The Welsh Marches (The Anarchy 1120-1180 Book 15)

by Hosker, Griff

  “Thank you for telling me and you have answered my other questions. When we reach King Henry I intend to use you to our advantage. Your knowledge can be a weapon we use against this Welsh king who supported the murderer of your wife.”

  He gave a thin smile. “Then I may be able to sleep at night!”

  The King was at Chester. I found him and his commanders seated around a table before the fire. They were drinking and feeling sorry for themselves. Matilda, the Countess had kept the castle as a refuge for the King. After his rout, he and his army had fled to the ancient castle. Owain Gwynedd would not be able to reduce it.

  The King was shaken. I could see that his confidence had been dented. However, his face brightened when we swept into the hall. “I am pleased you have come Alfraed! We had our noses bloodied.”

  I threw off my cloak and sat with him before the fire, “Tell me all, majesty.”

  “I was heading for the castle at Twthill when we were stopped by the Welsh who waited for us at Rhuddlan. I sent my men to outflank the Welsh but they were ambushed. The ambush was then reversed and we were outflanked. Had not Roger of Hereford rescued me then I would have perished.”

  Coming north Sir Richard le Breton told me that the King had sent his fleet to attack Anglesey.

  “And the fleet?”

  Henry shook his head, “They disobeyed my orders, Alfraed! They pillaged. The locals boarded the ships and there was great slaughter.”

  “Then the commander must be punished!”

  “Too late, it was my cousin Henry Fitz Roy. He died in the attack.”

  This was a disaster of immense proportions. It was almost as bad as the Earl of Gloucester’s defeat at Winchester. I had to be positive. I wracked my mind for a solution. “All is not lost, your majesty. We strike now and we strike quickly. The Welsh king will think that you will view this as the end of your ambitions. We will show him that it is not. We attack now.”

  King Madog ap Maredudd, King of Powys, said, “Are you mad, Earl Marshal? We have been knocked about. Those Welsh archers cut us to ribbons!”

  I turned on him, “I managed to defeat King Maredudd and his Welsh archers. What happened to your archers, your majesty? Did they run too.”

  King Henry said, “Is that any way to speak to a king?”

  “Aye your majesty, when it was that King’s invitation which led to the defeat in the first place. If you had not come north then this would not have happened. We have retaken the Welsh marches.”

  I had raised my voice but my words must have struck home for the King of Powys subsided. “We have fifty or sixty archers who remain.”

  “Then they will do. Give the order your majesty.”

  He looked uncertain. “This land is not like Normandy or Anjou where we fought. This land fights back. It is a savage land and does not suit heavy horses.”

  I said slowly, “I beg you, give the order, your majesty.”

  He looked at me. My eyes pleaded with my son. If he withdrew then the Welsh would see it as a weakness. The border would be as it had been in the Welsh marches. We could not allow that sort of anarchy. He nodded, “But only if you command.”

  “Of course.” I turned to the commanders. I want every knight, squire, man at arms and archer ready to march. We leave within the hour. The archers fight under my captain of archers.” The Countess had expensive candles marked out in hours and I went to the nearest one and held my dagger next to the mark.

  King Madog ap Maredudd asked, “And where do we go?”

  “I will tell you when we are on the road. If you were ambushed then there may be treachery. I know not whom we can trust. I keep our destination in my head. Now go, your majesties and prepare.”

  Maud came over and squeezed my arm, “I can see you have not changed Alfraed! The King looked like a shadow of his former self when he was brought here. Your arrival has worked already. What can I do for you?”

  “Have you maps?”

  She nodded, “Of course. Ranulf had many. I will get them for you.”

  I turned as she left and said, “James, fetch Rhodri. I need my archers.”

  When Maud returned I examined the maps. I spied hope. I saw what had made Henry do as he had done. He been tricked into the attack by the Welsh King. The Clwyd valley was where I had fought alongside the Earl of Gloucester. It would suit heavy horse. Henry had made the mistake of fighting on ground which suited the Welsh. He had tried to ambush in woods. I would not make that mistake. I quickly worked out how to trick the Welsh king.

