Wales and its History

1136 was an eventful year for the Welsh, they won the Battle of Llwchwr near Swansea, they ambushed and killed a powerful Norman Lord in Gwent, they did however lose the brave Gwenllian when she led an army against the Normans while her husband was on his way to her dads, (Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd) to ask for support against the invaders, they also had the battle of Crug Mawr The battle of Craig Mawr was a major victory for the Welsh against the Normans, The Norman army led by Robert fitz Martin consisted of around 1,000 professional Flemish infantry and another 7,000 infantry . In addition, it had around 2,000 cavalry, most of which was heavy cavalry. The Welsh army under Owain Gwynedd was slightly smaller at around 6,000 infantry and 2,000 longbowmen. Cavalry was around 1,000 horse. The Normans marched northeast of Cardigan and fortified their position on Crug Mawr hill to meet the Welsh army coming from the north. Flemish troops were placed at the front and the Norman levies...

The Welsh conflict with the Saxons of England don't seem to get much attention compared to those against the Norman/English so i thought i would put this together. I decided to start with the battle of Chester, which was an extremely significant battle in Welsh history, there were battles before but because the Saxons called all Britons Welsh it is hard to tell if they mean the Welsh of Wales or not, the battle of Chester is significant in the fact it cut the Welsh of Wales off from the Britons of North West England , Battle of Deorham is said to have cut the Welsh off from those of south West England but this didn't have any involvement from the kingdoms in Wales.  616 The Battle of Chester where the Anglo Saxons beat native Britons near the city of Chester,. Æthelfrith of Northumbria annihilated a combined force from the Welsh kingdoms of Powys, Rhôs, and Mercia. It resulted in the deaths of Welsh leaders Selyf Sarffgadau of Powys and Cadwal Crysban of Rhôs.  Evidence sugge...

  1136 The Battle of Llwchwr Who?  Welsh forces from Brycheiniog and Northern Gŵyr vs Normans Result Welsh victory Numbers involved ???????? Casualties and losses The English lost around 500 A Welsh army was raised by the lord of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire), Hywel ap Maredudd containing men from Brycheiniog as well as men from Northern Gŵyr. . The Normans sallied out expecting to meet a small collection of Welsh raiding bands, however, the scale of the Welsh army took them by surprise. The Welsh army emerged victorious, the Normans having lost around 500 men. The victory of the Welsh army-inspired more rebellions around Wales including a battle near Kidwelly Castle fought by an army led by Gwenllian, Princess of Deheubarth and the Battle of Crug Mawr.   1136 The Battle of Crug Mawr Result Decisive Welsh victory Numbers involved the welsh had 6000 infantrymen and 2000 cavalrymen. The English are said to have had similar numbers Cas...

The Battle of Mechain is one of the hundreds of relatively unknown battles that have taken place in Welsh history. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was a ruthless king who conquered all the Welsh kingdoms to unite Wales under his rule.  ( " Speak not of killing; I but blunt the horns of the offspring of Wales lest they should injure their dam. ") In 1055 Gruffydd marched on Hereford and defeated a force led by the Earl of Hereford, Ralph the Timid,  They then sacked the city and destroyed its motte-and-bailey castle. Harald Godwinson (1066) was given the task of rebuilding and fortifying Heriford.  In late 1062 Harold Godwinson obtained the English king's approval for a surprise attack on Gruffydd's court at Rhuddlan. Gruffydd was nearly captured but was warned in time to escape out to sea in one of his ships. In the spring of 1063 Harold's brother Tostig led an army into north Wales while Harold led the fleet first to south Wales and then north to meet with his brother's...

Upon the death of Llywelyn,  longshanks   did all he could to get rid of any sign of  A Welsh nation. Firstly, he dismantled most of llywelyn's halls and took over his castles.  He then tried to kill off the lineage by ensuring Llywelyn's only child  Gwenllian along with the daughters of her uncle Dafydd ap Gruffudd, were all confined for life in remote priories in  Lincolnshire  and never allowed freedom.  Dafydd ap Gruffudd   was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury by a horse, hanged, revived and then disembowelled, He was the first recoded noble to be hung drawn and quartered.  Edward also took from the Welsh Llywelyn’s coronet, the matrix of his seal, the crown of Arthur and a sacred  cross that contained a  piece of the t rue Cross  known   as Y Groes Naid.   It is recorded that  ''Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales and Lord of Aberffraw had deposited this crown (W...

Marcher lordships were set up just after the Norman conquest of England to try and keep the Welsh under control. Given to the English king's most trusted nobles , the lords who ruled these areas were given special powers that were usually reserved for the king. The marcher lordships were among the heaviest fortified areas in all of Europe, and also among the most brutal. In the 200 years, it took the Normans to subdue the Welsh these Marcher Lords committed some brutal acts which alone caused many rebellions and many of these lords being detested and killed. One example of the Brutality of the Marches was the so-called Abergavenny massacre. Seisyll ap Dyfnwal Lord of Gwent Uwchcoed along with all the other Welsh princes and leaders from the area was invited to Abergavenny Castle at Christmas by William De Braose. Some Welsh leaders stayed away, mistrusting de Braose but Seisyll attended along with his eldest son Geoffrey. Most other leaders followed suit and attended, assured of p...

Before the 200 years of constant Norman/Welsh wars, the Welsh were either fighting each other or the Saxons . There are hundreds of encounters between the Welsh and the Saxons but not all have been documented for one reason or another.  Here are the Encounters I could find that have been recorded.  616 The Battle of Chester where the Anglo Saxons beat native Britons near the city of Chester,. Æthelfrith of Northumbria annihilated a combined force from the Welsh kingdoms of Powys, Rhôs, and Mercia. It resulted in the deaths of Welsh leaders Selyf Sarffgadau of Powys and Cadwal Crysban of Rhôs.  Evidence suggests that King Iago of Gwynedd may have also been killed. According to Bede, a large number of monks from the monastery at  Bangor on Dee  who had come to witness the fight were killed on the orders of Æthelfrith before the battle. He told his warriors to massacre the cle...