The Succession (1170 AD) in Gwynedd
1170 AD was a tough year in Gwynedd. It was the year Owain Gwynedd died and as is often the case with a strong king, his death brings about a vacuum waiting to be filled with intrigue and fratricide. Because his brother, Rhun, had already died, Hwyel ap Owain Gwynedd, the second son, was the eldest surviving son. Unfortunately for Hywel, Owain had a lot of sons and the contention among them at their father’s death was fierce. While the tradition in Wales, under Welsh law at the time, was to split the kingdom among all the surviving sons, in practice, this rarely happened amicably. Hywel, although beloved of his father and his choice to succeed him, did not survive 1170, as he was killed by two of his younger brothers, Dafydd and Rhodri, who conspired against all of their Read more…
Ewloe Castle
Very little is known about Ewloe Castle, other than it appears to have been built by Llywelyn ap Gruffydd to counter the English fortresses in eastern Gwynedd of Hawarden and Flint. It was built in a hollow beneath a field, that actually set on a small hill overlooking two creeks: the Wepre and the New Inn Brook. “Ewloe castle rises at northwest of the town of Hawarden and is one of the symbols of the brief triumph of the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Last that began its construction in 1257 after the reconquest of this part of Wales. Of all the native castles in North Wales Ewloe is the only with a non spectacular setting. It stands on a promontory overlooking the junction of two streams but is overwhelmed by higher ground at south. Its position, near the English border, Read more…
Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort led a rebellion, successful for a time, against King Henry III of England, and paid the ultimate price at the battle of Evesham, falling in defeat to the forces of Edward (at the time, Prince of England). “Simon de Montfort was born in France in about 1208. His father was a large landowner, but when he died he left his land to Simon’s older brother Amaury. The de Montfort family had owned land in England in the past and Amaury suggested that Montfort should visit Henry III in to see if the land could be reclaimed. Montfort arrived in England in 1230. Henry liked Simon, was sympathetic to his claim and gave him back his family lands. The king also agreed that Montfort should become the new earl of Leicester. In return, Montfort promised to pay a fee Read more…
King Offa of Mercia
Offa of Mercia ruled much of England from 757 AD to 29 July 796. He was known primarily to history as the man who built–or organized the building of–‘Offa’s Dyke’ the earthenwork wall that stretches the length of the border between England and Wales. Unfortunately, though we know the dates of his rule, some of what happened before and after, and the wars we fought, we know little of Offa as a man. The date that he ruled is very exact for that time period because of the wall and the history surrounding it. He was buried in Bedford and succeeded by his son, Ecgfrith, whom Offa had consecrated as his heir before his death. “According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Ecgfrith died after a reign of only 141 days. A letter written by Alcuin in 797 to a Mercian ealdorman Read more…
The Kingdoms of France
You might ask, and reasonably so, why a blog about medieval Wales would be posting about the kingdoms of France in the Middle Ages. The main reason is that it’s hard to understand the Norman conquest of England (and Wales and Scotland), without reference to the fact that they were Norman. That means, they came from the Kingdom of Normandy, a region on the north coast of France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Aquitaine ‘France’ wasn’t ‘France’ as we know it today until after the Edwardian period. As the map dating from 1154 to the right shows, the King of France controlled a relatively small portion of the country. Edward I was the Duke of Aquitaine, whose lands are comparable in size to what the King of France held. The dispute of the control of France and these kingdoms, in fact, was one of the Read more…
The Fourth Horseman released!
I am so excited to share with you my third Gareth and Gwen medieval mystery, The Fourth Horseman! It is available now at all Amazon stores and Smashwords. Coming soon to other venues. May 1144. Newly wedded, Gareth and Gwen travel across the border into England on a diplomatic mission with Prince Hywel of Wales. Within moments of their arrival, however, the mission goes awry and a murder case drops (literally) at their feet. Hindered at every turn by a climate of civil war and constantly shifting political alliances, Gareth and Gwen race to solve the murder and expose a plot that threatens not only their lives, but the life of the future King of England himself. Murder, intrigue, and treachery take center stage in The Fourth Horseman, the third Gareth and Gwen medieval mystery. The Fourth Horseman is also currently available at Amazon Read more…
How did the potato get to Ireland?
