Wales and its History

Henry FitzMiles believed to have been slain by Seisyll ap Dyfnwal, a Welsh Lord of Upper Gwent. He was killed at Castle Arnold in the valley of the River Usk, on eve of Easter. His death, whether it was murder or in conflict, was avenged by his nephew, William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber in 1175 at Abergavenny Castle. William de Braose He was captured by the Welsh forces of Prince Llywelyn the Great, in fighting in the commote of Ceri near Montgomery, in 1228. William was ransomed for the sum of £2,000 and then furthermore made an alliance with Llywelyn, arranging to marry his daughter Isabella de Braose to Llywelyn's only legitimate son Dafydd ap Llywelyn. However, it became known that William had committed adultery with Llywelyn's wife, Joan, Lady of Wales, and Braose was taken at his own home and transported to Wales.[3] The marriage planned between their two children did, however, take place.[4] The Chronicle of Ystrad Fflur's entry for 1230 reads:[citation needed] ...

  When people talk of the 'welsh wars' with England (Normans and Saxons), they nearly always talk of the Edwardian conquest of Wales and Glyndwr's uprising.  However, the years between 1067 and 1255 are the most violent in the very violent history of the Welsh. Within those years we see a people struggling with famine and disease, resist the Normans and send them packing time and time again, only for them to return again and again. There were many full-scale invasions of wales with armies as large as 30,000 butchering their way through the Welsh countryside.  The Welsh princes stopped killing each other and joined together to fight a common enemy on a number of occasions and many battles were won at great cost to all sides.  The sources paint a picture of a people obsessed with keeping their independence. Defending their customs, laws, and traditions seemed central to the Welsh of the middle ages. The Itinerarium Cambriae ("The Itinerary Through Wales"...