MEYSYDD BRWYDRO HANESYDDOL HISTORIC BATTLEFIELDS IN WALES YNG NGHYMRU The following report, commissioned by Mae’r adroddiad canlynol, a gomisiynwyd the Welsh Battlefields Steering Group and gan Grŵp Llywio Meysydd Brwydro Cymru funded by Welsh Government, forms part ac a ariennir gan Lywodraeth Cymru, yn of a phased programme of investigation ffurfio rhan o raglen archwilio fesul cam i undertaken to inform the consideration of daflu goleuni ar yr ystyriaeth o Gofrestr a Register or Inventory of Historic neu Restr o Feysydd Brwydro Hanesyddol Battlefields in Wales. Work on this began yng Nghymru. Dechreuwyd gweithio ar in December 2007 under the direction of hyn ym mis Rhagfyr 2007 dan the Welsh Government’sHistoric gyfarwyddyd Cadw, gwasanaeth Environment Service (Cadw), and followed amgylchedd hanesyddol Llywodraeth the completion of a Royal Commission on Cymru, ac yr oedd yn dilyn cwblhau the Ancient and Historical Monuments of prosiect gan Gomisiwn Brenhinol Wales (RCAHMW) project to determine Henebion Cymru (RCAHMW) i bennu pa which battlefields in Wales might be feysydd brwydro yng Nghymru a allai fod suitable for depiction on Ordnance Survey yn addas i’w nodi ar fapiau’r Arolwg mapping. The Battlefields Steering Group Ordnans. Sefydlwyd y Grŵp Llywio was established, drawing its membership Meysydd Brwydro, yn cynnwys aelodau o from Cadw, RCAHMW and National Cadw, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Museum Wales, and between 2009 and Cymru ac Amgueddfa Genedlaethol 2014 research on 47 battles and sieges Cymru, a rhwng 2009 a 2014 comisiynwyd was commissioned. This principally ymchwil ar 47 o frwydrau a gwarchaeau. comprised documentary and historical Mae hyn yn bennaf yn cynnwys ymchwil research, and in 10 cases both non- ddogfennol a hanesyddol, ac mewn 10 invasive and invasive fieldwork. achos, gwaith maes heb fod yn ymyrryd a As a result of this work The Inventory of gwaith a oedd yn ymyrryd. Historic Battlefields in Wales O ganlyniad i’r gwaith hwn mae Rhestr o (http://battlefields.rcahmw.gov.uk/) is in Feysydd Brwydro Hanesyddol yng development, led by the RCAHMW on Nghymru behalf of Cadw. This will be an online (http://meysyddbrwydro.cbhc.gov.uk/) yn interpretative, educational and research cael ei datblygu, dan arweiniad Comisiwn resource aimed at increasing knowledge Brenhinol Henebion Cymru ar ran Cadw. and raising awareness of battlefields in Bydd yn adnodd deongliadol, addysgol ac Wales, as well as a prompt for further ymchwil ar-lein, yn anelu at gynyddu research. It is due to be launched in gwybodaeth a chodi ymwybyddiaeth o spring 2017. feysydd brwydro yng Nghymru, yn ogystal ag ysgogi ymchwil bellach. Gobeithir ei lansio yn ystod gwanwyn 2017. Mae’r tabl isod yn rhestru’r brwydrau a’r The table below lists the battles and sieges gwarchaeau a ymchwiliwyd. Bydd researched. Reports will be available to adroddiadau ar gael i’w llwytho i lawr o’r download from the online Inventory as Rhestr ar-ein yn ogystal ag o Coflein well as from Coflein (http://www.coflein.gov.uk/), y gronfa (http://www.coflein.gov.uk/), the online ddata ar-lein ar gyfer Cofnod Henebion database for the National Monuments Cenedlaethol Cymru (NMRW). Record of Wales (NMRW).

