdays or ages, probably because he knows it’s fraught with difficulties, but many web sources try. For example, here’s one huge root of the problem, the Wikipedia entry, citing a book by John Edward Lloyd A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest (Longmans, Green & Co.) written in 1911. This has Owain born c. 1100, Read more…
Medieval Swords and Armor were NOT heavy!
That medieval swords and armor were ‘heavy’ is one of the strangest misconceptions of medieval life. These people’s LIVES depended on their agility and ability to survive a fight. Why would they be wielding 20 pound swords and wearing armor so heavy if they fell of their horse, they’d find themselves as helpless as upturned turtles? One reason for the confusion comes from the fact that ornamental swords and armor that remain to us often ARE heavier than ones used in battle, secondly, the sport of ‘fencing’ has greatly confused people as to what sword fighting really entailed (the purpose of fencing is to poke your opponent with the tip; the purpose of sword fighting is to get your opponent on the ground and shove your 2 lb. sword through his midsection to kill him), and thirdly, that in the Read more…
The Triumph of Medieval Propaganda
Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his History of the Kings of Britain back in the 12th century as a triumph of medieval propaganda. It was at the behest of Robert of Gloucester, his patron, that he claims to have transcribed/copied/invented his history, placing King Arthur at the center of a national–and by that I mean English–origin myth. The idea was to justify the conquest of Britain by the Normans as a mirror to what King Arthur had done in the 5th century, including crossing the English Channel from Normandy to Britain. Children’s author Phillip Womack (author of The Other Book and The Liberators) said in the Times Online: “As inhabitants of these islands, we don’t have many myths that bring us together, but King Arthur is one. I think that we will always seek him as a saviour, whatever situation we’re Read more…
King Stephen
King Stephen’s reign was full of turmoil because of the conflict between him and King Henry’s daughter, Maud (Matilda). Both claimed the throne of England and tore the country apart trying to get it. Maud was supported by her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, who couldn’t claim the throne because he was a bastard. Otherwise, he was the richest and most powerful man in England behind Stephen. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has a very lengthy entry on the time of King Stephen, and (in fact) ends with his death in 1154. The Chronicle describes the brutality of events and reads, in part: “When King Stephen came to England, he held his council at Oxford; where he seized the Bishop Roger of Sarum, and Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, and the chancellor Roger, his nephew; and threw all into prison till they gave up their castles. When the Read more…
Empress Maud (Matilda)
Maud was the eldest, legitimate daughter of Henry I of England. Her major claim to fame is that she warred for 19 years with Stephen of Blois, her cousin (both were grandchildren of William the Conqueror), for the throne of England. This period of English history is known as ‘The Anarchy’. Maud resolved to take this path after the death of her brother, Henry, who went down with the White Ship in 1120 AD. His death left King Henry with no legitimate sons (and up to twenty illegitimate ones). In English law, illegitimate sons could not inherit, which left only Maud to take the throne. While Henry was still alive, he tried very hard to get the barons to swear they would follow Maud. Afterwards … Stephen felt that as a legitimate male, even if descended through his mother, Adela, Read more…
Murder and Mayhem in the Early Middle Ages
It is common knowledge among anyone who’s spent time wandering the history of Wales that murder and mayhem among the ruling families for power was common. David Walker (Medieval Wales, 1990) writes: “Early entries in the Welsh Annales are brief in the extreme, but there are hints of ugly deeds. In 814, Griffri ap Cyngen was slain by the treachery of his brother; in 904, Merfyn ap Rhodri of Gwynedd was killed by his own men; in 969 Ieuaf ab Idwal of Gwynedd was seized by his brother Iago and imprisoned; in 974, Meurig ab Idwal was blinded” (p. 6). He further points to the book Courtier’s Trifles by Walter Map, who satirized the reign of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (1039-63 AD), who ruled all of Wales from 1055 until his death. He writes: “I name Hywel, whom you caused to be Read more…
The Medieval Gait
Recently, a reader posted a link to a video positing that people in the Middle Ages walked differently than people do now. http://digg.com/video/walking-different-medieval-times They did this because of the idea that most medieval footwear didn’t include hard soles, so walking toe to heel instead of heel to toe allowed a person to negotiate hazards better. The author references medieval images of people with their toes pointed out, like a ballet dancer now, and particularly points to manuals about warfare. This idea has been shared all over the internet this month, and being interested in medieval things, I wanted to know if I’ve been thinking about medieval people all wrong. I also decided to write about it because my first instinct was to think this theory is absurd, but if I’m wrong, I want to know it. What Roland Warzecha doesn’t delve into, Read more…
Shades of Time Map (spoilers!)
This is a map that shows the locations in Shades of Time in the After Cilmeri series! Thanks to my geographer husband for making it!
Aber Castle (Garth Celyn)
????? Aber Garth Celyn was one of the most important palaces of the Kings of Gwynedd, dating back possibly as far as the fifth century. The current village has two medieval sites. The first is the remains of a medieval tower, known locally as ‘Llywelyn’s Tower’, which is all that remains of the royal palace of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last native ruler of Wales. In addition, within the village proper is a motte dating to the time of Robert of Rhuddlan (d. 1093), a Norman who built a string of motte and bailey castles across Gwynedd in an attempt to solidify Norman gains in Wales during the 11th century. Aber Garth Celyn was the seat of the Princes of Wales since Aberffraw and Deganwy were destroyed sometime in the early middle ages. With the fall of the Royal Read more…
Eleanor (Elinor) de Montfort
Eleanor (Elinor in Welsh) de Montfort (1252-1282) was the wife of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last Prince of Wales. She was the daughter of Simon de Montfort, who was killed in the Battle of Evesham by the forces of Edward I when she was only thirteen. Her mother, Eleanor of Leicester, was the youngest daughter of King John of England and his wife, Isabella of Angouleme. Interestingly, that made Elinor’s mother and Joanna, Princess of Wales and the wife of Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn ap Gruffydd’s grandfather), half-sisters. Joanna had been born in 1191. After Simon de Montfort’s death, Elinor and her mother) found refuge at the Dominican nunnery of Monargis in France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan,_Lady_of_Wales J. Beverely Smith writes: “Llywelyn’s decision to marry Simon de Montfort’s daughter was revealed in dramatic circumstances at the end of 1275. Eleanor was travelling from France Read more…
Llys Rhosyr (Palace of the Princes)
? Llys Rhosyr is the only excavated palace of the Welsh princes in Wales. A llys (the term used for a high status Welsh secular site) stood at Rhosyr on Anglesey, and was excavated by the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust. At least three major buildings have been found, in addition to other ancillary structures; a well preserved perimeter wall also exists. Llys Rhosyr, in particular, was a royal court of the native kings and princes of Wales, perhaps for centuries. Before Gwynedd was conquered by the English, the kingdom was divided into 22 administrative areas, each housing a royal township. One of these was known to have existed at Rhosyr. According to Neil Johnstone, the archaeologist who discovered it: “There can only be one high-status dwelling on the royal estate, and it belonged to the Prince”. After the death of Llywelyn Read more…
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