by Griff Hosker
If I thought there would be a rapid start to the siege I was mistaken. Sir John and I had already begun the trench around the castle walls and identified a place we could begin to mine. The four cannons took more than a week to assemble and to place in a position where they could begin to batter the walls. The cannons had been placed in a line where they could hit the same part of the wall. The Prince and his Dutch gunners chose the junction of the wall and the gatehouse which was on the eastern side of the outer wall. The castle was lozenge shaped and there was a huge barbican keep just inside the gatehouse. I would have attacked closer to the southern tower but the Prince and his gunners were confident that when the wall collapsed the gatehouse would follow. To me, that did not solve the problem as we would have the barbican keep to reduce.
When the guns were in place, I anticipated the beginning of an assault upon the walls but it did not materialise. The gunners took wagons to go to find rocks which they would shape as missiles. That took another week and I persuaded the Prince to have his miners begin to excavate close to the southern tower. A mine took a long time to dig but had we begun immediately then we would be closer to reducing one section of the wall. It gave me something to do and I went with Sir John Talbot and our archers who duelled with the Welsh archers while the miners erected their entrance to the mine. Until the mine was given a cover there would be danger and it took another week to get to the point where the miners could enter the mine and begin to dig. By that time the gunners were back with their missiles.
It was with great anticipation that we gathered to witness them being used for the first time. I had seen small cannons in Spain but they had been tiny tubes of metal. These were huge beasts and I stayed far enough away so that if there was an accident I would not be blown up. The fowler was as long as two men and was on a wooden stand. I was not certain if the stand would have to be replaced for, from what I had heard, the cannons moved and the stand had no wheels. The Master Gunner, Johann, knew his business for he chose the first rock himself and only when he was perfectly satisfied did he allow his gunners to load it. He repeated the procedure with all of the cannons. When the breech was secured, he moved his gunners away and then lit the fuse on the first gun. Apparently, it was his favourite and he had named it The King’s Daughter in honour of King Henry’s daughter. It was a long fuse and I saw the reason for he moved well away from the weapon. Fire belched from the end of the cannon and it did, indeed, move backwards. There was so much smoke that I thought a fog had descended and then I heard the crack as the stone hit the wall. The fact that the stone hit the wall at all appeared, to me, to be a remarkable achievement but when the smoke cleared, I saw little damage to the wall except for a black patch where the soot from the stone had been left on the wall. Of course, everyone cheered and the Master Gunner looked happy. He repeated the procedure with the other three guns. The fact that flames leapt from the end made us use the term fire when the cannon roared. The noise was terrifying and the smoke noxious. I did not know how the gunners could endure it. By the end of the day, the cannons had sent twelve stones at the wall. Eleven had struck and one had hit the earthen bank. There appeared to be little damage to the walls although one of the Dutch gunners kept pointing to the mortar shouting that there was a crack. There was not.
That evening as I sat with the other leaders and the Prince I said, “Prince Henry, with your permission, I would take my men on the morrow for a chevauchée to the north.”
He looked disappointed, “Do you not wish to see the bombardment continue?”
I did not wish to hurt his feelings and so I did not speak the truth, “Prince Henry, Glendower and Mortimer are in Harlech. It would be too much to hope that they might bring an army to relieve this siege but they may have scouts out and we can deny them access to the land twixt Harlech and here. My men crave action and with the mine underway and the bombardment begun then they will become indolent.”
“Very well but you will miss the spectacle of the walls falling soon.”
I did not tell him that I did not anticipate an early end to the siege. From what I had seen the castle would be breached but at the rate the cannons fired and the results they achieved then it would be weeks rather than the days which Prince Henry hoped.
Chapter 13
My men were happy with the decision for a chevauchée meant not only the chance of action but also of booty. We headed north towards Machynlleth which I knew to be a centre of Welsh rebellion. We had been ambushed close to there before the Battle of Shrewsbury but I was confident that the bulk of the Welsh rebels would now be closer to Harlech. With Beaumaris and Anglesey back in English hands then the threat from Caernarfon and Chester increased.
We did not head up the coast but took the main road to Machynlleth as my Welsh archers and men at arms had assured me that there were no castles or defences along the road. The fifteen-mile journey could easily be done in one day. We would search out any rebels and rest and then return back to Aberystwyth and the siege. This was a land of small farms. Most of them grew a few crops but with the mountains so close and rocks lying beneath the surface then it was an animal-based economy. Sheep gave them wool and food while the few cattle they reared were kept for milk. I did not see much evidence of deer and other wild animals to hunt. This was a poor country and the people showed the hardship as we rode through their villages and hamlets. They barely looked up for there was little they could do to stop us and they were too weak from many years of a rebellion which had yielded them little except for a couple of victories and two captured castles. You cannot eat a victory and stone is hard to digest.
I was no fool and I sent Owen and David of Welshpool to scout out the town as I did not wish to be ambushed. It had been the first place which had declared for Glendower and I did not think that they would take kindly to us boldly riding into their town. It was as the main column neared the town that they both returned.