ENW/NAME DYDDIAD/ SIR NPRN YMCHWIL/RESEARCH DATE HANESYDDOL/HI STORIC COUNTY

Aberllech 1096 Sir Frycheiniog 404446 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Gildas Research, 2013) Brecknockshire Documentary and historical research (Gildas Research, 2013)

Pont Cychod (Menai ac 1282 Ynys Môn 404319 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol Ynys Môn) (Chapman, 2013) Anglesey Bridge of Boats (Menai Documentary and historical and Anglesey) research (Chapman, 2013)

Bryn Derwin 1255 Sir Gaernarfon 402322 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Chapman, 2013) Caernarfonshire Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2014)

Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013

Non-invasive and invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2014)

Bryn Glas (Pillth) 1402 Sir Faesyfed 306352 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Radnorshire Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2012)

Cloddfa (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2013) Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2014)

Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Non-invasive and invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2012)

Excavation (Archaeology Wales, 2013)

Non-invasive and invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2014)

Campston Hill 1404 Sir Fynwy 402328 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Monmouthshire Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Cilgerran 1258 Sir Benfro 405201 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Gildas Research, 2013) Pembrokeshire Documentary and historical research (Gildas Research, 2013)

Coed Llathan 1257 Sir Gaerfyrddin 403587 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Chapman, 2013) Carmarthenshire Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2014)

Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Non-invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2014)

Castell Coety 1404-05 Morgannwg 545701 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae) /Coity (Chapman, 2013) Castle (siege) Glamorgan Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Coleshill 1157 Sir y Fflint 402325 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (2009) Flintshire Documentary and historical research (2009)

Craig y Dorth 1404 Sir Fynwy 402327 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Monmouthshire Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2014)

Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Non-invasive and invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2014)

Crug Mawr 1136 Sir Aberteifi 402323 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Cardiganshire Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Castell Cymaron 1144 Sir Faesyfed 545328 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchaeau) / (Gildas Research, 2013) Cymaron Castle (sieges) 1179 Radnorshire Documentary and historical 1195 research (Gildas Research, 2013)

1215

Cymerau 1257 Sir Gaerfyrddin 404717 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Chapman, 2013) Carmarthenshire Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2014)

Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Non-invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2014)

Castell Dinbych 1282 Sir Ddinbych 545687 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae)/ Denbigh (Chapman, 2013) Castle (siege) Denbighshire Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Castell Dinbych 1294-5 Sir Ddinbych 545613 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae)/ Denbigh (Chapman, 2013) Castle (siege) Denbighshire Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Castell Dinbych 1460 Sir Ddinbych 545718 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae)/ Denbigh (Chapman, 2013) Castle (siege) Denbighshire Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Castell Dinbych 1468 Sir Ddinbych 545720 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae)/ Denbigh (Chapman, 2013) Castle (siege) Denbighshire Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Castell Dinbych 1646 Sir Ddinbych 545789 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae)/ Denbigh (Chapman, 2013) Castle (siege) Denbighshire Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Castell Dryslwyn 1287 Sir Gaerfyrddin 545605 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae) / Dryslwyn (Gildas Research, 2013) Castle (siege) Carmarthenshire Documentary and historical research (Gildas Research, 2013)

Carregwastad - 1797 Sir Benfro 308824 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol Abergwaun (Border Archaeology, 2009) (ymosodiad) / Pembrokeshire Carregwastad Point – Documentary and historical Fishguard (invasion) research (Border Archaeology, 2009) Gŵyr/ Gower 1136 Morgannwg 404856 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Gildas Research, 2013) Glamorgan Documentary and historical research (Gildas Research, 2013)

Grosmont 1405 Sir Fynwy 402333 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Monmouthshire Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2012)

Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Non-invasive and invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2012)

Hyddgen 1401 Sir Drefaldwyn 402310 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Chapman, 2013) Montgomeryshire Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Pont Irfon (Llanganten) 1282 Sir Frycheiniog 403411 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol / Irfon Bridge / (Chapman, 2013) Brecknockshire Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Cydweli / Kidwelly 1258 Sir Gaerfyrddin 404729 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Gildas Research, 2013) Carmarthenshire Documentary and historical research (Gildas Research, 2013)

Castell Talacharn 1189 Sir Gaerfyrddin 545245 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae) / Laugharne (Gildas Research, 2013) Castle (sieges) 1215 545341 Documentary and historical 1257-8 545436 research (Gildas Research, 2013)

