Norman invasion of Wales
Encyclopedia
The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman conquest of England
under William the Conqueror, who believed England
to be his birthright. It was not William's intention to also invade Wales
, but Welsh attacks under King Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, uniter of Wales, against the Normans
in England, beginning in the years prior to the main Norman invasion in 1066, eventually forced William's hand. Initially (1067–1081), the invasion of Wales was not undertaken with the fervor and intentionality of the invasion of England. However, a much stronger Norman invasion began in 1081 and by 1094 most of Wales was under the control of William's eldest son, King William II of England
. The Welsh greatly disliked the "gratuitously cruel" Normans and by 1101 had regained control of the greater part of their country under the long reign of King Gruffydd ap Cynan
, who had been imprisoned by the Normans for twelve years before his escape. Gruffydd had some indirect help from King Magnus III of Norway
(Magnus Barefoot) who attacked the Normans briefly off the Isle of Anglesey in Northwest Wales near Ynys Seiriol
, killing Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury
and leaving the Normans depleted and demoralized. Magnus went on to take the Orkney Islands
, the Hebrides
, and the Isle of Man
, islands north of Wales and west or north of Scotland
and England, from the Normans in 1098.
Under William's fourth son, King Henry I of England
, the Normans, now well established in England, responded by pushing west into Wales. This time, both the Welsh and the Normans were more interested in making peace than fighting bloody battles, and a relatively stable situation developed, although the Normans fared more poorly in southeast Wales than in the west of the country. The standoff continued from 1135 to 1154 under Stephen, King of the English
, nephew of Henry and a maternal grandson of William, who became locked in a power struggle and civil war
with Empress Matilda
, Henry's daughter and only surviving legitimate child.
In 1157, King Henry II of England
, son of Matilda, led his first, relatively successful, expedition into Wales, beginning a stronger display of English/Norman power. In 1163 Henry displayed even greater might, and the two most powerful Welsh princes, Rhys ap Gruffydd
and Owain Gwynedd
, soon accepted the situation and paid homage to Henry, beginning a period of the domination of Wales by England but with a degree of independence by the Welsh, a situation which has continued, to various extents, to the present day.
, Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. Gruffudd pushed into England, burning the city of Hereford
, overwhelming border patrols, and proving the English – and by extension, the Normans
– entirely inadequate to respond to Welsh invasions. Subsequent to his uniting of Wales and his victories over Mercia
and other English kingdoms, Gruffudd was turned upon by his own men, who killed him and shipped his head off to Edward the Confessor
, a sign of victory over Wales. This left a vacuum of power in Wales in which princes and kings were free to squabble over their land. In addition, they were left without the presence of Gruffudd to ward off English attacks.
It took some time for the Normans to concentrate any level of might against the Welsh, however, as they were more concerned, in the aftermath of Hastings
, with England and Normandy. In addition, it was not William’s goal to conquer Wales; he had come to inherit what he believed to be his birthright, the English throne, which entailed taking on the responsibilities of Edward and the Anglo-Saxon kings, including their relationships with Wales and Scotland. By the late 1060s, however, Wales had begun to force the matter, attacking English soil and supporting English rebellions against the Normans.
, specifically at Chester
, under Hugh d'Avranches; Shrewsbury
, under Roger de Montgomerie; and Hereford
, under William FitzOsbern. He instilled a great deal of power into each earldom, allowing them control of the surrounding towns and land, rather than retaining it within the kingship. The inspiration for such an action seems to have been the overextended nature of the Norman troops, thus preventing William from exercising his own power in the area. It very well may have been implicit in the power granted the earldoms that they were to attack Wales, and, indeed, they did, beginning with south-east Wales, where many of the previous rebellions against England had begun. By the time of FitzOsbern's death in 1071, a castle
had been established at the mouth of the Wye
, and it served as a base from which the Normans continued to expand westward into Wales, establishing a castle at Caerleon
by 1086 and extinguishing the Welsh Kingdom of Gwent. However, the attacks in south-east Wales "faltered badly when[ the earl of Hereford’s] son [ Roger de Breteuil
] ... forfeited his estates for treason in 1075 and involved some of his vassals on the Welsh frontier in his downfall". Nonetheless, the Normans pressed on.