“They know that we are coming, lord, and they have made a barricade at the entrance to the town. They have archers and the menfolk are armed with pole weapons.”
“How far is it to the barricade?”
“A mile or so. There is a bend not far ahead and the ground slopes up to the hills where there is a small wood.”
“Could we use it to keep our horses safe?”
“Aye, Sir William. We saw neither horses nor knights in the town. They are farmers and burghers.”
I had planned on simply riding in and using our armour and horses to intimidate them but now that they had defences then I changed my plans. “We will leave our horses in the woods.” I still had a couple of archers who were not yet fully recovered from their wounds. They could wield a sword but not yet draw a bow. They could guard the horses. After leaving our animals with their guards I had my men at arms spread out in one line with the archers behind. I think we took them by surprise for they must have seen us in the distance on our horses and were expecting to see us riding down the road. The hedges hid us from view and that enabled us to march to within one hundred paces from the barrier before they saw us. Even then they panicked and arrows descended somewhat randomly. One lucky arrow hit the top of my helmet but when it clattered to the ground, I saw that it was a hunting arrow. If the men of Machynlleth had nothing better than hunting arrows then they would be as well to surrender now.
Captain Alan and my archers waited until they were all ready and then rained their war arrows on to the barricade. Few of the defenders had a helmet and fewer still had any mail. We kept marching although I raised my shield for protection. The Welsh should have aimed at our archers but mailed men at arms must have seemed like a better target and they wasted their arrows. Captain Alan thinned their ranks and when we were just forty paces from the barricade I shouted, “Charge!”
With Stephen of Morpeth on one side of me and Captain Edgar on the other, we ran at the hurriedly built barricade. Behind me, Abelard and three of my men at arms put their weight behind us and we crashed into the hurdles, carts
and wicker baskets. With at least a third of the defenders incapacitated the barrier gave way so quickly that I almost lost my balance. I took two long strides to take me beyond the debris. One of the few mailed men at the barrier had retained his weapons and he swung his sword hard at me. It came at my shield and I easily deflected it. Even as my shield twisted his blade away to expose his middle, I brought my sword from on high to hack through his mail and into his left shoulder; he began to bleed out immediately. He was a brave man and he tried to stab me, a little weakly, with his sword. I punched him in the face with my shield and he fell to the ground.
The falling of the barrier and the death of the mailed man ended the fight. Those still close to us dropped to their knees and begged mercy. Those further away just ran. One or two were hit by the arrows of my men but most escaped.
“Captain Alan, go and fetch our horses. Captain Edgar, see to the Welsh. Did we lose any of our men or were any hurt?”
He laughed, “Had any man I led been wounded fighting these farmers then I would have dismissed him immediately.”
Leaving my men to obey my commands I sheathed my sword and headed into the town with Abelard. I took off my helmet and let my coif slip down over my shoulders for it was a hot day and we had marched, mailed to battle. I remembered that there was a hall in the middle of the town and I headed for it. I was in no fear of being attacked for I saw just women and children, along with a couple of old men as I strode into the centre. When I reached the hall, the door was barred. Striding up to it I banged on it, “Open up in the name of Prince Henry, the Prince of Wales!”
I knew and accepted that they would plead ignorance of English but I was also confident that they would understand enough English to understand what I said. There was silence and when I looked around, I saw that the street had emptied. I banged again and repeated my words. Eventually, the door opened and a well-dressed woman stood there. “I am Sir William Strongstaff, Sherriff of Northampton.” I pushed the door open and stepped beyond her. “Who is the mayor of Machynlleth?”
From a room to my left came a voice, “I am, Iago ap Gruffydd.”
I entered the room and saw a man about my age. He was, like the woman, well dressed and it was in the English style.
“Why have you come here to disturb our peace?”
Taking off my gloves I placed them on the table, “You were the ones who made a barrier and you were the ones who loosed arrows at us. Who broke the peace?”
He glared at me, “We do not want you in our country! Leave!”
“This land belongs to Henry of Monmouth, the future King of England.” I turned to the woman who had followed Abelard and myself in the room. “You are his wife?”
She nodded, “Myfanwy.” She added a title but as it was in Welsh, I did not understand it.
“Pack your husband a bag for he comes with me to Aberystwyth.”
The man said, “You have taken it?”
“Not yet but you shall meet Prince Henry and explain your actions to him. You will then be a hostage for the good behaviour of Machynlleth.”
The man looked resigned but the woman shook her head and shouted, “You cannot do that!”
I smiled, “Ask your husband if we can or we cannot. Who will stop me?” She was silent. “I came to find out if there were rebels here in Machynlleth. Had there been none then I would have carried on to seek others. Your attack proves that there are rebels. Whichever fool decided to oppose us has cost your husband his freedom.”
The looks they exchanged told me that it was him. When my men arrived, horses were found as well as papers with Glendower’s seal upon them. We took those and a small chest of coins we found hidden in the Mayor’s home. I wondered if we would have trouble leaving for the people had returned to the streets but they looked cowed. Captain Edgar had told me, as we ate, that nineteen men had died at the barricade. We had torn the heart from them and there was no fight left. That the place which had raised Glendower to power had now fallen to us gave me hope.