1644 545746

Maes Gwenllian 1136 Sir Gaerfyrddin 402324 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Carmarthenshire Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2012)

Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Non-invasive and invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2012)

Maes Moydog 1295 Sir Drefaldwyn 403416 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Chapman, 2013) Montgomeryshire Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2014)

Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Non-invasive and invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2014)

Trefaldwyn / 1644 Sir Drefaldwyn 405168 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol Montgomery (Gildas Research, 2013) Montgomeryshire Documentary and historical research (Gildas Research, 2013

Mynydd Carn 1081 Sir Benfro 300319 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Pembrokeshire Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Castell Newydd Emlyn 1287-8 Sir Gaerfyrddin 545606 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae) / Newcastle (Chapman, 2013) Emlyn (siege) Carmarthenshire Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Castell Newydd Emlyn 1645 Sir Gaerfyrddin 545768 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae) / Newcastle (Chapman, 2013) Emlyn Carmarthenshire Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Gwrthryfel y Siartwyr, 1839 Sir Fynwy 405003 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol Casnewydd / Newport (Border Archaeology, 2009) Chartist Uprising Monmouthshire Documentary and historical research (Border Achaeology, 2009)

Painscastle 1198 Sir Faesyfed 402326 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Radnorshire Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2012)

Cloddfa (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2013)

Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Non-invasive and invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2012)

Excavation (Archaeology Wales, 2013)

Pennal 1472/4 Meirionnydd 403495 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Chapman, 2013) Merioneth Documentary and historical research (Chapman, 2013)

Pentraeth 1170 Ynys Môn 404315 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Gildas Research, 2013) Anglesey Documentary and historical research (Gildas Research, 2013)

Pwllgwdig 1078 Sir Benfro 405188 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol Pembrokeshire (Gildas Research, 2013)

Documentary and historical research (Gildas Research, 2013)

Pwll Melyn 1405 Sir Fynwy 402320 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Monmouthshire Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2014)

Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Non-invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2014)

Castell Rhaglan 1646 Sir Fynwy 545797 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (gwarchae) / Raglan (Gildas Research, 2013) Castle (siege) Monmouthshire Documentary and historical research (Gildas Research, 2013)

Sain Ffagan / St Fagans 1648 Morgannwg 307776 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Glamorgan Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2012)

Gwaith ymchwil heb fod yn ymyrryd ac a oedd yn ymyrryd (Archaeoleg Cymru, 2013)

Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Non-invasive and invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2012)

Non-invasive and invasive fieldwork (Archaeology Wales, 2013)

Twthill 1461 Sir Gaernarfon 403421 Ymchwil ddogfennol a hanesyddol (Border Archaeology, 2009) Caernarfonshire Documentary and historical research (Border Archaeology, 2009)

Grŵp Llywio Meysydd Brwydro, Hydref 2016

Battlefields Steering Group, October 2016

WELSH BATTLEFIELDS HISTORICAL AND DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH

Coed Llathen and Cymerau – 2 June 1257

County: Carmarthenshire

Community: Llangathen and Llanegwad or Talyllychau/Talley

NGR: SN 579229 and SN500200

NPRN: 403587 and 404717

Report Author: Dr Adam Chapman

Date: February 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257)

Summary

The two related battles which took place on 2 June 1257 mark a significant phase in the extension of the reach and power of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (d. 1282) as Prince of Wales and his allies although it is unlikely that the prince himself was present at either.

An English-led force of knights and predominately Welsh infantry drawn from the Marcher lordships of south and east Wales were defeated by forces led by members of the royal line of Deheubarth. In the first battle at Coed Llathen, much of the English army’s baggage was lost while at the second, the English force appears to have been utterly routed. While the date of the battles can be accepted without challenge, the locations of them are open to question. The evidence for the location of Coed Llathen is the more convincing of the two with indicative field and place name evidence which is not contradicted by chronicle accounts. The site of the second battle, Cymerau, is open to conjecture, and of two possible sites which have been suggested, neither is wholly convincing and the evidence for either is weak. J.E. Lloyd postulated that Cymerau occurred near the confluence of the rivers Cothi and Tywi but his reasoning on an assumed scribal error in the Annales Cambriae; the confusion of Carmarthen for Cardigan. The identification of another site, south east of Talyllychau/Talley, is logical if the author of the Annales Cambriae was correct in naming Cardigan and the supposed destination of the English led forces following their defeat at Coed Llathen, but it too is based on assumptions and supposition.