. There was relative peace in the early 12th century, however, with a great deal of English influence over Wales but relatively little conflict. The only real expedition into Wales made by Henry was in 1114, when "he set in motion three separate armies intended to overware the ageing prince of Gwynedd". The prince, Gruffydd ap Cynan
, however, saw fit to make peace with the king rather than engage in open warfare or hostility. Throughout the period, Henry exerted a great deal of control over Wales, establishing a series of new castles and placing new Lords into positions of power. Upon Henry’s death, revolts once again broke out in parts of Wales. These revolts caused Norman retreat in many areas, most surprisingly in Deheubarth, where, according to R.R. Davies, "the Normans had made their most striking advances in the previous generation". The period saw a role reversal of sorts, as well, with infighting amongst the Normans, the same sort which had enabled the relative fall of Wales in the previous century.
had set upon fighting back, leading his first expedition into Wales in 1157. Though met with some setbacks, Henry seems to have been primarily successful. He moved into Wales again in 1163, this time showing his true force of political power, forcing homages from the two most powerful princes of Wales, Rhys ap Gruffydd
and Owain Gwynedd
. Minor changes in power continued into the 13th century, until 1277, with Welsh princes consolidating and retaining their basic political and geographic structure.
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
under William the Conqueror, who believed England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to be his birthright. It was not William's intention to also invade Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, but Welsh attacks under King Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, uniter of Wales, against the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
in England, beginning in the years prior to the main Norman invasion in 1066, eventually forced William's hand. Initially (1067–1081), the invasion of Wales was not undertaken with the fervor and intentionality of the invasion of England. However, a much stronger Norman invasion began in 1081 and by 1094 most of Wales was under the control of William's eldest son, King William II of England
William II of England
William II , the third son of William I of England, was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales...
. The Welsh greatly disliked the "gratuitously cruel" Normans and by 1101 had regained control of the greater part of their country under the long reign of King Gruffydd ap Cynan
Gruffydd ap Cynan
Gruffydd ap Cynan was a King of Gwynedd. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was remembered as King of all Wales...
, who had been imprisoned by the Normans for twelve years before his escape. Gruffydd had some indirect help from King Magnus III of Norway
Magnus III of Norway
Magnus Barefoot or Magnus III Olafsson was King of Norway from 1093 until 1103 and King of Mann and the Isles from 1099 until 1103.-Background:...
(Magnus Barefoot) who attacked the Normans briefly off the Isle of Anglesey in Northwest Wales near Ynys Seiriol
Puffin Island, Anglesey
Puffin Island is an uninhabited island off the eastern tip of Anglesey, Wales. It was formerly known as Priestholm in English and Ynys Lannog in Welsh.-Geography:...
, killing Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury
Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury
Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat.-Lineage:He was the second surviving son of Roger of Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Mabel of Bellême...
and leaving the Normans depleted and demoralized. Magnus went on to take the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
, the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
, and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, islands north of Wales and west or north of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and England, from the Normans in 1098.
Under William's fourth son, King Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, the Normans, now well established in England, responded by pushing west into Wales. This time, both the Welsh and the Normans were more interested in making peace than fighting bloody battles, and a relatively stable situation developed, although the Normans fared more poorly in southeast Wales than in the west of the country. The standoff continued from 1135 to 1154 under Stephen, King of the English
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
, nephew of Henry and a maternal grandson of William, who became locked in a power struggle and civil war
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
with Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...
, Henry's daughter and only surviving legitimate child.
In 1157, King Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, son of Matilda, led his first, relatively successful, expedition into Wales, beginning a stronger display of English/Norman power. In 1163 Henry displayed even greater might, and the two most powerful Welsh princes, Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales. He is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh Yr Arglwydd Rhys, but this title may not have been used in his lifetime...
and Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd ap Gruffydd , in English also known as Owen the Great, was King of Gwynedd from 1137 until his death in 1170. He is occasionally referred to as "Owain I of Gwynedd"; and as "Owain I of Wales" on account of his claim to be King of Wales. He is considered to be the most successful of...
, soon accepted the situation and paid homage to Henry, beginning a period of the domination of Wales by England but with a degree of independence by the Welsh, a situation which has continued, to various extents, to the present day.
