by Griff Hosker
“And none taken. The Prince and the Earl of Arundel will return after the winter with more men. Men cost coins and what is the point of paying men to sit behind a castle’s walls in the winter?”
“And yet that is what you will do.”
“True but I pay for my own men and I have an income.”
“But this is far from your home and even if the rebels won, your lands and manors would be safe. Why do you do this, lord?”
“For my King, my Prince and my country.” He nodded for he was a soldier and could understand such loyalty. “But are there other Welshmen such as you? Ones who would fight Glendower?”
“Aye, I have brought eight such with me but there are others. They are not all knights, lord.”
“Have you not noticed, Dafydd Gam, that I ride with men at arms and archers. I know the worth of those who are not noble-born.”
“Then I will find such men.” We had reached the small town of Grosmont. Dafydd waved his arm in a circle, “Here are loyal Welshmen for this is so close to England that they have family and ties to England that even Glyndŵr with his shallow promises of freedom cannot break.” He pointed to the castle. “That belongs to the Earl of Warwick but it is abandoned at the moment, lord. If it was manned then the border would be stronger.”
“Then I shall write to the Earl and ask him to garrison his castle for it has a good position and would deter the Welsh!”
We spent some time speaking with the men and they confirmed what Dafydd had said. As we rode back to Usk Castle I said, “They are isolated there, Dafydd, and I can see that if the Welsh came then the people of Grosmont would have to suffer great privations before help came.”
“And that is the problem all along this border, lord. Between Raglan Castle and Hereford there are many small, prosperous places and the rebels will attack one of them. I am just surprised that they have yet to do so.”
“That may well be because they were eliminating our castles south of Caernarfon. I think your assessment is right. When we have finished the improvements, I will institute some patrols. It will help my men to get to know the land in preparation for the Prince’s return.”
“And my men and I will accompany them.”
We had finished the castle’s defences by the end of November and I had sent a written message to the Earl of Warwick. I could do no more but I hoped he would heed my warning. All of us wished that we were going home to Weedon but each of us knew that we were the last line of defence against a determined Welsh attack; I had chosen my men well. I had brought both of my horses and I alternated Hawk and Hart as I rode not only along the border but also into rebel-held lands. I divided my men into two groups so that one half always had a day to rest between patrols. Edgar said that I was pushing myself too hard and I ought to rest too. Few captains would dare to question their lord but my men trusted me to respond reasonably.
“Edgar, when the Prince returns with Sir Thomas they will need someone who knows this land well. Dafydd is one such but the King charged me with helping his son and, in truth, I would rather be riding abroad than sitting in the castle and brooding about my family back in Weedon. An occupied mind is a healthy one.”
“Aye lord, but your wife grieves and if it was my wife…”
“But it is not and I know Lady Eleanor better than any. She is made of granite within. The sooner Wales is subdued then the sooner I can discharge my duty and return home.”
We had a quiet if frozen time over Christmas and into the start of January. When we were able, we rode abroad and when we could not, I fretted behind the walls of Usk Castle. The river never froze and that was a good thing. Our many horses gave us an advantage over the Welsh but a frozen river would allow men on foot passage across the river and into England. It was the end of January and I was leading my patrol along with Dafydd Gam and three of his men when trouble came. We had crossed the bridge into Wales as there had been a snowfall and I wished to see if there was any sign of warriors on the western side of the Usk. Snow caused problems but it also allowed us to see tracks much easier. We had just passed the village of Llanvair when we saw the tracks leading to the river. There were too many of them to be fishermen catching winter food. By my estimate, there were at least ten of them. They had not come from the village and Dafydd, who had spoken to the men in the village, assured me that they were not rebels. “They might not fight for the Prince but they will not fight against him either. They are the sort of men who just want to get on with their own lives which are perilous enough as it is.”