This doubt over the location of the second battle has significant implications for the narrative of the battle. There are two possibilities: the first, siting the battle at the confluence of the Cothi and Tywi suggests a battle initiated by an English army whose retreat to Carmarthen was blocked. The second site south of Talley/Talyllychau may indicate that the Welsh forces employed the same strategy – cutting off the retreat toward Carmarthen and, having realised that the English force were instead heading to Cardigan either pursued them over the high ground north east from Coed Llathen to meet them at Talley/Talyllychau, or followed de Bauzan’s force up the Afon Ddulais either catching them in their march or by triggering an ambush.

Context

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research

The twin battles of Coed Llathen and Cymerau come at an important point in the history of Wales in the thirteenth century. Lord Edward, eldest son of Henry III, had been granted extensive estates in Wales and Ireland on 14 February 1254. In Wales, these included the king’s conquests in the north – the four cantrefs between the rivers Dee and Conwy – the honour of Three Castles (Skenfrith, Grosmont and Whitecastle) in the south east together with the castles of Carmarthen, Cardigan, Montgomery and Builth.1 Following the deaths of Llywelyn ab Iorweth in 1240, and his son Dafydd in 1246, Gwynedd had been divided and greatly weakened. Following Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s victory over his brothers, Owain and Dafydd, at Bryn Derwin on the borders between Arfon and Eifionydd in June 1255, Llywelyn became ‘the sole master of Gwynedd’.2 As such, as the English government soon realised, native Wales had found a leader and the allegiance of Welsh lords and princes began to be transferred from the English crown to Llywelyn. A visit by Lord Edward and his household to north east Wales between July and August 1256 seems only to have accelerated the process. In November of the same year Llywelyn, accompanied by Rhys Gryg of Deheubarth, swept through Perfeddwlad (the area between the rivers Conwy and Dee) expelling its English rulers and reducing the English presence to the castles of Degannwy, overlooking the Conwy estuary, and Diserth, two miles to the east of Rhuddlan. Following this, members of native elites expanded southwards, sponsored by Llywelyn. In the north west, the commote of Meirionnydd was overrun and its English client ruler was forced to flee. Taking advantage of the opportunity, another of Llywelyn’s allies, Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg, was re-established in the Tywi valley in south west Wales stripping his nephew, Rhys Fychan [ap Rhys Mechyll ap Rhys Gryg], of his lands at Dinefwr and parts of Ystrad Twyi. In mid-Wales, Gwrtheyrnion and Builth were reclaimed by the Welsh. In the first half of 1258, southern Powys was overrun and the ruler of northern Powys defected to Llywelyn. The two battles of 2 June 1257 come in the context of the English response to the early incursions of Llywelyn and his allies.

Primary Sources

The principal sources are well-known and understood and have been assembled and analysed most recently by Jenkin Beverley Smith in his biography of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales. Understandably, the most significant sources are the Welsh annals; the various versions of the Annales Cambriae and the Brut y Tywysogion as it survives in NLW Peniarth MS 20 and in the Red Book of Hergest. The scale and significance of the defeat of English forces is indicated in the

1 M. Prestwich, Edward I, 11. 2 Davies, The Age of Conquest, 309.

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research frequency with which details appear in English chronicles, notably Mathew Paris’s Chronica Majora and in a variety of annals maintained in English monasteries, notably Osney and Tewkesbury.

Secondary Accounts

The earliest comprehensive historical commentaries of these battles were produced by J.E. Lloyd in his two volume History of Wales and in his similarly capacious History of Carmarthenshire. His is by far the most influential account but it has a number of problems, most notably in Lloyd’s identification of the site of the battle of Cymerau.

