The Welsh Marches (The Anarchy 1120-1180 Book 15)
Page 27
Sauve qui peut – Every man for himself (French)
Serengford- Shellingford Oxfordshire
Sergeant-a leader of a company of men at arms
Striguil- Chepstow (Gwent)
Surcoat- a tunic worn over mail or armour
Sumpter- pack horse
Theophany- the feast which is on the 6th of January
Ventail – a piece of mail which covered the neck and the lower face Al-Andalus- Spain
Wulfestun- Wolviston (Durham)
Maps and Illustrations
Henry’s Empire in 1154.
By Reigen - Own work. Sources : Image: France 1154 Eng.jpg by Lotroo under copyleftfrance_1154_1184.jpg from the Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1911., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37306574
Chinon Castle
The Welsh Kingdoms prior to the Norman invasion of 1066
Source: File: Medieval Wales.JPG - https://en.wikipedia.org
Wales in 1234
Source: File: Wales 1234 (Marchia Wallie and Pura Wallia). svg - https://en.wikipedia.org
The Green is the land ruled by the Kings of Wales. The brown is the land ruled by the Welsh Marcher lords.
Chepstow Castle (1825) known in 1156 as Striguil
Twthill Castle
By Andrei nacu at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Gpedro. Mason (2001), p. 128. Valeria Victrix was based at Deva Victrix., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3575904
Historical Notes
Alfraed is not a real person. He is based upon a number of people, most notably William Marshal. The title of Earl marshal was a real one. Earl Marshal (alternatively Marschal, Marischal or Marshall) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England. He is the eighth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Constable and above the Lord High Admiral. The Earl Marshal has among his responsibilities the organisation of major ceremonial state occasions like the monarch's coronation in Westminster Abbey and state funerals. He is also a leading officer of arms and oversees the College of Arms.
Source: Earl Marshal - https://en.wikipedia.org
The March of Wales in the Middle Ages
Immediately after the Norman Conquest, King William of England installed three of his most trusted confidants, Hugh d'Avranches, Roger de Montgomerie, and William Fitz Osbern, as Earls of Chester, Shrewsbury and Hereford respectively, with responsibilities for containing and subduing the Welsh. The process took a century and was never permanently effective. The term "March of Wales" was first used in the Domesday Book of 1086. Over the next four centuries, Norman lords established mostly small marcher lordships between the Dee and Severn, and further west. Military adventurers went to Wales from Normandy and elsewhere and after raiding an area of Wales, then fortified it and granted land to some of their supporters. One example was Bernard de Neufmarché, responsible for conquering and pacifying the Welsh kingdom of Brycheiniog. The precise dates and means of formation of the lordships varied, as did their size."
Source: Welsh Marches - https://en.wikipedia.org
Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd (often anglicised to "Griffith") (1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh Yr Arglwydd Rhys, although this title may have not been used in his lifetime. He usually used the title "Proprietary Prince of Deheubarth" or "Prince of South Wales", but two documents have been discovered in which he uses the title "Prince of Wales" or "Prince of the Welsh". Rhys was one of the most successful and powerful Welsh princes, and, after the death of Owain Gwynedd of Gwynedd in 1170, the dominant power in Wales."
In 1171 Rhys made peace with King Henry II and was confirmed in possession of his recent conquests as well as being named Justiciar of South Wales. He maintained good relations with King Henry until the latter's death in 1189. Following Henry's death Rhys revolted against Richard I and attacked the Norman lordships surrounding his territory, capturing a number of castles. In his later years Rhys had trouble keeping control of his sons, particularly Maelgwn and Gruffydd, who maintained a feud with each other. Rhys launched his last campaign against the Normans in 1196 and captured a number of castles. The following year he died unexpectedly and was buried in St David's Cathedral.
Source: Rhys ap Gruffydd - https://en.wikipedia.org
Geoffrey Fitz Empress did rebel and took refuge in Chinon. The siege of Chinon ended much as I describe it. Young William Fitz Empress did read Vegetius and devise the plan to break down the defenders’ resistance. The two other castles held by Geoffrey capitulated when Henry approached them. At the end of the siege, when Chinon surrendered, Henry gave Brittany, whose people had asked for Henry to appoint a leader, to Geoffrey. As he died a couple of years later it did not make much difference but I do not think that I would have been quite as forgiving. The ramp I mention is now enclosed by a wall on either side. There is also an extra gatehouse. The castle was a simpler structure in 1156. The tower you can see in the photograph below is the Tour de Moulin. The royal quarters are visible but these are the much later and grader apartments. In 1156 there would have been functional rather than grand. This was not yet Henry and Eleanor’s grand house.