  Rhodri arrived. “You know this land better than any. You know the back ways and the hidden ways. I need you to take our archers and ride towards Rhuddlan. I want you to find and kill the scouts of the Gwynedd army. I wish their king to be blind. When that is done I wish you to find their camp and make a nuisance of yourself.”

  “Nuisance, lord?”

  I smiled, “I would use my reputation to help us trick the enemy. Everyone knows of my archers. They have heard how I use night attacks to weaken their resolve. I want you to shower arrows into their camp, drive off horses. I want them to believe that we will attack them at Twthill again. Make them believe that you are many times the number we actually have.”

  He nodded and grinned, “And of course you will not attack at Twthill, lord.”

  “Precisely. Take an old surcoat and tear it. Let it fall close to their camp when you flee for I want none lost. Make them believe it is my men who come. You stay close by until they move towards the sea.”

  “I know not how you will conjure that, lord, but I know that you will. We leave immediately.”

  Once he had gone then I felt better. By the time I reached the main gate the army were ready. I saw that they had two hundred of the fyrd there too. “The fyrd stay here and guard the castle.” I pointed to the men at arms on the walls. “I want every warrior mounted. You men find horses! We ride!”

  The Earl of Hereford asked, “And the baggage train?”

  “We take none. Let your squires lead your warhorses and put a spear on the saddle. We move quickly!”

  I could see that my approach had made many of the knights uncomfortable. I did not care. King Henry smiled, “I will not leave you behind again, Earl Marshal. I have no idea what is in your head and I know you as well as any man. I am confident that the Welsh will have even less idea.”

  With my men at arms acting as scouts I did not head for the road to Buckley and Mold which led to the Clwyd Valley, instead I led them across the bridge and along the south bank of the Dee. No one questioned me and that suited my purposes. I was in no mood for questions. It was late afternoon and we had over thirty miles to go. We halted at the tiny port of Mostyn. It was just to water the horses at the fortified manor house there.

  King Henry asked me, “When do we camp?”

  “We do not. We ride through the night. We will be at the coast by dawn.”

  “I do not understand.”

  I led the young king to one side. “It is more than four days since your defeat, your majesty.” I saw him wince at my use of the word defeat but it had been a defeat and there was no point in trying to make light of it. “King Owain will be wondering what we are doing next. He will have spies and he will know that you have sent for me. His scouts will be seeking us. He would ambush you again. That is why we have come here for he will not expect it. My archers are making the King believe that our army, led by me, is attacking down the Clwyd. There are only eleven of them but they will make it appear as though it is Dick with all of my archers. They will use their horses to move from place to place and attack the Welsh. I want him to look up the valley. When dawn breaks he will see us across his line of retreat to Anglesey. The ground between Hulle and Rhuddlan is flat. It suits heavy horse.”

  “Why could you not confide in the others?”

  “Because I do not trust them. You were ambushed. You are a good leader and a clever general. You were betrayed and I will discover who it was.”

  By the time we re
ached Prestetone it was coming close to dawn. Hulle was at the mouth of the Clwyd. We would rest there and then, when dawn broke fully, we would head towards Rhuddlan. I knew that my archers would already be occupying the Welsh.

  I was weary by the time dawn broke. I was getting too old for night rides. The knights all switched to war horses and we prepared to move towards Rhuddlan. The castle of Twthill lay further up the valley from the town. Our appearance would threaten the King’s most valuable town in the area. If Rhuddlan fell then he would be trapped.

  The land was flatter and we rode up the valley in a column of knights and men at arms ten wide. We could break into a double line very quickly. The twenty mounted archers we had brought along with the forty Welsh archers were on our flanks. They were all dismounted. The Welsh ponies had been left in Hulle. I had personally given them their orders. They were to use the higher ground on our left flank and make sure that no archers came close to us. Our right flank was protected by the river.