One of those anachronisms that can trip up an author of medieval fiction is the nature of medieval food. In particular, the potato, a ubiquitous British food these days, comes from the “New World” and didn’t arrive in Britain until after the Spanish conquest. “The potato was carried on to Italy and England about 1585, to Belgium and Germany by 1587, to Austria about 1588, and to France around 1600. Wherever the potato was introduced, it was considered weird, poisonous, and downright evil. In France and elsewhere, the potato was accused of causing not only leprosy, but also syphilis, narcosis, scronfula, early death, sterillity, and rampant sexuality, and of destroying the soil where it grew. There was so much opposition to the potato that an edict was made in the town of Besancon, France stating: “In view of the fact Read more…
Eryri (Snowdonia)
Snowdonia, or Eryri in Welsh, refers to the mountainous region of North Wales, historically located within the Kingdom of Gwynedd. The mountains themselves are dominated by the highest peak, ‘Snowdon’ or Yr Wyddfa in Welsh, at 3560 feet (1100m). Snowdonia is bounded by the Conwy River to the east and by the Irish Sea and the Menai Strait to the west and north. It includes numerous mountain ranges, extending south to Cadair Idris. This mountainous region consists of high peaks and upland valleys that are green oases amidst the rugged terrain. They are ideal for grazing and were home for millenia to the Welsh herds of sheep and cattle. Among the native Welsh, Snowdonia, and Snowdon itself, have a special significance–even seen by some as sacred–for millenia. This word, Eryri, dates to at least the ninth century, when it Read more…
We’re all descended from Charlemagne … and related to each other.
Charlemagne, or ‘Charles the Great’, was the ruler of what is now France in the early Middle Ages. He had 18 children by 10 different wives and concubines. His children then went on to populate Europe, which is why it is a truism that everyone with European ancestry is descended from Charlemagne. At one point, I overheard a waitress telling one of her tables that her brother had told her she was descended from Charlemagne. I did not say, “we all are”. From the Guardian: “If you’re vaguely of European extraction, you are also the fruits of Charlemagne’s prodigious loins. A fecund ruler, he sired at least 18 children by motley wives and concubines, including Charles the Younger, Pippin the Hunchback, Drogo of Metz, Hruodrud, Ruodhaid, and not forgetting Hugh. This is merely a numbers game. You have two parents, Read more…
St Derfel and the Stag
In a nutshell, St. Derfel was a Welsh saint who started out as a warrior in King Arthur’s court (right there we have a problem in the assumption that King Arthur was real, but moving on …). Late in life, he took up his vocation as an itinerant preacher, spreading the Word throughout Wales and establishing churches and ultimately being buried beside his fellow saints, to the incredible number of 20,000 (again, that can’t be right). I started out thinking that the carving of the stag, his totem, essentially, and all that remains of his mission, was one of the most obscure pieces of Welsh history possible to find, but after reading some more, there’s a lot more to this story. “For most of Europe, the really important thing was to have a bit of the saint’s actual body. But Read more…
Wales and Scotland: War, Rebellion, and Edward I
Edward had his eyes on Wales for thirty years, ever since Llywelyn ap Gruffydd’s forces had swept through his lands (held custodially by Edward’s parents and guardians) in 1256. (see my post: https://sarahwoodbury.com/the-rising-of-1256/) Llywelyn’s army marched all the way to Deheubarth that summer and fall, and set the stage of Llywelyn’s twenty year supremacy in Wales. However, it wasn’t until 1267 that Edward’s father, Henry III, acknowledged Llywelyn as the Prince of Wales, a title he inherited from his grandfather–and another ten years after that before things fell apart for the Welsh prince. http://www.castlewales.com/llywel2.html Edward participated in the Ninth Crusade (see my post: https://sarahwoodbury.com/the-ninth-crusade/) and despite the fact that his father died in 1272, he didn’t return to England until 1274, at which point he immediately turned a covetous eye on Wales. Why Wales instead of Scotland? It seems likely Read more…
European Invasions
The European invasions into Britain took place over many hundreds of years. Different groups moved from one location to another. Sometimes, the purpose was conquest, sometimes raiding, and sometimes it involved a quest for a better life and the intent was to settle, rather than conquer, new lands. But usually somebody was already there. The map at right show the paths of various groups from Roman times to through the Middle Ages. After the sack of Rome in 410 (see my post here: https://sarahwoodbury.com/the-fall-of-rome/) tribes were on the move all through Europe: Angles/Saxons/Jutes: These three groups derived from Denmark and Germany. “Following the departure of the Romans in A.D.410 and after the sacking of Rome, Britain was left unprotected. The distant dominions frantic call to Rome went unheard. Mutiny spread through the ranks of the British defenders remaining who were Read more…
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