We spied the tracks on the eastern side of the river, close to an improvised raft, and I saw that they were headed to the tiny hamlet of Clytha. I took the decision. “We will swim our horses across. By my estimate, the river is but twenty paces across. We will be chilled but some mulled ale at the castle will warm us through.”
I saw trepidation on the face of Abelard. Horsemanship was a skill he was acquiring slowly and he had never yet swum a river. It was not hard and none of us wore plate. Indeed, only Dafydd and I wore mail.
“Harry, watch Abelard, eh?”
“Aye, father.”
We slipped into the water and I flicked my feet from my stirrups. The cold was a definite shock to the system but once I was wet it did not seem too bad. Hawk was my horse and he enjoyed swimming. The result was that I was the first to scramble ashore and I had the chance to confirm the direction the tracks had taken. Oliver the Bastard was the first to join me, “Wreck the raft. If we cannot find these insurgents then we can make it hard for them to get home!
“Aye, lord.”
Once it was wrecked and thrown into the icy waters we headed towards Clytha. We knew that they had reached the hamlet before we saw them for we heard the screams and the shouts. Clytha had just four houses but the folk there had cattle and pigs. I knew then that this was not part of the rebellion but a cattle raid. The pigs would be butchered and the cattle driven back to Wales.
I drew my sword and raised it. The rest emulated me and I put spurs to Hawk. As we galloped over the cleared fields the snow muffled our hooves and, nearing the hamlet I saw light reflecting from swords and weapons. That we had caught them so soon was fortunate for if we had not then I am convinced that the hamlet would have become a graveyard.
A Welsh voice shouted something and Dafydd, riding next to me, said, “We are seen, lord!”
“Spread out! If we can I want a prisoner but take no chances!”
As we neared the houses, I saw one body which had suffered a number of wounds and had bled out. From his clothes, I took him to be a farmer rather than a warrior. I saw that the Welsh, there were twelve of them, had decided that warriors on horseback were too much for them and they fled west towards the river. Hawk was the best horse and he soon caught up with the last of the warriors. Using the flat of my sword I smacked him on the back of his helmeted head. He landed heavily face down. Harry and Abelard, along with Dafydd, were close to me and five of the Welshmen, obviously braver than the others, turned and held their spears and swords towards us. That they had courage was never in doubt and they meant to slow us up to allow the others to escape. I brought my sword down to slice through the spearhead and into the forearm of one Welshman. My sword was sharp and I cut through to the bone. A poleaxe was swung at Abelard who caught it on his shield. His hand was still not fully healed and he tumbled from the saddle into the soft snow. Harry was ruthless and his sword hacked into the shoulder of the Welshman who screamed. Dafydd’s sword managed to skewer a Welshman in the eye but the last men ran towards Abelard who was groggily rising to his feet. I whirled Hawk and used his hooves to clatter into the back of one Welshman while Harry leaned from his saddle to lay open the back of the other.
My men were still chasing the other Welshmen and so we reined in. I went to the man whose arm I had laid open but he had bled to death. All five were dead. Harry helped Abelard back into the saddle.
“I am sorry, lord!”
“You had an injury to your l
eft hand. It is my fault for bringing you. Let us ride back to the one who I rendered unconscious.”
The man was still prostrate on the ground. Harry took his weapons and helmet from him and as the dented helmet was lifted, I saw that I had split his skull. He began to stir as it was removed and I dismounted, the better to speak with him. “Dafydd, if he cannot speak English then I will need you to translate.”
“Aye, lord.”
“Abelard, watch the horses.”
“Aye, lord.”
The man rose to his feet and he put his hand to the back of his head. He stared at the blood on his hand and then seemed to see the three of us with weapons pointing at him. “Where are you from?”
He spat something out and Dafydd backhanded him to the ground. “He said, Wales! You will get nothing from him. Better I slit his throat now!”
“Let us see. Ask him where is Glendower?”
The man laughed and a jabbering jumble of words poured forth. Welsh always sounded like someone was spitting to me. Dafydd said, “He said, not close enough for an Englishman to get him but Captain Rhys Gethin will come soon enough.”
