Wales and its History

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

  The murder of the Norman noble Robert of Rhuddlan Rhuddlan was enjoying a nap in his castle at Deganwy when the news was brought to him that Welsh raiders had landed in three ships underneath the Great Orme and pillaged his lands. Some sources say that these raiders were led by King Gruffudd ap Cynan, who had escaped from captivity in Chester. The raiders had beached their ships and were busy loading the plunder. Robert despatched messengers to gather his troops and hastened to the Great Orme, where he found that the rising tide was about to allow the Welsh to refloat their vessels and get away with the loot before Robert's troops could appear. In a fury, Robert rushed down the slopes to attack them, followed only by his armor-bearer. He was killed by a volley of javelins, and the raiders sailed off with his head attached to the mast of one of the vessels.'  from the north side according to Dextra Visual Ednyfed Fychan Ednyfed Fychan was a warrior who became Seneschal to the

Look at this 🙂 AD 1258, 18th day of March Transaction: Agreement of mutual confederation and friendship between men of Scotland and Wales; that they shall not make peace with king of England without mutual consent and agreement Document 4/42/2 (Foedera, i, I, 370) Walter Comyn, earl of Menteith, Alexander Comyn, earl of Buchan, justiciar of Scotia, etc., have made an agreement of mutual confederation and friendship with Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, etc.; they bind themselves to make no separate peace with the king of England, to give him no aid against the Welsh and to encourage trade between Scotland and Wales. It also has a list of 48 nobles from Wales and Scotland who witnessed the agreement 🙂 https://www.poms.ac.uk/record/factoid/47422/

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 the most sacred a 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 (Welsh: Talaith) and other items (such as the Cross of Neith) with the monks at Cymer A

To many in Wales at the time, the death of Prince Llywelyn was the end of the world, the death of the idea of a Welsh nation. His death also confirmed great Welsh princely dynasties were now fully extinguished.  Names like Owian Gwynedd, Llywelyn the great, Gruffudd ap Cynan , Caradog ap Gruffydd, Rhodri the Great, Hywel Dda , Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, Rhys ap Gruffydd , Cadwallon ap Cadfan will never be seen again.  The most valuable symbols of Welsh independence like Llywelyn’s coronet, the matrix of his seal, the jewel or crown of Arthur, and, above all, the most cherished relic in Wales, the piece of the True Cross known as Y Groes Naid was stolen. Some words from the time " Is it the end of the world?’ (Oes derfyn byd?),''  ''Ah God, that the sea would drown the land!’ (Och hyd atat-ti, Dduw, na ddaw mor dros dir!) '' ''And then all Wales was cast to the ground’ (Ac yna y bwriwyd boll Gymru i’r llawr)'' ''Perfect the lad killed by h

A time in Welsh history that deserves more attention is the 11th and 12th centuries , from the campaign to unify Wales under a single king to the death of Owain Gwynedd around 1170. These 115 years saw the biggest battles on welsh soil, lots of Welsh victories against all the odds, the appearance of the longbow cutting down Normans without mercy We see a ruthless king of Wales who killed anyone who stood in his way, he took the fight over the border sacking Saxon towns including burning Hereford, the last Saxon king of England and his brother led raids into Wales to kill him, but he was betrayed, and his head was presented to the English. , after his death his kingdom was once again split and former royal households returned , this allowed the Welsh to get back to the tradition of trying to nick each other's kingdoms, We then see Kingdoms being seised which lead to one king sailing from Ireland to take what he saw as his, which was the kingdom of Gwynedd, He won the battle

The poem was written by Hywel ap Owain Gwynedd, the great-great Grandfather of Llewellyn ap Iorworth, Llewellyn the Last. Hywel was killed in battle in 1170, which fits entirely with his poetry. It tells us a bit about what Wales …not really sure why it’s relevant but it’s rather lovely isn’t it? A foaming white wave rushes over a grave, the tomb of Rhufawn Pebyr, regal chieftan. I love today what the English hate, the open land of the North, and the varied growth that borders the Lliw. I love those who gave me my fill of mead where the seas reach in long contention. I love its household and its strong buildings and at its lord’s wish to go to war. I love its strand and mountains, its castle near the woods and its fine lands, its water meadows and its valleys, its white gulls and its lovely women. I love its soldiers, its trained stallions, its woods, its brave men and its homes. I love its fields under the little clover, where honour was granted a secure joy. I love its regions, to

  Although there are few visible remains today of the Cistercian abbey of Ystrad Marchell near Welshpool, the evidence of the charters reveals it to have been a religious house of some wealth and importance within medieval Powys. Following its foundation in the late twelfth century by Owain Cyfeiliog (d. 1197), prince of southern Powys, it acquired many gifts of land and grants of privilege. Original charters and copies of charters now missing, by which such benefactions were made, are found in various archives held by a number of repositories, the most important being a group of some thirty-five charters from Gwenwynwyn and other princely benefactors among the Wynnstay Estate Archives at the National Library of Wales. The abbey's foundation The  Register and Chronicle of the Abbey of Aberconway  records that Owain ap Gruffudd (ca. 1100-1170), prince of southern Powys and lord of Cyfeiliog, founded the abbey of Ystrad Marchell of the Cistercian Order in 1170. The site which he gran

The image below is of King Alexander III of Scotland on the left with Llywelyn, ruler of Wales on the right, as guests to King Edward I of England at the sitting of an English parliament. Over 100 years earlier, Alexander the 1st helped English king Henry in a massive invasion of Wales. Henry sent three armies into Wales. Gilbert Fitz Richard lead a force from the south, Alexander, King of Scotland, pressing from the north and Henry himself advanced into Mid-Wales