English rule in Wales

English rule in Wales is the period in the history of Wales from the conquest of Wales by Edward I to the Laws in Wales Acts of Henry VIII, during which time Wales was ruled by the English in a colonial manner.

Wales was first invaded by the Kingdom of England, following England's own conquest by the Normans, in the 12th century and by the end of the 13th century, Wales had become a principality within the Realm of England. Owain Glyndŵr launched the Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century which managed to conquer much of Wales until his defeat to English forces. During the uprising, the Penal Laws against Wales were introduced by the English establishment to establish English dominance, and lasted until 1624.

Wales was formally absorbed into the Kingdom of England through the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542, and later the succeeding states of Great Britain and the United Kingdom.

Conquest

The making of Wales

Wales as a nation was defined in opposition to English settlement and incursions into the island of Great Britain. They continued to think of themselves as Britons, the people of the whole island, but over the course of time one group of these Britons became isolated by the geography of the western peninsula, bounded by the sea and English neighbours. It was these English neighbours who named the land Wallia, and the people Welsh. The people of Wallia, medieval Wales, remained divided into separate kingdoms that fought with each other as much as they fought their English neighbours. Neither were the communities homogenously Welsh. Place name and archeological evidence point to Viking/Norse settlement in places such as Swansea, Fishguard and Anglesey, and Saxons settled amongst the Welsh in places such as Presteigne. It was the Norman invasion of England in 1066, which led soon after to incursions into Wales that overcame these rivalries, encouraging Welsh rulers to attempt to develop Wales into a unified state that could oppose this new threat. It was only in the final stages of conquest that Wales finally achieved this unity. It was the threat of invasion and conquest that created the nation of Wales. ^[1]

One king, Hywel Dda, came close to uniting Wales as a single nation. He was king of Deheubarth but in 942 he intervened when Idwal Foel of Gwynedd was defeated in battle by Edmund, King of England. He thus took control of Gwynedd and Powys, making him ruler of all Wales except Morgannwg and Gwent. Hywel Dda instituted Welsh law, which was adopted across Wales, even after his kingdom was divided after his death. ^[2]

Norman incursion and colonies

Main articles: Norman invasion of Wales and Conquest of Wales by Edward I

The Battle of Hastings of 1066, and the Norman conquest of England was pivotal for the Welsh as it launched a series of ventures into Welsh territory to take territory. By 1067 the Normans had begun building Chepstow castle. In response to ensuing Welsh advances, William established a series of earldoms in the borderlands, 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. ^[3] 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 a location known at the time as Striguil, near the mouth of the Wye. This 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. ^[4] 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". ^[5]

Thus King William had asserted overlorship in Wales, particularly the borders and southern agricultural land. This area began, by the 12th century, to be referred to as the Marches (from the French word for a border), whereas the uplands became known as Pura Wallia. ^[6] The Normans spoke Norman French, but they imported English speaking peasants into lands they controlled, and acted as collonial overlords. ^[6] Henry I invited Flemish immigrants into Pembrokeshire, fleeing their recently inundated homelands. Here they established a cloth industry. It is not clear what happened to the local populations when these immigrant colonies were created, but medieval writers write of ethnic tensions and conflict, and a century later Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), Prince of Gwynedd, attacked the area, and slaughtered the Flemish people. ^[7]

Following Henry's death in 1135, 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". ^[8] A notable example was the Battle of Crug Mawr, near Cardigan, in which the Normans suffered a heavy defeat. ^[9]

Gerald of Wales tells a story of Henry II King of England, a successive Anglo-Norman king, who asked an old man of Pencader, Carmarthenshire, what he thought the outcome of the war would be, and his reply was:

"Never will it be destroyed by the wrath of man, unless the wrath of God be added... Nor do I think that any other nation than this of Wales, or any other tongue, whatever may hereafter come to pass, shall on the day of the great reckoning before the Most High Judge, answer for this corner of the earth." ^[10]

Henry II led his first expedition into Wales in 1157. He met with heavy and humiliating defeat, particularly at Coleshill / Coed Eulo, where Henry was entirely unsuccessful, almost being killed in the fighting. His army routed and fled. ^[11]

Prince of Wales

King John achieved greater dominance over Wales and in 1211, he took the son of Llywelyn the Great as hostage, and also forced the surrender of territory in north-east Wales. Llywelyn's son, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, and other hostages were used as security by the king. However the Welsh and Scots joined English rebel Barons in forcing John to sign the Magna Carta of 1215. The document therefore holds specific Welsh provisions. These included the return of lands and liberties to Welshmen if those lands and liberties had been taken by English (and vice versa) without a law abiding judgement of their peers. Also the immediate return return of Gruffydd and the other Welsh hostages. ^[12] Llywelyn went on to gain dominance over all Wales the following year and in 1218 Henry III of England formally recognised Llywelyn I as Prince of Wales in the treaty of Worcester. ^[13]

