The Death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
?? It has been over 700 years since the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd on 11 December 1282. J. Beverley Smith writes: “Intimations of treachery, of breach of faith, are so often conveyed darkly, and no chronicle, nor any other source, provides the unequivocal teestomny which might enable us to unravel the threads in the various accounts of the tragic happening in the vicinity of Builth. It was alleged at the time, or shortly afterwards, in the most explicit statement we have, that the prince’s decision to venture into the area was influenced by one of the sons of his old adversary, Roger Mortimer. The Hagnaby chroinicler, an important source for the events of the day on which Llywelyn died, was quite definite: Roger Mortimer, he says, but, more correctly, his brother Edmund Mortimer, drew the prince there by Read more…
Strata Florida Abbey
Strata Florida Abbey was an order sponsored by Lord Rhys of Deheubarth and was always a strong supporter of the native Welsh Princes. One of the Chronicles of the Prices (not the Red Book of Hergest, but the more complete one which includes the events of 1282), was possibly written here. “The site of a 12th century Cistercian Abbey, Strata Florida is situated in the hills above the Ceredigion town of Tregaron and has been shaped by both human and natural influences. As the Ice Age ended, the retreating glacier widened the valley and left behind ridges known as moraines. Over the last 12,000 years, Tregaron Bog (Cors Caron) has formed in the lake created by one of the moraines and within the bog, scientists have found pollen evidence to help them piece together the site’s dynamic history. Extensive clearance Read more…
The Brothers Gwynedd
Once there were four brothers: Owain, Llywelyn, Rhodri, and Dafydd … The Brothers Gwynedd were born during the last fifty years of Welsh independence, sons of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, and grandsons of Llywelyn Fawr, the great ruler of Wales. For more information about Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and his rule of Wales, as well as the difficulties posed by the Norman encroachments, see: 11 December 1282 Arwystli The Battle of the Menai Straits Betrayal in the Belfry of Bangor Biography of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Cymerau Dafydd ap Gruffydd Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Wales (d. 1246) The Death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Eleanor (Elinor) de Montfort Family Tree of the Royal House of Wales Gwynedd after 1282 Historiography of the Welsh Conquest King Edward I of England Medieval Planned Communities Memo to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd’s Staff The Rising of 1256 Senana, Read more…
Criccieth Castle
Criccieth Castle was built by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn Fawr) before 1239. “Apparently, Criccieth’s castle was built at the beginning of the 13th century, a rather late date for initiating a castle at a particular site in Wales. The earliest mention of a stronghold on the craggy outcrop is to be found in the Welsh chronicles, the Brut y Tywysogyon, in the year 1239, when Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (son of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, or “the Great”) was imprisoned in the castle by his half-brother, Dafydd. Most likely, Llywelyn the Great began the stone fortress just a few years before his sons’ quarrel.” http://www.castlewales.com/criccth.html Llywelyn kept Gruffydd here and then upon Llywelyn’s death, so did Dafydd, Llywelyn’s son and Gruffydd’s half-brother. Gruffydd was transferred to the Tower of London as part of a deal with the King of England, as a Read more…
Dolwyddelan Castle
The site of Dolwyddelan Castle has been on a major thoroughfare through Wales for millenia. Before the present castle was built by Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn ap Iorwerth) early in the 13th century, an older castle sat on a knoll on the valley floor below it. http://www.castlewales.com/dolw.html Before that castle, a major Roman road through Snowdonia passed just to the east, connecting Tomen y Mur with the small fort of Bryn y Gefeilliau and the larger fort of Canovium (Caerhun). (See Roman Roads: https://www.sarahwoodbury.com/roman-roads/) and the Sarn Helen (named also for Elan, the wife of Macsen Wledig or Magnus Maximus, emperor of Rome). https://www.sarahwoodbury.com/sarn-helen/ The present Dolwyddelan Castle has been heavily restored, in keeping with it’s position as the birthplace of Llywelyn Fawr, even if that even really occured a quarter of a mile southeast of the present castle. The newer Read more…
Rhuddlan Castle (s)