Welsh attacks in England
By the mid-11th century, Wales had been united by a king of GwyneddGwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. Gruffudd pushed into England, burning the city of Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, overwhelming border patrols, and proving the English – and by extension, the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
– entirely inadequate to respond to Welsh invasions. Subsequent to his uniting of Wales and his victories over Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
and other English kingdoms, Gruffudd was turned upon by his own men, who killed him and shipped his head off to Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
, a sign of victory over Wales. This left a vacuum of power in Wales in which princes and kings were free to squabble over their land. In addition, they were left without the presence of Gruffudd to ward off English attacks.
Early battles
See also The Norman Invasion of Gwynedd and the Aberffraw resistanceIt took some time for the Normans to concentrate any level of might against the Welsh, however, as they were more concerned, in the aftermath of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
, with England and Normandy. In addition, it was not William’s goal to conquer Wales; he had come to inherit what he believed to be his birthright, the English throne, which entailed taking on the responsibilities of Edward and the Anglo-Saxon kings, including their relationships with Wales and Scotland. By the late 1060s, however, Wales had begun to force the matter, attacking English soil and supporting English rebellions against the Normans.
William's response
In response to Welsh advances, William established a series of earldoms in the borderlandsWelsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
, specifically at Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, under Hugh d'Avranches; Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, under Roger de Montgomerie; and Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, under William FitzOsbern. He instilled a great deal of power into each earldom, allowing them control of the surrounding towns and land, rather than retaining it within the kingship. The inspiration for such an action seems to have been the overextended nature of the Norman troops, thus preventing William from exercising his own power in the area. It very well may have been implicit in the power granted the earldoms that they were to attack Wales, and, indeed, they did, beginning with south-east Wales, where many of the previous rebellions against England had begun. By the time of FitzOsbern's death in 1071, a castle
Chepstow Castle
Chepstow Castle , located in Chepstow, Monmouthshire in Wales, on top of cliffs overlooking the River Wye, is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain...
had been established at the mouth of the Wye
River Wye
The River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK and for parts of its length forms part of the border between England and Wales. It is important for nature conservation and recreation.-Description:...
, and it served as a base from which the Normans continued to expand westward into Wales, establishing a castle at Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
by 1086 and extinguishing the Welsh Kingdom of Gwent. However, the attacks in south-east Wales "faltered badly when
Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford
Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford , succeeded to the earldom of Hereford and the English estate of William Fitz-Osbern in 1071.- Disobeying King William :...
Relations with Henry I
These movements continued well into the 12th century, into the reign of Henry IHenry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
. There was relative peace in the early 12th century, however, with a great deal of English influence over Wales but relatively little conflict. The only real expedition into Wales made by Henry was in 1114, when "he set in motion three separate armies intended to overware the ageing prince of Gwynedd". The prince, Gruffydd ap Cynan
Gruffydd ap Cynan
Gruffydd ap Cynan was a King of Gwynedd. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was remembered as King of all Wales...
, however, saw fit to make peace with the king rather than engage in open warfare or hostility. Throughout the period, Henry exerted a great deal of control over Wales, establishing a series of new castles and placing new Lords into positions of power. Upon Henry’s death, revolts once again broke out in parts of Wales. These revolts caused Norman retreat in many areas, most surprisingly in Deheubarth, where, according to R.R. Davies, "the Normans had made their most striking advances in the previous generation". The period saw a role reversal of sorts, as well, with infighting amongst the Normans, the same sort which had enabled the relative fall of Wales in the previous century.
Invasion and control under Henry II
By the 1150s, Henry IIHenry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
had set upon fighting back, leading his first expedition into Wales in 1157. Though met with some setbacks, Henry seems to have been primarily successful. He moved into Wales again in 1163, this time showing his true force of political power, forcing homages from the two most powerful princes of Wales, Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales. He is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh Yr Arglwydd Rhys, but this title may not have been used in his lifetime...
and Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd ap Gruffydd , in English also known as Owen the Great, was King of Gwynedd from 1137 until his death in 1170. He is occasionally referred to as "Owain I of Gwynedd"; and as "Owain I of Wales" on account of his claim to be King of Wales. He is considered to be the most successful of...
. Minor changes in power continued into the 13th century, until 1277, with Welsh princes consolidating and retaining their basic political and geographic structure.
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