Conquest of Wales

See also: Conquest of Wales by Edward I

Dafydd ap Llywelyn became Dafydd II after the death of Llywelyn in 1240, but although King Henry III of England had accepted his Royal claims to Gwynedd and Wales, he invaded Gwynedd, and Dafydd II was forced to negotiate peace near St. Asaph. On 29 August 1241, under the terms of the Treaty of Gwerneigron, Dafydd II gave up all his lands outside Gwynedd. ^[13] It was left for his nephew, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Llywelyn II, or Llwelyn the last, to reunite Wales once more under his reign. He ruled from 1246-1282, and using the title Prince of Wales from 1258 with Scottish recognition. ^[14]

In November 1276, Edward I King of England declared war on Llywelyn II over a series of disputes. ^[15] and in 1277 he led 15,500 men into Wales. Llywelyn II attempted to recruit more Welsh soldiers in mid-Wales, ^[16] but realising his position was hopeless he surrendered without battle. Edward negotiated a settlement, rather than a conquest. ^[17] War broke out again in 1282, as a result of a rebellion by Llywelyn's brother Dafydd, who was discontented with the reward he had received from Edward in 1277. Edward I was sucked into war again and this time he turned to a war of conquest. ^[18]

The war turned in Edward's favour when Llywelyn unexpectedly marched out of North Wales towards Builth in mid-Wales. ^[19] He was lured into a trap and killed at the Battle of Orewin Bridge on 11 December 1282. ^[20] Llywelyn's brother Dafydd, took over leadership of the Welsh force, but was caught in 1283. He was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury by a horse, hanged, drawn and quartered. ^{[21] [ better source needed ]}

Following the deaths of Llywelyn and Dafydd, Edward ended Welsh independence, introducing the royal ordinance of the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. The statute was a constitutional change annexing the Principality of Wales to the Realm of England. ^{[22] [23]} The statute introduced English common law to Wales for criminal cases, while civil cases were still dealt with under the Welsh laws of Hywel Dda. ^{[24] [23]}

Rebellions

Main article: Welsh rebellions against English rule

Madog ap Llywelyn

Madog ap Llywelyn led a Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule in Wales and styled himself Prince of Wales. ^[25] In 1294, he put himself at the head of a national revolt in response to the actions of new royal administrators in north and west Wales. ^[26]

In December 1294 King Edward led an army into north Wales to quell the revolt. His campaign was timely, for several Welsh castles remained in serious danger. Edward himself was ambushed and retreated to Conwy Castle, losing his baggage train. The town of Conwy was burnt down and Edward besieged until he was relieved by his navy in 1295. ^[27]

The crucial battle occurred at the battle of Maes Moydog in Powys on 5 March 1295. The Welsh army successfully defended itself against an English cavalry charge. However, they suffered heavy losses, and many Welsh soldiers drowned trying to cross a swollen river. ^[28] Madog escaped but was captured by Ynyr Fychan of Nannau in Snowdonia in late July or early August 1295. ^[29]

Llywelyn Bren

Llywelyn Bren was a nobleman who led a 1316 revolt. ^[30] Following an order to appear before king Edward II of England, Llywelyn raised an army of Welsh Glamorgan men which laid siege Caerphilly Castle. The rebellion spread throughout the south Wales valleys and other castles were attacked, but this uprising only lasted a few weeks. ^[31] Hugh Despenser the Younger's unlawful execution of Llywelyn Bren helped to lead to the eventual overthrow of both Edward II and Hugh. ^[30]

Owain Lawgoch

In May 1372, in Paris, Owain Lawgoch announced that he intended to claim the throne of Wales. He set sail with money borrowed from Charles V, ^[32] but was in Guernsey when a message arrived from Charles ordering him to go to Castile to seek ships to attack La Rochelle. ^[33]

In 1377 there were reports that Owain was planning another expedition, this time with help from Castile. The alarmed English government sent a spy, the Scot John Lamb, to assassinate Owain. ^{[33] [34]} Lamb stabbed Owain to death in July 1378. ^[32]

With the assassination of Owain Lawgoch the senior line of the House of Aberffraw became extinct. ^{[33] [35]} As a result, the claim to the title 'Prince of Wales' fell to the other royal dynasties, of Deheubarth and Powys and heir Owain Glyndŵr. ^{[32] [35]}

Glyndŵr Rising

Main article: Welsh Revolt

Painting of Owain Glyndŵr by AC Michael.