Prelude

The advance of Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg in the Twyi valley in the winter and spring of 1257 had, with Llywelyn’s support, compelled Rhys Fychan ap Rhys Mechyll to cede his lands to Maredudd. The conflict between the two may well have originated from the division of the patrimony of Rhys Gryg (d. 1233). Rhys Fychan, it was said, had cheated Maredudd of his rightful share ‘by trickery’ (L. cavillatio) with English assistance in the form of substantial English forces, consisting of both mounted men and infantry drawn from Prince Edward’s lordships in south Wales and Ireland under Stephen de Bauzan who arrived in September 1256.3 Stephen de Bauzan had spent a large part of his early career in Wales in the households of two of the most important of the Marcher lords, Gilbert Marshal (d. 1241), earl of Pembroke, and later, Richard de Clare (d. 1262), lord of Glamorgan. Despite his experience and the resources at his disposal, he had nevertheless suffered a major reversal at the hands of Llywelyn and his allies in the winter of 1256. Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg’s support for Llywelyn brought him reward in the form of support from Maredudd ab Owain (d. 1265) who had joined Llywelyn on 5 December 1256. By the beginning of 1257, Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg had recovered Ystrad Twyi and Dinefwr, a victory confirmed by Llywelyn who granted these lands to Maredudd ‘keeping nothing for himself but fame and honour’.4

Prudently as it turned out, de Bauzan made his will before leaving for west Wales. 5 He departed from Carmarthen on 31 May 1257 with the objective of reaching Dinefwr to bring aid to the then ally of the English, Rhys Fychan ap Rhys Mechyll (d. 1271) of Dinefwr. After a day’s march, de Bauzan’s

3 Beverley Smith, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, 93, n. 10. 4 Annales Cambriae, 91; Brut y Tywysogion RBH, 246-9; Brut y Tywysogion Pen. 20, 208 and Pen. 20 Tr. 110. 5 The existence of the will, which was witnessed by Walter de Cantilupe, bishop of Worcester, among others is confirmed by Calendar of Patent Rolls 1247-58, 615

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research forces camped at Llandeilo Fawr, approximately 22km distant from Carmarthen and 8km to the north of Dinefwr. During the night Maredudd ab Owain and Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg, with their forces, surrounded the encampment and at dawn showered the invading army with lances and arrows. The crucial development in the course of this engagement was that Rhys Fychan slipped away from the English army towards Dinefwr and joined those loyal to Llywelyn.

Location

The site of the first of the two battles, Coed Llathen, is noted on the first edition OS map of 1888 [grid reference SN579229]. This site identified on the first edition OS map is in the parish of Llangathen approximately 5km west of Llandeilo, toward the bottom of a south facing slope in a shallow valley along which the road between Carmarthen and Llandeilo (now the A40) runs. The site is immediately north of Broad Oak Farm and above ‘Nant Stephanau’ which flows west to east. This site is broadly compatible with either of the suggested sites for the latter battle at ‘Cymerau’ (see below). It is supposedly marked by several field names – ‘Cae Trange,’ [Cae Tranc/Death Field] ‘Cae Dial,’ [Vengence/Revenge Field], both shown on the first edition OS map, and ‘Cae yr ochain’ [The Groaning Field] – but there is a reasonable chance that these are the product of memory of a well- known battle and visited upon otherwise undistinguished pasture. While indicative, these names do not provide incontrovertible proof and the identification they provide should not be accepted without additional evidence.6

Lloyd surmised that the battle at ‘Cymerau’ was probably fought at the confluence (W. cymer) of the rivers Twyi and Cothi almost equidistant between Llandeilo and Carmarthen in the parish of Llanegwad (SN501201 per Coflein) near Nantgaredig somewhere at the base of the broad river valley.7 This is problematic for several reasons, not least – as Lloyd admitted – that the confluence of the Twyi and Cothi was not known by this name when he was writing nor, from the evidence he had been able to assemble, had it ever been. Indeed, the researches of Melville Richards suggest that all references to ‘Cymerau’ referring to this battle and its site are made after Lloyd’s identification and usually with explicit reference to Lloyd’s work.8

Had the English army been heading to Cardigan rather than back towards Carmarthen down a presumably hostile Tywi valley then the alternative view suggested by Egerton Phillimore in G.

6 RCAHMW Carmarthenshire Inventory, 1917, p.159, no.463. 7 Lloyd, History of Wales, ii, 720, n. 23; History of Carmarthenshire, i, 189. 8 Melville Richards Placename Archive consulted 10 Jan 2013.