The Prince was delighted with my actions and, as he took me along the walls to show barely discernible scratches and chips, the result of the bombardment, he told me to continue my rides.
“I will ride in two days’ time and cross the Dyfi. By then we will need more animals for food.” We had managed to bring back a number of sheep. The men were eating better than they might have expected and it made up for the lack of progress on the walls.
That evening I spoke with Sir John Talbot. He was, like me, a veteran of the Black Prince’s wars and I could talk to him for we shared a common language and experiences. “I had expected more from cannon, Sir William. To me, they are full of sound, fire and fury but they are slower than a trebuchet. I would have built a couple of trebuchets. They would have taken less time to build.”
“I know that the progress is slow but we are all new to this and it is too early to judge success and failure. We have the whole summer to reduce the walls.”
He shook his head, “The King’s council which now rules for him, in his illness, are withholding funds. It is now thought that he has St Antony’s fire.” He crossed himself, “The man who told me of the illness also told me that the King’s hold on power was slipping. I told the Prince when he arrived. He intends to return to London once the walls show signs of collapse.”
I laughed, “Then he may have to endure the winter’s seas. Still, it will be good for him to face the Council.”
I was remembering when the Council of lords had thwarted King Richard. It had been the beginning of the end for the King. After he lost faith in them he had become more of a tyrant. Prince Henry had the opportunity to learn how to handle the senior lords of the land before he was the king. I had been close enough to the seat of power to see that it was difficult to hang on to power. A king needed allies and supporters.
I watched the cannons the next day and saw that they were now firing more regularly. They sent twenty stones in one day. Of course, that meant they would soon have to fetch more stones. It was then that Prince Henry took command. He sent other labourers to fetch the stones. We now knew what size they wanted and we had plenty of idle hands which could shape the stones. Until the fire in the mine was lit or until there was a crack in the walls then we just watched.
When my men and I rode out for our next raid we knew that we were heading into unknown territory. We had heard of a castle close by the river. Llewellyn the Great had held an assembly at Glandyfi Castle but that had been almost two hundred years earlier. The castle was a mile or so downstream from a ford. It was just a ten mile ride to the castle and, as we approached the river, I saw no sign of a stone building. What we found was a long-abandoned motte and bailey wooden castle. The mound was not particularly high but the site was a good one. If Prince Henry so chose then he could fortify it and defend the river and the northern approach to Aberystwyth. We rode along the river and crossed the ford which lay just a mile away. Beyond the river was Welsh territory for Harlech lay not far to the north. Part of my reason for venturing this far north was to test the Welsh resolve and their defences. Consequently, David of Welshpool and Owen the Welshmen were our scouts. We saw animals on the hillsides but as we neared each hamlet, we saw that the land did not support towns or villages and the inhabitants hid. We could have found them but I did not see the point.
Inevitably, we pushed too far. That was my fault for I was looking for their defences and we had seen none. I spied another deserted castle just half a mile ahead; we later learned it was called Cynfal, and I decided to investigate. This one had no wooden hall left at all and the palisades had begun to sprout! We were, probably, an hour past the time we should have turned and I had just dismounted to make water when Owen came galloping back down the road, “My lord, a column of Welsh warriors is coming down the road.”
“How many?”
“I counted forty; there are some knights, squires and men at arms. David is watching them.”
I had pushed our luck and I knew it.
I looked at Hart. She was lathered and although a good horse, she needed some rest however brief that might be. “Did they see you?”
Owen looked offended, “Lord!”
“Captain Alan, we will ambush these Welshmen.” The road was less than two hundred paces from us and the elevation of the mound meant that our archers would have the range.”
“Aye, lord.”
As the archers went to the edge of the mound and stuck their arrows in the soft earth close to the saplings and scrubby growth I shouted, “These Welsh are doing the same as we are; they are scouting. I intend to attack them with arrows and when their attention is on this old castle we will leave and head back to the river. I do not like to run from the Welsh but we need to tell Prince Henry of the potential danger from the north.” They nodded, “Water your horses and let them rest.”
David of Welshpool ghosted up the slope and he grinned when he saw the question on my face, “When I saw this, as we headed north to scout, I thought to use it should Owen and I be pursued and I had a feeling that you would be here, lord.”
There are some things which cannot be easily explained and the affinity and understanding my men had for one another sometimes frightened me. I had seen it in the Blue Company and I thanked God for it now.
“Where are they?”
He pointed to the road, “You should hear them soon!”
I heard the hooves and, taking off my helmet I went to peer through the saplings. There were knights and men at arms. I recognised some Welsh liveries and also English ones. Mortimer’s men were abroad and that was news indeed. It was confirmation that Glendower and Mortimer were in Harlech. It was hard to know where else they might be but if they were in Harlech then that would be our next target.
I turned to Alan of the Woods, “You choose your moment. We will be ready to ride when you tell us that they are committed to an attack.”