The initial cause of Owain Glyndŵr's rebellion was likely the incursion of his land by Baron Grey of Ruthin and the late delivery of a letter requiring armed services of Glyndŵr by King Henry IV of England. Glyndŵr, pronounced Prince of Wales on 16 September 1400, proceeded to attack English towns with his armies in north-east Wales. In 1401 Glyndŵr's allies captured Conwy Castle and Glyndŵr was victorious against English forces in Pumlumon. King Henry led several attempted invasions of Wales but with limited success. Bad weather and the guerilla tactics of Glyndŵr created a mythical status for him. ^[36]

In 1404, Glyndŵr captured Aberystwyth and Harlech castles. He was crowned Prince of Wales in Machynlleth and welcomed emissaries from Scotland, France, and Castille. French assistance arrived in 1405 and much of Wales was in Glyndŵr's control. In 1406 Glyndŵr wrote the Pennal Letter offering Welsh allegiance to the Avignon Pope and seeking recognition of the bishop of Saint David's as archbishop of Wales, and demands including that the "usurper" Henry Henry IV should be excommunicated. The French did not respond and the rebellion began to falter. Aberystwyth Castle was lost in 1408 and Harlech Castle in 1409 and Glyndŵr was forced to retreat to the Welsh mountains. ^[36] Glyndŵr was never captured, and the date of his death remains uncertain. ^[37]

Penal Laws against Wales

Main article: Penal Laws against Wales 1402

In 1401 and 1402, the Parliament of England passed a series of penal laws, that discriminated against the Welsh people. ^[38] These laws were passed as coercive measures against the Welsh in response to the Welsh Revolt of Owain Glyndŵr. Penal laws banned Welsh people from holding a senior public office, public assembly, bearing arms, buying property in English towns. Penal laws also affected some rights of English men who married Welsh women. ^[39] These laws remained in place long after the revolt, and were not obsoleted until the Laws in Wales Acts of 1532 and 1542 that were introduced by Henry VIII King of England. ^[40]

The Tudors

Henry Tudor was born in Pembroke, raised in Raglan and his grandfather hailed from Anglesey. He played up these Welsh connections, relying on tales and prophecies of a native born Prince of Wales who would once again lead the Welsh people. He chose to fight under a banner of a red dragon at the battle of Bosworth Field. On taking the throne as Henry VII of England, he broke with the convention that the Prince of Wales was named as the eldest son of the King, and declared himself Prince of Wales. During his reign he rewarded many of his Welsh supporters, and through a series of charters the principality and other areas saw the penal laws being abolished, although communities sometimes had to pay considerable sums for these charters. ^[41] There also remained some doubt about their legal validity. ^[42]

Integration with England

Pressure from those within Wales and fears of a new rebellion led Henry VIII of England to introduce the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 via the English parliament, legally integrating Wales and England. The Welsh marches were shired and the Principailty and Marches were reunited into the single territory of Wales with a clearly defined border for the first time. ^{[43] [44]} The Welsh legal system of Hywel Dda that had existed alongside the English system since the conquest by Edward I, was now fully replaced. The penal laws were obosoleted by acts that made the Welsh people citizens of the realm, and all the legal rights and privileges of the English were extended to the Welsh for the first time. ^{[lower-alpha 1]} These changes were widely welcomed by the Welsh people, although more controversial was the requirement that Welsh members elected to parliament must be able to speak English, and that English would be the language of the courts. ^[46]

See also

• Wars of Scottish Independence
• Irish War of Independence

Notes

1. By making the Welsh citizens of the realm it gave them equality under the law with English subjects," and speaking of the Welsh people, "At last they had had their wish and been granted by statute the full 'freedoms, liberties, rights, privileges and laws' of the realm. By conferring upon them legal authorization to become members of parliament, sheriffs, justices of the peace, and the like, the Act had done little more than give statutory confirmation of rights they had already acquired de facto. Yet, in formally handing power to members of the gentry, the Crown had conferred self-government upon Wales in the sixteenth-century sense of the term." ^[45]

References

1. Johnes 2019, pp. 15–20.
2. Johnes 2019, pp. 22.
3. Davies 2000, p. 28.
4. Davies 1993, pp. 100–102.
5. Davies 2000, p. 29.
6. Johnes 2019, pp. 25.
7. Johnes 2019, pp. 28.
8. Davies 2000, p. 45.
9. Coflein (402323).
10. Jones 1947, pp. 103.
11. Davies 2000, p. 52.
12. Carpenter 2015.
13. Pierce, 1959d.
14. Moore 2007.
15. Powicke 1962, p. 409.
16. Bremner 2011.
17. Prestwich 2007, p. 151.
18. Davies 2000, p. 348.
19. Prestwich 2007, p. 155.
20. Davies 2000, p. 353.
21. Long 2007.
22. Jones 1969.
23. Pilkington 2002, pp. 23–24.
24. Walker 1990, p. 139.
25. Pierce, 1959b.
26. Griffiths 1955, p. 13.
27. Griffiths 1955, p. 17.
28. Jones 2008, p. 166.
29. Jones 2008, p. 189.
30. Jones 2007.
31. Pierce, 1959a.
32. Walker 1990, pp. 165–167.
33. Carr 1995, pp. 103–106.
34. Pierce, 1959c.
35. Davies 2000, p. 436.
36. Davies 1995.
37. Williams 1993, p. 5.
38. Davies 2013.
39. The National Archives.
40. Williams 1993, pp. 10–14.
41. Johnes 2019, pp. 63, 64.
42. Carr 2017, p. 268.
43. Davies 1995, p. 232.
44. Legislation.gov.uk.
45. Williams 1993, p. 274.
46. Williams 1993, pp. 268–73.

