CHAPTER 12
By 1090, the Normans had fully cemented their grip over England, and they were ready to turn their attention in earnest towards the conquest of Wales. A golden opportunity to begin this arrived around 1092 (the exact date is uncertain) when war sprang up between two rival Welsh rulers: Iestyn ap Gwrgan (Justin son of George), the King of Glamorgan and Gwent, and Rhys ap Tewdwr (Rees the son of Tudor), the King of Deheubarth, whose lands included the counties of Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire. ( Map 2: Major Kingdoms of Wales )
The exact cause of the conflict between these two kings is a matter of debate. A border dispute was clearly an issue, but it seems there was also an argument over the ownership of a parchment scroll; simmering tension over this seems to have escalated into outright warfare.
The scroll in question was called the ‘Roll of the Round Table’; it was said to date back to the times of none other than King Arthur himself. The story goes that after spending centuries in Brittany, it was brought back to Wales by Rhys. He proposed that a full Gorsedd, a gathering, of the Bards (something we will describe more fully in a later chapter) should be held in its honour at the abbey of Llancarvan in Glamorgan. Although outside his own jurisdiction, he chose this location because Llancarvon Abbey was even then a very old foundation; it went back to even before Arthurian times and was closely associated with a number of eminent Dark Age saints. Also, although it was in Glamorgan, there was a tradition that no one was allowed to bear arms in this parish. This meant that the Abbey was effectively neutral territory, where even political opponents could relax somewhat in each other’s company.
Map 2: Major Kingdoms of Wales, c. 1092
The Gorsedd festival was held and both kings attended, but then Iestyn left early without saying goodbye to his guest, Rhys ap Tewdwr. His pretext for such rude behaviour, or so it is written in some accounts, was that Rhys had made improper advances towards his wife, a lady who was much younger than either of them. According to another account, Iestyn stole the Roll of the Round Table and took it back to Cardiff Castle, his own home. His justification for doing so was that in Arthur’s time Caerleon had been the capital of his kingdom. Although the capital of Glamorgan was Cardiff, Caerleon was in his kingdom, too. As King of Glamorgan–Gwent and therefore Arthur’s successor in both blood and title, in his opinion, the Roll had to stay under his protection.
Whatever the truth is of these allegations, war broke out between the two kings, with Rhys ap Tewdwr initially in command of stronger forces. Recognizing his weak position, Iestyn accepted an offer of help from Einion ap Collwyn, Lord of Ceredigion (Cardiganshire), who was a disaffected vassal of Rhys and who had a sizeable retinue at his disposal. In return for his help, Iestyn promised Einion the hand of his youngest daughter, Nest, with whom the young nobleman was smitten. In addition, Iestyn turned for further military assistance to his neighbour in the east – the Earl of Gloucester. This earl, Sir Robert Fitzhammon, was a Norman and a cousin of King William Rufus, a son of William the Conqueror. Sir Robert was only too willing to oblige, bringing 12 knights with him and a sizeable army of perhaps a thousand retainers. In the ensuing battle, which took place to the west of Cardiff, he made sure that Einion and Iestyn’s men were at the front and therefore taking most of the casualties. Rhys ap Tewdwr was killed, but although Iestyn was victorious, it was a pyrrhic victory for him. The Welsh of both sides were left much weakened and the real winner was Sir Robert.
Quite naturally, Iestyn’s other ally, Einion, now expected him to uphold his side of the bargain and to allow him to marry his daughter Nest. However, Iestyn was not a man whose word could be trusted. Having obtained victory over Rhys and guessing that Einion was now too weak to do anything about it, he went back on his promise; the young nobleman was left wifeless. This angered Einion enormously and he now turned to Sir Robert Fitzhammon for redress.*
This split in the Welsh ranks suited the Normans perfectly. Having now seen with his own eyes how rich the Vale of Glamorgan was and how weakly it was defended, Sir Robert had plans of his own. He made a bargain with Einion that in return for helping the Normans to overthrow Iestyn, he would enable him to marry Nest. As part of this plan, Sir Robert ordered his men to board their ships and pretend to leave for home. They then waited for a few days, out of sight of the coast, until such time as Iestyn had stood down his army, which consisted of conscript labourers rather than professionals. Then, before Iestyn could do anything about it, the Normans returned in force; with lightning speed they seized the Vale of Glamorgan, with all its castles, including the strategically important Cardiff Castle.
