Battle of Llandeilo Fawr
Coordinates: 51 ° 51 ′ 39.5 " N , 4 ° 2 ′ 4.1" W.
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The Battle of Llandeilo Fawr on June 16, 1282 was a battle between an English army and a Welsh army during King Edward I's campaign to conquer Wales in 1282 . It ended with a clear Welsh victory.
prehistory
Before King Edward I led his main army to conquer North Wales to Gwynedd , other English armies were supposed to overthrow the allies of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd , the Prince of Wales. In addition, Gilbert de Clare , the Earl of Hertford and Lord of Glamorgan took over on April 10, 1282 command of a force that had gathered near Carmarthen in South West Wales. The English army consisted mainly of Welsh troops who had been raised by de Clare in Glamorgan , Gwynllŵg , Brecon and other southeast Welsh baronies.
Course of the battle
With 50 horsemen and over 1,600 foot soldiers, de Clare and his deputy Robert de Tibetot set out in June through the valley of the Tywi to Carreg Cennen Castle , which had been conquered by the rebellious Welsh. They left a new garrison in the castle and then marched towards Dinefwr Castle to store their plundered booty. In a bottleneck near Llandeilo , the English army was ambushed by Welsh troops and defeated with heavy losses. The 300 Welsh infantrymen, under the command of Reginald fitz Peter, Lord of Blaenllyfni, deserted. Five knights were among the dead, including William, the eldest son of William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke . The defeated English army withdrew to Carmarthen.
consequences
Due to the defeat, the English superiority in South Wales suffered a severe setback. As a result of the battle, Welsh troops plundered the lands of the British allied Rhys ap Maredudd of Dryslwyn Castle in the valley of the Tywi , conquered Carmarthen and advanced as far as Cardigan . Due to this defeat, Eduard I. Gilbert de Clare released his command and appointed William de Valence as the new commander of the South Welsh Army on July 6th. It was only through a second campaign that Robert de Tibetot managed to regain control of Ystrad Tywi. The victory at Llandeilo Fawr, like the later victory in the Battle of Menai Strait, strengthened the will of the Welsh to resist, but ultimately could not prevent their defeat in the war.
literature
- RF Walker: William de Valence and the Army of West Wales, 1282-1283 . In: Welsh History Review, 18 (1997), pp. 407-429.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ John Edward Lloyd: A History of Carmarthenshire . Volume 1, Cardiff 1935. p. 199
- ^ RF Walker: William de Valence and the Army of West Wales, 1282-1283 . In: Welsh History Review, 18 (1997), p. 412
- ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 141