Bibliography

• Barrow, G. W. S. (1956). Feudal Britain: the completion of the medieval kingdoms, 1066–1314. E. Arnold. ISBN   9787240008980.
• "BBC Wales - History - Themes - Welsh language: The Norman conquest". www.bbc.co.uk. 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
• Bremner, Ian (2011). "BBC - History - British History in depth: Wales: English Conquest of Wales c.1200 - 1415". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
• Carr, Anthony D. (1995). Medieval Wales. Basingstoke: Macmillan. ISBN   0312125097.
• Carr, Antony D (2017). The Gentry of North Wales in the later Middle Ages. University of Wales Press. ISBN   978-1-78683-136-1.
• "Crug Mawr, site of battle, near Cardigan (402323)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 4 April 2023.
• Davies, John (1993). A History of Wales. Penguin. ISBN   0-14-028475-3.
• Davies, John (2020). Accident or Assassination?The Death of Llywelyn 11th December 1282 (PDF). Abbey Cwmhir Heritage Trust.
• Davies, R. R. (1995). The revolt of Owain Glyn Dŵr. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0198205081.
• Davies, R. R. (2000). The Age of Conquest: Wales, 1063–1415. St. Martin's Press. ISBN   0-19-820198-2.
• Davies, R. R. (2013). Owain Glyndwr - Prince of Wales. Y Lolfa. ISBN   978-1-84771-763-4.
• Griffiths, John (1955). "The Revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn, 1294–5". Transactions of the Caernarfonshire Historical Society. 16: 12–24.
• Carpenter, David (2015). "Magna Carta: Wales, Scotland and Ireland". Hansard.
• Jones, Craig Owen (2007). Compact History of Welsh Heroes: Llywelyn Bren. Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN   978-1845270988.
• Johnes, Martin (2019-08-25). Wales: England's Colony?. Parthian Books. ISBN   978-1-912681-56-3.
• Jones, Craig Owen (2008). Compact History of Welsh Heroes: The Revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn. Gwalch.
• Jones, Francis (1969). The Princes and Principality of Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN   9780900768200.
• Jones, Thomas (1947). Gerallt Gymro. Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
• "Laws in Wales Act 1535 (repealed 21.12.1993)".
• Long, Tony (2007). "Oct. 3, 1283: As Bad Deaths Go, It's Hard to Top This". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 27 May 2022.
• Moore, David (10 January 2007). The Welsh Wars of Independence. The History Press. ISBN   978-0-7524-9648-1 . Retrieved 22 March 2023.
• Pierce, Thomas Jones (1959). "Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Bren (died 1317) nobleman, soldier and rebel martyr". Dictionary of Welsh Biography . National Library of Wales.
• Pierce, Thomas Jones (1959). "MADOG ap LLYWELYN, rebel of 1294". Dictionary of Welsh Biography . National Library of Wales . Retrieved 27 May 2022.
• Pierce, Thomas Jones (1959). "OWAIN ap THOMAS ap RHODRI (' Owain Lawgoch '; died 1378), a soldier of fortune and pretender to the principality of Wales". Dictionary of Welsh Biography . National Library of Wales.
• Pierce, Thomas Jones (1959). "Llywelyn ap Iorwerth ('Llywelyn the Great', often styled 'Llywelyn I', prince of Gwynedd)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography . National Library of Wales.
• Pilkington, Colin (2002). Devolution in Britain today. Manchester University Press. pp. 23–24. ISBN   978-0-7190-6075-5.
• Powicke, F. M. (1962). The Thirteenth Century: 1216–1307 (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN   978-0-19-82-1708-4.
• Prestwich, Michael (2007). Plantagenet England: 1225–1360 (new ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-822844-8.
• "Transcript - The National Archives - Exhibitions - Uniting the Kingdoms?". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
• Walker, David (1990). Medieval Wales. Cambridge University Press. p. 139. ISBN   978-0-521-31153-3.
• Williams, Glanmor (1993). Renewal and Reformation: Wales C. 1415-1642. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-285277-9.