The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through
Wales
by Geraldus Cambrensis
Book I
Chapter IV
The journey by Coed Grono and
Abergevenni
From thence65
we proceeded through the narrow, woody tract called the bad
pass of Coed Grono, leaving the noble monastery of Lanthoni,
inclosed by its mountains, on our left. The castle of
Abergevenni is so called from its situation at the
confluence of the river Gevenni with the Usk.
It happened a short time after the
death of king Henry I., that Richard de Clare, a nobleman of
high birth, and lord of Cardiganshire, passed this way on
his journey from England into Wales, accompanied by Brian de
Wallingford, lord of this province, and many men-at-arms. At
the passage of Coed Grono,66
and at the entrance into the wood, he dismissed him and his
attendants, though much against their will, and proceeded on
his journey unarmed; from too great a presumption of
security, preceded only by a minstrel and a singer, one
accompanying the other on the fiddle. The Welsh awaiting his
arrival, with Iorwerth, brother of Morgan of Caerleon, at
their head, and others of his family, rushed upon him
unawares from the thickets, and killed him and many of his
followers. Thus it appears how incautious and neglectful of
itself is too great presumption; for fear teaches foresight
and caution in prosperity, but audacity is precipitate, and
inconsiderate rashness will not await the advice of the
leader.
A sermon having been delivered at
Abergevenni,67
and many persons converted to the cross, a certain nobleman
of those parts, named Arthenus, came to the archbishop, who
was proceeding towards the castle of Usk, and humbly begged
pardon for having neglected to meet him sooner. Being
questioned whether he would take the cross, he replied,
"That ought not be done without the advice of his friends."
The archbishop then asked him, "Are you not going to consult
your wife?" To which he modestly answered, with a downcast
look, "When the work of a man is to be undertaken, the
counsel of a woman ought not to be asked;" and instantly
received the cross from the archbishop.
We leave to others the relation of those frequent and
cruel excesses which in our times have arisen amongst the
inhabitants of these parts, against the governors of
castles, and the vindictive retaliations of the governors
against the natives. But king Henry II. was the true author,
and Ranulf Poer, sheriff of Hereford, the instrument, of the
enormous cruelties and slaughter perpetrated here in our
days, which I thought better to omit, lest bad men should be
induced to follow the example; for although temporary
advantage may seem to arise from a base cause, yet, by the
balance of a righteous judge, the punishment of wickedness
may be deferred, though not totally avoided, according to
the words of the poet, -
"Non habet eventus sordida praeda bonos."
For after seven years of peace and tranquillity, the sons
and grandsons of the deceased, having attained the age of
manhood, took advantage of the absence of the lord of the
castle (Abergevenni), and, burning with revenge, concealed
themselves, with no inconsiderable force during the night,
within the woody foss of the castle. One of them, name
Sisillus (Sitsylt) son of Eudaf, on the preceding day said
rather jocularly to the constable, "Here will we enter this
night," pointing out to him a certain angle in the wall
where it seemed the lowest; but since
" - Ridendo dicere verum Quis vetat?"
and
" - fas est et ab hoste doceri,"
the constable and his household
watched all night under arms, till at length, worn out by
fatigue, they all retired to rest on the appearance of
daylight, upon which the enemy attacked the walls with
scaling-ladders, at the very place that had been pointed
out. The constable and his wife were taken prisoners, with
many others, a few persons only escaping, who had sheltered
themselves in the principal tower. With the exception of
this stronghold, the enemy violently seized and burned
everything; and thus, by the righteous judgment of God, the
crime was punished in the very place where it had been
committed. A short time after the taking of this fortress,
when the aforesaid sheriff was building a castle at
Landinegat,68
near Monmouth, with the assistance of the army he had
brought from Hereford, he was attacked at break of day,
when
"Tythoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile"
was only beginning to divest herself of the shades of
night, by the young men from Gwent and the adjacent parts,
with the descendants of those who had been slain. Through
aware of this premeditated attack, and prepared and drawn up
in battle array, they were nevertheless repulsed within
their intrenchments, and the sheriff, together with nine of
the chief men of Hereford, and many others, were pierced to
death with lances. It is remarkable that, although Ranulf,
besides many other mortal wounds, had the veins and arteries
of his neck and his windpipe separated with a sword, he made
signs for a priest, and from the merit of his past life, and
the honour and veneration he had shewn to those chosen into
the sacred order of Christ, he was confessed, and received
extreme unction before he died. And, indeed, many events
concur to prove that, as those who respect the priesthood,
in their latter days enjoy the satisfaction of friendly
intercourse, so do their revilers and accusers often die
without that consolation. William de Braose, who was not the
author of the crime we have preferred passing over in
silence, but the executioner, or, rather, not the preventer
of its execution, while the murderous bands were fulfilling
the orders they had received, was precipitated into a deep
foss, and being taken by the enemy, was drawn forth, and
only by a sudden effort of his own troops, and by divine
mercy, escaped uninjured. Hence it is evident that he who
offends in a less degree, and unwillingly permits a thing to
be done, is more mildly punished than he
who adds counsel and authority to his act. Thus, in the
sufferings of Christ, Judas was punished with hanging, the
Jews with destruction and banishment, and Pilate with exile.
But the end of the king, who assented to and ordered this
treachery, sufficiently manifested in what manner, on
account of this and many other enormities he had committed
(as in the book "De Instructione Principis," by God's
guidance, we shall set forth), he began with accumulated
ignominy, sorrow, and confusion, to suffer punishment in
this world.69
It seems worthy of remark, that the
people of what is called Venta70
are more accustomed to war, more famous for valour, and more
expert in archery, than those of any other part of Wales.
The following examples prove the truth of this assertion. In
the last capture of the aforesaid castle, which happened in
our days, two soldiers passing over a bridge to take refuge
in a tower built on a mound of earth, the Welsh, taking them
in the rear, penetrated with their arrows the oaken portal
of the tower, which was four fingers thick; in memory of
which circumstance, the arrows were preserved in the gate.
William de Braose also testifies that one of his soldiers,
in a conflict with the Welsh, was wounded by an arrow, which
passed through his thigh and the armour with which it was
cased on both sides, and, through that part of the saddle
which is called the alva, mortally wounded the horse.
Another soldier had his hip, equally sheathed in armour,
penetrated by an arrow quite to the saddle, and on turning
his horse round, received a similar wound on the opposite
hip, which fixed him on both sides of his seat. What more
could be expected from a balista? Yet the bows used by this
people are not made of horn, ivory, or yew, but of wild elm;
unpolished, rude, and uncouth, but stout; not calculated to
shoot an arrow to a great distance, but to inflict very
severe wounds in close fight.
But let us again return to our Itinerary.
The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through
Wales
by Geraldus Cambrensis
Chapter III
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