The bulk of these castles, along with their associated manors, he shared out among his trusted retainers. The knights, the ancestors of some of the most important Anglo-Welsh families of the Medieval period, were thereafter known as the ‘Twelve Knights of Despoilation’. Fitzhammon kept the best parts of the Vale for himself, including Cardiff, Llantwit Major, Cowbridge and Kenfig. As for King Iestyn ap Gwrgan, he was killed in the fighting according to some accounts, but others say that he retired to Keynsham Abbey (near Bristol) where, already a very old man of over 100, he lived out his remaining days.** (Map 3)
Not all of Glamorgan was lost to the Welsh. Iestyn’s sons retained a number of Lordships in the more mountainous parts of the county to the north of the Vale and also most of Gwent. Also, unlike the treacher ous former King of Glamorgan, Fitzhammon kept his promise to Einion. He allowed the young man to marry Nest, her dowry being Senghenydd district to the north of Cardiff near which, in later centuries, the ‘Red Earl’, Sir Gilbert de Clare, would build Caerfilly Castle.
Map 3: Royal lands retained by Welsh princes after the initial Norman Conquest
From these small beginnings, the Norman barons gradually spread their rule to include most of South, West and East Wales. By the 13th century, the only region still maintaining its independence from England was Gwynedd or North Wales. Here, for a mixture of reasons, partly geographic but also to do with strong leadership, a Welsh dynasty held out against overwhelming odds. During the reigns of two of England’s weakest kings, firstly John (r.1199–1216) and then his son Henry III (r.1217–1272), the Prince of Gwyneth, Llewellyn ap Iorwerth (better known as ‘Llewellyn the Great’) was able to assert his independence. He adopted the title ‘Prince of Wales’ and, with respect to their fiefdoms in Wales, claimed seniority of title over the Norman barons. Because this was a time of major rebellions in England itself, it was possible for him to get away with this and even prosper.*
This situation was not to last. Henry III’s son, Edward I, was made of sterner stuff than either his father or grandfather. He was determined both to put the barons in their place and to finish the conquest of Wales once and for all. Accordingly, in 1277, he invaded Gwynedd and forced Llewllyn the Great’s grandson, Llewellyn ap Gruffydd, to submit to English rule. This turned out not to be enough, so, in 1282, he invaded again. This time Llewellyn was killed in an ambush, while his brother David was captured soon after. The latter was hanged, drawn and quartered for treason, and both his and Llewellyn’s heads were displayed on spikes on London Bridge.
After this, all of Wales was nominally under English rule, but what came to me as a great surprise was the discovery that even then there were still a couple of tiny, independent Welsh Lordships (notably Caerleon or ‘Camelot’) hanging on. By the time Edward I died, in 1307, only one remained. This was the Lordship of Coity, which survived for a very special reason that we will explore in another chapter.
What was of immediate interest to me, though, was that this tiny lordship, a sort of medieval Monaco, once owned the church where Wilson and Blackett found their Arthurian relics. This seemed too strange to be a coincidence. There had to be a reason why it alone had survived intact for so long, and this, or so I reasoned, was probably something to do with its Arthurian connections. Was this because the Lords of Coity were protected for some reason, I asked myself? Could it be that they alone were privy to some secret, and if so, what might this have been? These were fascinating questions that would, in time, lead to further, exciting discoveries. First, though, I decided to look into the connections between Wales and the extraordinary Arthurian literature that flooded France in the late 12th century, especially the story of the Holy Grail.
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* See Chart 3: The First Norman Lords of Glamorgan p.226
** See Chart 4: The Children of Iestyn ap Gwrgan, Last King of Glamorgan p.227
* See Chart 5: The Dark Age Dynasty of North Wales, page 228