Source: File: Château de Chinon vu de la Vienne.jpg - https://en.wikipedia.org
Henry and Eleanor had eight children. As they grew up, tensions over the future inheritance of the empire began to emerge, encouraged by Louis and his son King Philip II. In 1173 Henry's heir apparent, "Young Henry", rebelled in protest; he was joined by his brothers Richard and Geoffrey and by their mother, Eleanor. France, Scotland, Flanders, and Boulogne allied themselves with the rebels. The Great Revolt was only defeated by Henry's vigorous military action and talented local commanders, many of them "new men" appointed for their loyalty and administrative skills. Young Henry and Geoffrey revolted again in 1183, resulting in Young Henry's death. The Norman invasion of Ireland provided lands for his youngest son John, but Henry struggled to find ways to satisfy all his sons' desires for land and immediate power. Philip successfully played on Richard's fears that Henry would make John king, and a final rebellion broke out in 1189. Decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from a bleeding ulcer, Henry retreated to Chinon in Anjou, where he died.
Source: Henry II of England - https://en.wikipedia.org
The Bretons did ask Henry to choose their next Count and, despite all that he had done to him, Henry chose Geoffrey. He did not rule for long. He died two years after he was appointed Count. Brittany was then subsumed into Normandy and Anjou. William also died young, at the age of 27 but as his death influenced Henry’s rule I will leave those details for a later book! No plot spoilers.
Sieges at this time relied on starving to death the occupants. Wooden castles, the early motte and bailey, could be fired but a stone one with a good ditch could defeat most enemies. The ditches they used were copied from the Roman ones. Once an enemy was in a ditch it was almost impossible to retreat. The trebuchet was in its early stages of development and the onagers and other stone throwers had to be used close enough for them to be subject to archers. Rams were useful but they were not particularly robust and could be set on fire. They also needed a smooth surface. That was not common in the twelfth century. Chinon was unusual in that it had a ramp. Wooden towers were used at the siege of Ascalon and they were burned. The resulting inferno caused a breach and the Templars disobeyed the king to attack immediately. Their heads were displayed on Cairo’s walls. Sometimes the onager was called a mangonel. I have used the Roman name here.
Source: File: Roman Onager.jpg - https://en.wikipedia.org
Source: File: Battering ram.jpg - https://en.wikipedia.org
The ram used at Chinon would have been lower and covered in hides. This replica gives a rough idea of the construction.
Espe
cial thanks are due to Rich Sankovich. He allowed me to use his crossbow. I now understand how hard it is to fire one. The end is very heavy. You have to be kneeling or resting to use one. Its accuracy is also not as good as that of a bow despite the mechanical nature of the beast. Pulling back the cord to fire it is also a challenge. I would defy anyone to send more than a couple of bolts in a four-minute period. I am also indebted to the Essex re-enactors who told me of a competition held between muskets and war bows. Even tap firing the muskets (apparently an unsafe procedure) the war bow sent more arrows further and at a greater rate than the musket. Wellington, it is alleged, wondered about having a battalion of archers!
The leaders and kings were, in the main real people. William de Beauchamp was the Sherriff of both Hereford and Gloucester. I have changed some of the dates slightly to make a tighter novel- this is fiction but the events concerning King Henry really happened. In North Wales, he barely escaped with his life. His cousin did die when his knights disobeyed their orders. The story will continue for the Scots have yet to be brought to heel. Of course, that may well involve his son William. The saga is of a family and not a man.
Books used in the research:
The Varangian Guard- 988-1453 Raffael D’Amato
Saxon Viking and Norman- Terence Wise
The Walls of Constantinople AD 324-1453-Stephen Turnbull
Byzantine Armies- 886-1118- Ian Heath
The Age of Charlemagne-David Nicolle
The Normans- David Nicolle
Norman Knight AD 950-1204- Christopher Gravett
The Norman Conquest of the North- William A Kappelle
The Knight in History- Francis Gies
The Norman Achievement- Richard F Cassady
Knights- Constance Brittain Bouchard
Knight Templar 1120-1312 -Helen Nicholson
Feudal England: Historical Studies on the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries- J. H. Round
Armies of the Crusades- Helen Nicholson
Knight of Outremer 1187- 1344 - David Nicholle
Crusader Castles in the Holy Land- David Nicholle
The Crusades- David Nicholle
The Times Atlas of World History
Old Series Ordnance Survey Maps #93 Middlesbrough
Old Series Ordnance Survey Maps #81 Alnwick and Morpeth
For those who like authentic maps the last two maps are part of a series now available. They are the first Government produced maps of the British Isles. Great Britain, apart from the larger conurbations, was the same as it had been 800 years earlier.
I also discovered a good website http://orbis.stanford.edu/ . This allows a reader to plot any two places in the Roman world and if you input the mode of transport you wish to use and the time of year it will calculate how long it would take you to travel the route. I have used it for all of my books up to the eighteenth century as the transportation system was roughly the same. The Romans would have been quicker!
Griff Hosker
July 2017
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