The Welsh campaign – The glorious highlight of Edward’s long reign!

Edward I

In 1282, Llewelyn-ap-Gruffydd, holed up in his mountainous lair and still smarting over his humiliating defeat in 1277 was eager to strike against Edward. In fact it was Llewelyn’s estranged brother, Daffyd who seized the initiative by mounting an attack on Hawarden Castle which had been rebuilt by Edward as a safeguard in the event of a future Welsh rebellion.

Dafyyd had once been an ally of Edward’s in the conflict against Llewelyn, and of course this had put a strain on the natural bond of brotherhood. However, Dafydd was very dissatisfied with the reward he had received from Edward in return for his quite considerable services. The estranged brothers were now reconciled by virtue of their mutual hatred for the king of England.

‘Llewelyn, I Dafydd, will lead valiant Welsh men bearing my personal shield!

Together, we will drive the English invaders from every town and field!’

This was the opening shot in the ap-Gruffydd brothers military campaign to banish the English presence and restore Welsh supremacy in Wales. One of the reasons for Edward’s swift victory in 1277 was that he had the support of many of the Welsh nobles who were resentful at what they regarded as Llewelyn’s harsh rule. However, by 1282 this support had evaporated because they found that being subject to English law was considerably less to their liking than they had anticipated.

The English barons were unctuous and condescending towards the Welsh, whom they considered as being akin to little more than the hunter-gatherer cavemen of long ago. Under these really quite insulting circumstances, a return to the ‘good old days’ under a resurgent Llewelyn seemed a welcome proposition.

This time around, Llewelyn felt that he had a very real chance of ejecting the hated English from the principality of Wales. The brothers, Lew and Daff must have concluded:

‘Strike when the iron rule of the English is hot!

That way we can root out the foreign rot!’

Edward was swift to respond and plans for a full scale invasion were laid immediately. The king’s war aims were rather different from 1277 when his objective was simply to bring Llewelyn to heel, and strip him of much of his land and power. This time, Edward was embarking upon a war of colonisation, so as to ensure that England gained and maintained total dominance over its western neighbour.

Edward’s strategy was the deployment of the three-pronged attack. The king would lead his army into north Wales, while trusted friend and valued confidant, Roger Mortimer would conduct hostilities in the middle area of the principality. The Earl of Gloucester would be charged with eliminating the enemy in the south. The king must have been reasonably confident that the mission would be accomplished in fairly good time.

Initial setbacks.

In June of 1282, Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, was heavily defeated at the Battle of Llandielo Fawr. The king promptly relieved de Clare of his command and replaced him with William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, who penetrated as far south as Aberystwyh but failed to engage with Welsh forces.

In October, Edward received news of the death of Roger Mortimer. This was both a huge personal and professional loss. Mortimer, a loyal and competent soldier, had been instrumental in arranging his escape from captivity by de Montfort’s forces all those years ago.

‘Dearest Roger, how I mourn you, a man, so loyal, resourceful and bold!

I had hoped that I would have you at my right hand until I grew quite old!’

Further unwelcome news was conveyed to Edward the following month. On November 6th the commander of royal forces on Anglesey, Luke de Tany decided to mount a surprise attack on the Welsh soldiers encamped on the mainland. In the event it was de Tany who was surprised.

The coat of arms of Luke de Tany.

Using a pontoon bridge, the English force crossed the Menai straits, but were ambushed by the waiting Welsh in what became known as the Battle of Moel-y-don and suffered some 300 losses including their leader, de Tany.

This round of the conflict had to go to the ap Gruffydd brothers, Llew and Daff. Reflecting on recent events, the chuckling brothers must have concluded as follows:

‘You know Llew, of his army, Edward has lost more than just a few!

Daff, the day that he decided to invade Wales is one that he will tearfully rue!’

In the meantime, King Edward pondered the unhappy situation with a view to rectifying matters as swiftly as possible.