Anglo-Welsh War (1256–1258)
The Anglo-Welsh War of 1256-1258 was a military conflict between the Welsh principalities, led by Lord Llywelyn ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd, and the Kingdom of England. In the war, the Welsh were able to recapture large parts of Wales, which was rebuilt by King Henry III in the 1240s . had been conquered.
Welsh rebellion against English rule
By the successful campaigns of 1241 and 1245 Heinrich III. to enforce the English dominance in Wales again as they last at the beginning of the 12th century under Henry I had passed. In 1254 the king gave his eldest son Edward, in addition to Gascony , mainly Chester and large areas of Wales as apanage . Edward's officials such as Alan de la Zouche , Geoffrey de Langley or William de Wilton tried to introduce an administration and a legal system based on the English model, especially in Perfeddwlad in northeast Wales , in order to bring the region into line with neighboring Chester. The disregard of traditional Welsh law and the strict rule of the English officials led to increasing resentment among the Welsh population. In July 1256, Lord Eduard himself visited Northeast Wales due to numerous complaints, but he mainly confirmed the exercise of his officials there. A Welsh revolt ensued shortly after Edward's departure. The Welsh turned to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, who had fought for sole control of Gwynedd against his brothers the year before , for help. Llywelyn had previously secured the support of other Welsh lords in secret alliances. Together with Maredudd ap Rhys , a Lord of Deheubarth who had been driven out by the English , he liberated Perfeddwlad from English rule in November 1256. There only the two royal castles Deganwy and Dyserth withstood the Welsh attacks. The uprising quickly spread to other parts of Wales. In December 1256, the Welsh Lord Llywelyn ap Maredudd, allied with the English, was expelled from Meirionydd and northern Ceredigion was conquered. Then Llywelyn turned to Mid Wales. The British allied Prince Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn of Powys was driven out, Builth and other areas conquered and Maredudd ap Rhys reinstated in his rule in Ystrad Tywi . In the spring of 1257, Llywelyn extended his attacks to South Wales, where he attacked the possessions of the Earl of Gloucester and Gower .
Unsuccessful countermeasures by the British
A counterattack by the English garrison Montgomery in January 1257 had to be quickly broken off after repeated Welsh raids. Against the Welsh attacks on South Wales, John le Breton , Edward's commanding officer of Abergavenny , was only able to pull together 35 servants and 700 infantrymen at Llandovery Castle in 1256 , so that the Earl of Gloucester and the Earl of Hereford in particular had to bear the brunt of the fight against the Welsh . An attempt at mediation by Richard of Cornwall , the king's brother, was rudely rejected by Llywelyn. Henry III. thereupon sent Stephen Bauzan , a knight from his household, with an army to South Wales. However, this suffered a crushing defeat at the beginning of June 1257 in the battle of Cymerau against the united army of several South Welsh lords. As a result, there were new Welsh raids on the areas still under English rule in South Wales, in which Llansteffan , Laugharne and Narberth Castle were captured. However, Llywelyn was aware that he could not hold all of these areas and withdrew after the castles were destroyed. Henry III. summoned his feudal army to Chester on August 1st. The English army moved along the coast of North Wales to Deganwy, which was reached at the end of August. Due to the rapid start of the campaign, the English had insufficient food supplies with them. After Dyserth and Deganwy Castle had been horrified, the king withdrew to Chester at the first signs of the impending winter under constant attacks by the Welsh. The king then planned a new campaign to Wales for June 1258. When he convened his parliament in April 1258 , a noble rebellion broke out, which largely disempowered the king. The new government of the barons signed a truce with Prince Llywelyn on June 17, 1258, which confirmed the status quo.
consequences
After this success, Lord Llywelyn began calling himself the Prince of Wales . The armistice in Wales remained fragile. Especially between Mid Wales and the Welsh Marches there were increasing border conflicts. Already in January 1260 Llywelyn attacked again Builth Castle , which he finally conquered from Roger Mortimer . From November 1262 there was again an open war between the Welsh under Prince Llywelyn and the English Marcher Lords . In England the conflict between the aristocratic opposition and the king led to open war between the barons and the king. In this civil war, Llywelyn supported the aristocratic opposition, while the Marcher Lords consequently supported the king. After the king's victory over the nobility opposition in 1267, however, the king's means were so exhausted that he had to conclude the Treaty of Montgomery with Prince Llywelyn in 1268. In this the king had to make far-reaching concessions to the Welsh and recognize Llywelyn ap Gruffydd as Prince of Wales. In return, Prince Llywelyn recognized the English king as overlord. Despite this contract, there was continued fighting between the Welsh and the Marcher Lords over the next few years. Thereupon Prince Llywelyn mistrusted the new King Edward and refused to pay homage to him, which ultimately led to the English conquest of Wales by 1283.
literature
- Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-820198-2
Individual evidence
- ^ Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415 . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-820198-2 , p. 300
- ^ David Walker: Medieval Wales . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990, ISBN 0-521-32317-7 , p. 113
- ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California Press, Berkeley 1988. ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 18