  I spied the royal standard flying from Twthill above the town of Rhuddlan. Our appearance caused great consternation. The burghers of Rhuddlan ran towards the tiny castle. I heard horns and so I gave orders to move into a double line of horsemen. We all had spears. The Welsh would outnumber us but they would be men wearing little armour and with few horses. I surveyed the ground. There was little in the way of obstacles before us. We kept moving as we deployed. I saw the first of the Welsh knights gallop towards us. There were only fifty or so and were not a threat. They formed a line a Roman mile away. We moved steadily. I did not mind how many men they gathered. We could not be outflanked. This would be a straight fight between Normans and Welsh. I knew who would win.

  More men flooded down the valley. Less than a quarter were mounted. I saw a figure I took to be the King marshalling his men. He was using his spears and his archers to guard his flanks. His block of horses was just seventy horsemen. He had them in a single line. We kept moving as more of the Welsh joined their lines. As our archers raced forward and began to rain arrows on their archers a duel ensued. We kept moving.

  When we were three hundred paces from them I stopped and waited until my men moved closely together. I had the knights from Powys on the two flanks. They would have to endure the arrows. I knew they would lose men but I wanted our best knights in the centre, led by me. That way we could break the Welsh horses quickly. I saw that the King and his standards were not in the line. That was a mistake.

  I raised my spear and every spear and standard was raised at the same time, “For King Henry, the rightful lord of this land!”

  As I lowered my spear I spurred Warrior and we moved up the valley. The key to a good charge was to build up the speed steadily. If the enemy counter charged you then it could cause problems. However, if this enemy did counter charge us we would simply ride through them. We outnumbered them. It soon became apparent that they would not charge us. At least not until the last moment. Our hooves thundered. They made the ground vibrate. My spear rested on my cantle. I heard cries and shouts from the flanks as Welsh knights were felled by arrows but the one hundred knights and men at arms in the centre were untouched. When we were sixty paces from the enemy I spurred Warrior again. We began to gallop and I looked for the knight I would strike.

  When we were twenty paces from them the Welsh moved. They charged. The order had not been given but their nerve had broken. They could not endure to stand and be charged. It was too little and too late. My spear smashed across a shield and into the side of the knight to my left. I had switched target as the one I had intended to strike had been tardy in his movement. My spear ripped and tore through mail and into the knight’s arm. His shield dropped and Harry Lightfoot’s spear took him in the throat. To my right Arne Arneson had spurred his horse and his spear skewered the knight who had seen his chance to end the life of the Earl Marshal.

  We were through their line. It had been too thin. King Henry and his oathsworn knights had also broken through. We began to ascend the slope towards Twthill castle. I had no intention of storming the walls but so long as the Welsh did not retire behind them then I would attack. The King, his son and his household knights were taken by surprise at the ease with which we had broken through. His household knights galloped down the hill towards us. They were a ragged line. As I rammed my spear into the chest of the first knight I glanced to my right and saw King Henry’s spear pierce the throat of another. The knight I had speared grabbed my shaft and, as he fell to the ground tore it from my grasp. It fell to the ground and, spurring my horse drew my sword as I headed towards the King. Warrior was a powerful horse and he was close to the King in a few strides.

  Holding my sword at his chest I said, “Yield and surrender to King Henry or die!”

  His two sons, Dafydd ap Owain and Cynan ap Owain belatedly drew their swords and moved towards me. Arne Arneson used the haft of his spear to knock Dafydd to the ground while Roger of Bath used his sword to smash aside that of Cynan.

  “Do you wish your sons to die?”

  The King shook his head and threw down his sword. “I surrender! We will have terms!” His herald sounded the horn and all along the Welsh line men threw down their weapons. We had won.