I turned to Dafydd, “Who is that?”
“He was the standard-bearer of Glyndŵr but lately he is rumoured to be leading a warband of his own. This man seems to confirm it.”
“We will take him back with us.” My men had just begun to return and I said, “Captain Alan, go to the hamlet and see if they have any hurts which need tending. Tell them that the raiders are dead or fled and we will take this one back to the castle for further questioning.”
“Aye lord,”
“Harry, bind his hands behind him.”
I had two of Dafydd’s men ride behind the prisoner as we walked south to Usk. The river looped, twisted and turned so that sometimes we were a hundred paces from the edge and sometimes just a few paces. It was as we neared one such place that the Welsh rebel suddenly lurched into one of the horses of the men guarding him. The horse reared and the Welshman ran for the river. He hurled himself in. I do not know if he thought he could break his bonds and he was strong for he managed to reach the middle before I saw him begin to sink, dragged down by sodden clothes, the chilling water and the fact that he could not use his arms. When his head did not rise a fourth time, we knew that he was dead.
Dafydd was angry with his men but I pointed out that we would have learned little else from the rebel. “I doubt that he would have told us where the rebel base is in any case. My guess is that they are close and needed food. This is a warning and has justified my patrols. Some of Glendower’s men will have escaped back to tell him that we patrol and it may well be that we are enough to deter raids.”
Dafydd nodded, “But not an attack!”
“Aye, not an attack and if an attack comes then it will be with more than a dozen men armed with crude weapons. It will be with an army.”
It was the only time we saw any insurgents and as February drew to a close so reinforcements arrived in the area. The first was the Earl of Warwick who brought a garrison for Grosmont Castle. Sir John Talbot brought some well-needed men at arms and archers to swell our garrison and also news that the Earl of Arundel was back in Worcester and that Prince Henry was at Shrewsbury. We were no longer isolated. There was help at hand.
With more men available to us Dafydd left us to return to his own estate which he had neglected over the winter. I confess that I missed him when he had gone. He was my kind of warrior. The Earl of Arundel was a more common knight. The young nobles did not really understand the reality and brutality of war. I had stood on the bridge in Spain with Sir John Chandos and seen men hacking at each other with nowhere to go. They had heard the stories and ballads of his brave last stand but did not understand the reality. Dafydd had also seen the brutal side of war. More men were sent to the garrison and our task became easier. It was March and I was about to hand over the castle to its new lord who arrived with more than forty men when Dafydd and his men galloped across the bridge.
“Sir William, Captain Gethin is heading for Grosmont. He has more than six thousand men with him and they are heavily armed!”
I knew that the Earl of Warwick had sent some men to Grosmont Castle but he could not have sent enough to fight off such a large force. I sent two of my men, Oliver and John, to ride to Hereford and Shrewsbury to tell Sir John Talbot, Sir John Oldcastle and Prince Henry of the danger. Oliver the Bastard would go to Hereford and I told him what I intended so that we could trap the Welsh between us. I would be the anvil and the men of Hereford, the hammer. I sent one of the men at arms from the garrison to inform the Earl of Arundel of the situation. Leaving just twenty men to watch the walls I led the rest north. The one hundred and ten men I led could not stop the Welsh but I knew that I would be the first to reach the beleaguered town and I would be able to give whoever brought more men to the battle reliable information.
As we rode Dafydd told me that he had been informed of the raid by a loyal Welshman. There were still more of them than Glendower would care to admit. However, the delay in delivering the information meant that the Welsh would already have fallen upon the prosperous town before we could go to their aid. I knew that my riders would not reach Shrewsbury or Worcester before nightfall and that any help might take two days to reach us. My hope lay with the two old knights, Oldcastle and Talbot. They were at Hereford and, with luck, would reach the town by late afternoon.