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research

Owen’s, The Description of Pembrokeshire, acquires some significance. Phillimore suggested a site at the confluences (W. Cymerau) of Afon Ddulais, Afon Ddu and Nant Llwyd, two miles south-east of Talyllychau (SN645305), approximately 9km north west of Llandeilo. This would be consistent with a route over the high ground to the north west of Llandeilo towards the river Teifi and the note in the Annales Cambriae that the de Bauzan’s forces were headed ‘versus Kardigaun’ (towards Cardigan).9 Lloyd was naturally aware of the content of the Annales but discounted this note as a scribal slip for Carmarthen. This seems unlikely.10 Since the site to the south of Talyllychau is more appropriate from a linguistic perspective – being the confluence of three rivers rather than two and would this merit the plural Cymerau rather than the singular Cymer – and by extension topographically, it should not be discounted without further investigation as Jenkin Beverley Smith suggested.11 What remains, however, is that both postulated sites are the result of informed speculation and neither can be accepted unambiguously.

Finally, Lloyd suggested that the battle at Cymerau is commemorated in a stanza from the Black Book of Carmarthen. This volume, compiled by a single scribe, and believed to be associated with the priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog, Carmarthen, seems to have been compiled c. 1250 so Lloyd’s suggestion is not wholly implausible. It has, however, been rejected by the literary scholar A.O.H. Jarman who argued that the line in question: ‘Ban llathery saesson y kimerev trin’ (Ban … Saeson y Cymerau trin/… the English at the battle of Cymerau) refers to a much earlier conflict.12 Given that much of the dateable content of Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin/The Black Book of Carmarthen records earlier texts this argument should probably be accepted.

Narrative

With the desertion of Rhys Fychan ap Rhys Mechyll, on the night of 31 May-1 June, the Welshmen serving in de Bauzan’s force may have had their will to fight greatly reduced. The related battles of Coed Llathen and Cymerau took place, according to the few accounts we have, on the second day after the English led force left Carmarthen, that is, 2 June 1257. The first of the two encounters was at Coed Llathen where the English army was intercepted by Welsh forces led by Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg and Maredudd ab Owain who had attacked the English encampment on the morning of 1 June and, under sustained assalut, the English knights were compelled to don their armour again, only to

9 Annales Cambriae (B), 94 10 Lloyd, History of Carmarthenshire, i, 189. 11 Beverley Smith, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, 99, n. 32. 12 A.O.H. Jarman, ‘Brwydr y Cymerau ac oed Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin’, BBCS, 14 (1950-2), 179-80, cited by Beverley Smith, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, 99, n. 33.

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research find, so the chronicler relates, that their armour was no better than linen coverings. This might seem a literary exaggeration but Knightly equipment at this date consisted largely of chain mail rather than plate armour. Even partial plate armour was slow to be developed and adopted and, on the available evidence, it was rare before the second decade of the fourteenth century.13 Mail was undoubtedly effective protection in hand to hand fighting between knights but was of limited effectiveness against arrows which the chronicle accounts agree were used against English forces at both Coed Lathen and Cymerau. ‘Linen coverings’ most probably refer to aketons or heavily padded surcoats commonly used by soldiers of lower rank or by armoured knights under mail or plate. Having decided that reaching Dinefwr was impossible, the commanders decided to head for Cardigan (Annales Cambriae – ‘versus Kardigaun’; Lloyd suggests that this was a scribal error for Carmarthen). Beverley Smith suggests that de Bauzan may have hoped for assistance from Cardigan where men and supplies which Prince Edward had ordered from Ireland were being gathered as early as July and possibly earlier.14 The day’s first disaster came at Coed Llathen where the majority of the army’s supplies were lost.15

About midday, the opposing forces, the Welsh under the prince of Deheubarth, Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg, and Maredudd ab Owain met in open conflict at Cymerau and inflicted enormous losses on the English led force. Most of the losses were among the English force’s Welsh infantry recruited from the Anglo-Norman lordships of the March, but both the compiler of the Cronica de Wallia and the Annales Cambriae were in no doubt that this was a resounding Welsh victory.