  Epilogue

  I was present in Rhuddlan for the meeting of the two kings but I said nothing. I was there more as a threat. His two bruised sons glowered at me during the negotiations but each time I made a move, however innocent, they flinched. I was not named the wolf of the north for nothing. My archers had arrived soon after the battle had ended. One of Tomas ap Tomas’ men had been killed. He had been too slow to move. Rhodri told me that my plan had worked better than any of us could have hoped. Once the scouts had been slain they had closed with the three main camps. After slaying the sentries with daggers, they had launched arrows into the camp. Pandemonium had ensued. It had kept the Welsh eyes fixed in the wrong direction.

  King Owain’s voice was filled with resignation. “We will grant you the lands of Tegeingl and Rhuddlan and then we will have peace. All of our men will be returned, with the arms.”

  “I agree and our ships and men on Anglesey will also be returned to us.”

  “There will be no reparations.”

  King Henry nodded, “No reparations but know this King Owain, our ambitions are not ended with this battle.”

  “Next time we will be better prepared, King Henry.”

  As the two kings stood I saw King Henry lean forward. I was close enough to hear him say, “I have the Warlord on my side. Who fights for you?”

  The Welsh king was silenced and King Henry put his arm about my shoulder, “Come Earl Marshal. Once again you have come to my aid. What would I do without you?”

  I smiled, “Hopefully, your majesty, you will never have to.”

  Perhaps the Fates or the Norns were listening. Or maybe we were so close to the mountain the druids had worshipped, Wyddfa, that my words were seen as a challenge. Whatever the cause life was never easy again.

  The End

  Glossary

  Akolouthos – the leader of the Guard

  Aldeneby - Alston (Cumbria)

  Al-Andalus- Spain

  Angevin- the people of Anjou, mainly the ruling family

  Arthuret -Longtown in Cumbria (This is the Brythionic name)

  Battle- a formation in war (a modern battalion)

  Booth Castle – Bewcastle north of Hadrian’s Wall

  Bachelor knight- an unattached knight

  Banneret- a single knight

  Butts- targets for archers

  Cadge- the frame upon which hunting birds are carried (by a codger- hence the phrase old codger being the old man who carries the frame)

  Caerdyf- Cardiff

  Captain- a leader of archers

  Chausses - mail leggings. (They were separate- imagine lady's stockings!)

  Coningestun- Coniston

  Conroi- A group of knights fighting together. The smallest unit of the period

  Corebricg – Cor
bridge

  Cuneceastra- Chester-Le-Street

  Demesne- estate

  Destrier- war horse

  Doxy- prostitute

  Fissebourne- Fishburn County Durham

  Fess- a horizontal line in heraldry

  Galloglass- Irish mercenaries

  Gambeson- a padded tunic worn underneath mail. When worn by an archer they came to the waist. It was more of a quilted jacket but I have used the term freely

  Gonfanon- A standard used in medieval times (Also known as a Gonfalon in Italy)

  Hartness- the manor which became Hartlepool

  Hautwesel- Haltwhistle

  Hulle- Rhyl (North Wales)

  Liedeberge- Ledbury

  Lusitania- Portugal

  Mansio- staging houses along Roman Roads

  Maredudd ap Bleddyn- King of Powys

  Martinmas- 11th November

  Mêlée- a medieval fight between knights

  Moravians- the men of Moray

  Mormaer- A Scottish lord and leader

  Mummer- an actor from a medieval tableau

  Musselmen- Muslims

  Nithing- A man without honour (Saxon)

  Nomismata- a gold coin equivalent to an aureus

  Outremer- the kingdoms of the Holy Land

  Owain ap Gruffudd- Son of Gruffudd ap Cynan and King of Gwynedd from 1137

  Palfrey- a riding horse

  Poitevin- the language of Aquitaine

  Prestetone- Prestatyn- North Wales

  Pyx- a box containing a holy relic (Shakespeare’s Pax from Henry V)

  Refuge- a safe area for squires and captives (tournaments)