It was approaching noon when we saw the smoke rising in the distance; they had fired the town. We knew that we would be too late to stop an attack but I had not expected the Welsh to have begun to lay waste to the town so soon. Dafydd shook his head as he saw the smoke, which obviously indicated a large number of houses burning, “This is the way they make war in these parts, lord. They destroy what others have built and hope to dishearten them and make them leave so that their own people can take over the land. It is petty and it is vindictive. This Glyndŵr just wants power and he will do anything he can to get it. He cares not for Wales; he cares for himself and his family and that is why he is so elusive. He surrounds himself with his family and they are the ones who take the risks while he squats safely, like a toad, in his mountain stronghold.”
“But thanks to you, Dafydd, and the work we have done, we have the chance to begin to thwart his ambitions.”
“With this handful of men?”
“With this handful of men. There is a river they had to cross to reach Grosmont, is there not?”
“Aye Sir William, the Afon Mynwg but it is no Severn. Men can cross it easily!”
“Aye, but if they take cattle, goods and prisoners from Grosmont then they cannot use a ford, they will need a bridge. We find the road which leads from Grosmont to the bridge and we can stop their escape with their ill-gotten gains. We may not have enough men to defeat their army but we can stop them taking from English mouths and by then the two knights to whom I sent for aid should be here!”
“Then the raiders will take the road to Pandy. It is five miles from the bridge there to Grosmont.” He pointed to the west. “There is a crossroads coming up and if we stay on this road then we shall pass it.”
“Good, Captain Alan, take your archers and ride up this road. I want it blocked to prevent the Welsh from heading back to Wales.”
“Aye, lord.”
When he took his archers, it left me just fifty men at arms to fight alongside Dafydd and me. It was not a large number and, as we drew closer to the road and saw the billowing smoke in the east, I wondered if I had taken too much on. We saw men driving two bullocks down the road. I knew that Alan would have already blocked the road and these men were going to get a shock. You cannot hide fifty men at arms with banners and spears. The handful of men saw us approaching and they abandoned their bullocks and headed back to Grosmont.
Dafydd asked, “Should we go to capture them, Sir William?”
“No Dafydd, for they serve me. Our intention is to trap the Welsh. To do that I need their attention here so
that the men of Hereford can fall upon them.”
We stopped where a track led to a burned-out farm. The smoke rising from it told me that the Welsh had already raided and plundered it. There was another farm just a hundred paces up the road and we headed for it. It was not burned out for it was a small stone-built one but there were the bodies of a farmer and two of his sons. They had been butchered and their manhoods sliced off and placed in their mouths.
“Cover their bodies and then tether the horses behind the barn. We will hold them here.” I turned to Abelard, “Plant my banner on the roof of this farm. We will let them know that they fight the Strongstaff.”
While he did that, I went with Dafydd to the road. There was a hedgerow which was not yet fully in leaf but it would afford some protection for it lined the highway. From behind me, I heard hooves and Captain Alan rode up. “We have cleared the road of the thirty or so men who were taking animals and prisoners back to Wales. The captives I have sent to the burned-out farm for I saw your banner. What would you have of my men and me?”
“I intend to hold them here. I want the archers behind us to thin out their ranks. Have stakes made to prevent them from outflanking us.”
“Aye, lord.”
“Captain Edgar, have two-thirds of our men spread out on either side of the road behind the stakes the archers are planting. I will need eight of our best men with me. You take charge of the north side of the road. Dafydd, you and your men take the south side. I will use just ten of my men to block the road.”
I shed my cloak and took the spear which Harry handed me. There had been cattle in the farm and the farmyard was full of excrement. I waved over Stephen of Morpeth, “Get the men and have them spread the cow dung about twenty paces before us. Let us see how they cope with it.”
He grinned, “Aye, lord, for it seems fitting.”
By the time it was all done it was the middle of the afternoon and, from the roof of the farm, Much Longbow shouted, “There are men coming from Grosmont, lord. I reckon there are at least five hundred of them!”