Rhuddlan Castle was begun by Edward I in 1277, immediately after he defeated Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. In fact, Llywelyn made his submission to Edward in the bailey of the old castle, after which Edward immediately had it torn down. “Rhuddlan first appears in recorded history in the last years of the eighth century, when there was no town of Rhyl and the shore road from Prestatyn to Abergele did not exist. Instead, the Clwyd and the marshes off its estuary, now reclaimed and drained and cultivated, formed a natural barrier athwart the coastal approach to the mountainous heart of North Wales. The settlement of Rhuddlan is likely to have owed its origin to the presence at this point, from very early times, of the lowest fording-place on the river, from which a track led across the marsh to Vaynol Read more…
The Pillar of Eliseg
The Pillar of Eliseg is a 9th century tribute to Eliseg, a king of Powys. “The first mentioning is an indirect one: the Brut y Tywysogion mentions that the Abbey of Valle Crucis was founded in A.D. 1200 ‘near the old cross in Yale‘. This so-called fragmentary free-standing pillar-cross stands in a field overlooking the ruined Valle Crucis Abbey (SJ 2142), a few miles from Llangollen in Clywd (former Denbighshire), en route to Horse-Shoe Pass. … The Pillar inspired the name Valle Crucis (Valley of the Cross). It was once erected by Cyngen, Prince of Powys for his great-grandfather Elise or Eliseg. The cross was defaced, thrown down and broken by Cromwell’s troops in the 17th century, hence the ‘pillar-shape’ now. This pillar stands on a large artificial mound where it was re-erected in 1779. At that time the mound Read more…
Denbigh Castle
The present Denbigh Castle was built by Edward I after 1282 as a way to control the Welsh populace he’d just defeated. The castle was built on the site of a Llys (or seat) of the Welsh Princes dating back several hundred years. Building the new Norman Castle on this site was a deliberate attempt to project the power of the King of England. “Along with over half a mile of town walls, Denbigh Castle is a classic fortress of Edwardian proportions. Edward I’s successful 13th-century campaign in the region was cemented by the creation of an English borough in Denbigh from 1282 onwards. He simply built on top of what was a traditional Welsh stronghold. In so doing, he made sure all traces of Dafydd ap Gruffudd, the previous unlucky incumbent, were removed for ever. Henry de Lacy, one Read more…
The History of Chester
The City of Chester is the first stop of our Wales Odyssey! We began with a tour of the walls, which were begun when the city was called ‘Deva’, and fortified by the Romans. “The Roman military presence at Chester probably began with a fort or marching camp at the mouth of the Deva Fluvius (River Dee) very likely established during the early campaigns of governor Publius Ostorius Scapula against the Deceangi in north-east Wales sometime around AD47/48. There is some evidence of pre-Flavian occupation, possibly even a timber-built fort, but proof positive of a Scapulan foundation has yet to emerge. After the first tentative forays of Scapula, the next military activity in the area was conducted during the early administration of governor Sextus Julius Frontinus sometime around AD74 when an auxiliary fort was constructed at Chester. The placement of this fort was a strategic move by Frontinus Read more…
SeaTac Airport — 24 May 2012
We’ve made it as far as SeaTac … now sitting through a few hours while we wait for our flight to Manchester, via Iceland!
The Trip to Wales Is Upon Us!
Tomorrow! We leave tomorrow! We don’t arrive in the UK until the 25th because of the nature of the flights and time zones, but … can’t wait! From May 24th to June 6th, my husband and I will be traveling through Wales, feasting our eyes on what I haven’t been able to see in far too many years. We will be spending time mostly in the north, where my books are predominantly set. Our itinerary is so extensive, we haven’t a hope of seeing everything on it, if we are to sleep at all, but we’re going to try. If anyone has any suggestions as to what we have to see if we can, please leave a comment! Here’s our map for what we are going to see in North Wales: View 2012 Tour of Wales in a larger map. If Read more…
Guest Post from Athanasios, cover artist and author
You are both a cover artist and an author. Does one art inform the other? Only with my own covers. My own knowledge of the subject matter makes my own covers for Mad Gods, Commitment, I Am Eternal or any of the Predatory Ethics series richer with symbolism and content. I’ve been working as a graphic artist for half my life so the visual comes much easier than the literary. Graphics, from broadcast for video or television, web for online viewing or print, is my bread and butter. I’m very comfortable in it. Writing is getting easier but still doesn’t come as easily as graphics does. How did you get started designing covers? A friend from IWU got me started after I gave my opinion once too many times to indie writers who wanted their covers critiqued. My points were Read more…
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