Sir Roger Vaughan of Bredwardine (died 25 October 1415), also known as Roger Fychan or Roger the younger, [1] was a Welsh gentleman, described as having possessed wealth, rank, and high respectability. [2] [3] Roger's seat, Bredwardine Castle, is estimated to have been a strong and formidable fortress, located on the banks of the Wye river in Herefordshire, two miles north of Moccas Court. Bredwardine Castle is thought to have furnished much of the material for the building of Moccas Court. [2]
The 15th century Vaughan family, gentry of Bredwardine, Tretower and Hergest, were prominent in eastern Wales and the Herefordshire borderland.
The Vaughans' pedigree often traces descent through Walter Sais (also Seys) [1] to Moreiddig Warwyn. [3] [5] While the Vaughan coat of arms, three boys’ heads with a snake entwined about their necks, originated with Moreiddig Warwyn, [5] Vaughan family ancestry cannot be relied upon with confidence prior to the mid 14th century. [6]
Vaughan married Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam, daughter of Dafydd Gam, with whom he later fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. [1]
In contrast to Gwladys and Roger's allegiance to the House of Lancaster, [7] their three sons were staunch Yorkists during the Wars of the Roses. The brothers would fight with their Herbert half-brothers during the Battle of Edgcote in 1469. Beyond their political pursuits, the Bredwardine and Hergest Vaughans supported Welsh poets. They took residence at the main Vaughan holdings of Bredwardine, Hergest, and Tretower, respectively. [1]
There are other children attributed to this union: John Vaughan of Dursley, William Vaughan of Clifford and three more daughters not specifically identified. [8]
Roger, his father-in-law Dafydd Gam and his recently married son, Roger, had been part of the Welsh contingent that fought with Henry V of England, popularly designated Harry of Monmouth, at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415. Henry's forces faced formidable odds: illness and impediments in the form of destroyed bridges, well-guarded river crossings, fortification and greatly hindered access to cattle as a means of food by the French. Henry's extremely loyal troops pushed on in spite of illness, starvation and fatigue. Upon hearing that his army would be outnumbered, Henry sent Roger's father-in-law Dafydd Gam to observe the size and motion of the French troops. Observing that they would be significantly outnumbered, and not wanting to daunt Henry or his kinmen, Dafydd's response upon his return was that there were "enough to be killed, enough to be taken prisoners and enough to be run away." [2]
Sixteen French knights who had taken a solemn oath to do what was necessary to seize Henry V, succeeding in unhorsing the king, who risked certain death at the hands of the knights. Dayfdd called to his Brecon kinsmen, including both Roger Vaughans, William ap Thomas and William Lloyd. They managed to bring down each of the sixteen knights. Henry V's valiant fight and his own exposure to danger in order to protect his injured brother, Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, inspired and emboldened the English who met the French forces decidedly, killing or capturing their leaders, resulting in confusion and flight. [2]
While Henry V would meet with success in this battle, Dafydd, the elder Roger Vaughan and William Lloyd were mortally wounded. [1] [2]
Legends appeared in the 16th century claiming that [10] upon saving the life of Henry V at the expense of their own lives, both men were knighted by the king on the battlefield before they died. [2] [3] However, there is no contemporary validation that the legends are true. [10]
Henry Vaughan was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author and translator writing in English, and a medical physician. His religious poetry appeared in Silex Scintillans in 1650, with a second part in 1655. In 1646 his Poems, with the Tenth Satire of Juvenal Englished was published. Meanwhile he had been persuaded by reading the religious poet George Herbert to renounce "idle verse". The prose Mount of Olives and Solitary Devotions (1652) show his authenticity and depth of convictions. Two more volumes of secular verse followed, ostensibly without his sanction, but it is his religious verse that has been acclaimed. He also translated short moral and religious works and two medical works in prose. In the 1650s he began a lifelong medical practice.
Dafydd ap Llewelyn ap Hywel, better known as Dafydd Gam, anglicized to David or Davy Gam, was a Welsh warrior, a prominent opponent of Owain Glyndŵr. He died at the Battle of Agincourt fighting for Henry V, King of England in that victory against the French.
Sir William ap Thomas was a Welsh nobleman, politician, knight, and courtier. He was a member of the Welsh gentry family that came to be known as the Herbert family through his son William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and is the agnatic ancestor, via an illegitimate descendant of the 1st Earl of the 8th creation, of the current Herbert family of the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, and also of the Herbert Earl of Carnarvon.
William Herbert, 1st Earl of PembrokeKG, known as "Black William", was a Welsh nobleman, soldier, politician, and courtier.
Sir Gruffudd Vychan, also spelt in English sources as Griffith Vaughan, was a Welsh knight who supported the rebellion of Prince Owain Glyndŵr against the English, and captured the Lollard John Oldcastle, who was later immortalized by Shakespeare as John Falstaff. He was finally executed after the murder of Sir Christopher Talbot, son of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury.
The Battle of Pwll Melyn was a battle between the Welsh and English on 5 May 1405, it was part of the Glyndŵr Rising that lasted from 1400 to 1415. It was the first English victory in a pitched battle during the war. The battle resulted in heavy casualties for the Welsh including the loss of two important commanders.
Tretower Court is a medieval fortified manor house in Wales, situated in the village of Tretower, near Crickhowell in modern-day Powys, previously within the historical county of Breconshire or Brecknockshire.
This article is about the particular significance of the century 1401–1500 to Wales and its people.
The Glyndŵr rebellion was a Welsh rebellion led by Owain Glyndŵr against the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages. During the rebellion's height between 1403 and 1406, Owain exercised control over the majority of Wales after capturing several of the most powerful English castles in the country, and formed a national parliament at Machynlleth. The revolt was the last major manifestation of a Welsh independence before the annexation of Wales into England in 1543.
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Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam was a Welsh noblewoman. She was the daughter of Dafydd ap Llewelyn ap Hywel, otherwise known as Dafydd Gam, who was killed at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
Sir Roger Vaughan of Tretower Court, was the son of Welsh noblewoman Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam and Sir Roger Vaughan of Bredwardine, who fought and died with Gwladys's father, Dafydd Gam in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
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Roger Vaughan JP DL was an English politician and courtier who was a Member of Parliament for Hereford.