The Welsh called themselves Cwmry, which means “The Brotherhood.” These were the people of the Ancient Britons. Celtic Britons after the arrival of Anglo Saxons, were pushed to the far reaches of Britain to populate Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. The Welsh were fearsome warriors, but this brotherhood of Cwmry was divided and their Kings and Princes fought bitterly amongst themselves to rule over more than one kingdom or to become the one King who would rule over all of Wales.
Like many times over the centuries, Wales (Cymru), in 1081, appeared to be yet again fighting for its freedom, its very way of life.
Shortly after the battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror proclaimed himself King of Britain. He quickly established a line of motte and bailey castles along the frontier with Wales. Three lordships were established to hold the border against the Welsh with the intent to conquer as much of Wales over the coming years as they could. These Marcher lordships were controlled by the Earls of Shrewsbury, Chester, and Hereford. The Marcher Lords were allowed to act independently of King William and their appropriation of Welsh property was often brutal. This wasn’t always achieved by fighting, however, but by setting one Welsh kingdom against the other through political manipulation and treachery.
Divided by old grudges and long-time enemies, three kings Trahaearn ap[1] Caradog, the King of Gwynedd, Meilyr ap Rhiwallon, King of Powys, and Caradog ap Gruffudd, King of Gwent, invaded the kingdom of Deheubarth, forcing its king, Rhys ap Tewdwr, to flee for his life to the sanctuary of Saint David’s Cathedral. Rhys subsequently made an alliance with an exiled prince from Ireland, Gruffudd ap Cynan. The five armies met and fought at the bloody battle of Mynydd Carn in the southwest corner of Wales. The battle raged through the evening and into the next day. Moonlight glinted off sword and Irish long spear as the outnumbered invaders fought the Viking and Irish mercenary army. The Defeat was catastrophic, as each of the three invading kings fell on the battlefield and their armies scattered, running for their lives ahead of the Viking horde. But treachery was afoot, for imbedded into the invading army was a garrison of Norman arbalists[2]. So sure were they of their plan to take over the whole of southern Wales, the Norman Marcher Lords had sent these arbalists with the three armies to ensure success.
The time was laced with heroes, bravery, and treachery, which is where the story begins.
The story is built around real events. Research varies with the source as many of the histories of these events were written years and sometimes centuries after the events. Places, battle sites, and dates all differ, as do the names and spellings of the main characters; not surprising considering it is over 900 years in the past. In some references, the three kings are called princes. Some unknown information has been fictitiously woven into the novel and dates have been changed to allow for the flow of the story. For instance, Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) monastery was founded in 1123 but I needed a place of sanctuary for Rhain and Mairwen to rest after they crossed the mountains. Many of the names of villages and towns in the novel are fictitious, as are all the main story characters, and do not portray any real persons, nor do the events, other that the battle’s historical record of the Kings and Marcher Lords of 1081. The site of Hen Domen no longer exists as a physical structure, but there is a wonderful model of what it probably looked like in the museum in Montgomery. The archeological site briefly mentioned is completely fictional. As for the old castle on the limestone promontory, it is stunningly beautiful set high on a hill and is open for the public to visit, but other than the historical description of the castle, nothing else is reality, neither the fictional cave on the face of the wall nor the circle of boulders. Those were purely the product of my imagination as I stood looking over the valley.
[1] Patronymic designator, meaning “son of.”
[2] i.e., crossbowmen.