Troops and Casualties

The Welsh forces at Coed Llathen were led by men drawn from the royal line of Deheubarh, the kingdom of west Wales. Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg of Dryslwyn (d. 1271) was a grandson of the Lord Rhys of Deheubarth (d. 1197), the pre-eminent Welsh ruler of the later twelfth century. Rhys Gryg had received the lands of Ystrad Tywi as his patrimony while Maredudd ab Owain was a great grandson of the Lord Rhys by his son Gruffudd and held lands in northern Ceredigion. Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg had allied himself with Llywelyn having deserted his allegiance to the English formed after the death of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth. Maredudd ab Owain, however, had only thrown his lot in with Llywelyn’s cause in December of 1256 but he was to remain loyal to Llywelyn’s cause until his death.

13 Thom Richardson, ‘Armour in England, 1325-99’, Journal of Medieval History 37 (2011), 304-320. 14 Beverley Smith, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, 98 n. 30. 15 Annales Cambriae, 91; Cronica de Wallia, 40.

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research

Rhys Fychan ap Rhys Mechyll ap Rhys Gryg (d. 1271) was a great grandson of the Lord Rhys of Deheubarth and nephew of Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg. Since it was his allegiance to the English and the trickery with which he was supposed to have cheated his uncle of his patrimonial lands which had sent Maredudd to Llywelyn, his defection the night before the battles created a difficult political problem for Llywelyn. In the terms of the battle, however, it appears that he played his part on the ‘Welsh’ side.

Suggestions that Llywelyn himself was present at the battle should be discounted. Although tracking the movements of the prince is difficult, Beverley Smith has demonstrated that Llywelyn was probably in Powys in early June 1257. The Annales Cambriae reported that he had put the castle of Bodyddon under siege ‘before Pentecost’ (27 May). ‘Bododdyn’ was probably ‘Tomen-yr-allt’, near Llanfyllin in Mechain, Powys (Coflein NPRN 306791, Grid ref. SJ12672111). This castle may have been destroyed in the process. Mechain was the lordship of the sons of Llywelyn ab Owain and this action may have been calculated to bring them to Llywelyn’s side; this was achieved by 1258.16 Llywelyn’s absence from chronicle accounts of the battle would seem to confirm this since Llywelyn’s presence in the south west of Wales so shortly afterwards was clearly signposted.

The sources cannot agree on the number of casualties. They provide estimates between 1000 and 3000. Whichever is accurate, the losses were clearly substantial although since the size of the English force cannot be established it is impossible to assess exactly how significant this was. The majority of those killed, however, were Welshmen drawn from the Anglo Norman lordships in the March. The losses were significant enough to be widely remembered. In the lordship of Gower, for example, jurors in an inquiry of 1306 into the rights of the lord of Gower, William de Braose (d. 1326) noted that his father, also William, had withdrawn his lordship from the jurisdiction of the Carmarthenshire county court after the battle of Cymerau and the subsequent attacks on Braoses’s lordship. This was most likely in recognition of both the disorder that followed and the collapse of royal power in west Wales was used as an excuse to exert Marcher independence.17

The most notable casualty on the English side was the leader of English forces, Stephen de Bauzan. Drawn from a Devon family who were the tenants of Trematon, near Saltash, Cornwall, Stephen was probably the younger brother of Richard de Bauzan. Stephen had experienced a long career in Wales. He is first encountered in March 1234 as a retainer of Richard Marshal, earl of Pembroke, and

16 Beverley Smith, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, 99, n. 34. 17 T(he) N)ational)A(rchives) JUST 1150/1 mm. 1 and 3.

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research continued in the service in Wales of the next earl, Gilbert Marshal, who granted him land in Cardiganshire. In 1242–3 de Bauzan served in the royal army in Poitou in the retinue of Philip Basset, kinsman of the Marshals. After this campaign, he joined the retinue of Richard de Clare, earl of Gloucester; he served as his sheriff in Glamorgan from about 1243 until 1246 and was granted land at Hellidon, Northamptonshire. By July 1249 he was retained as a knight of the royal household. He became Prince Edward's constable of the castles of Carmarthen and Cardigan when the prince was given them, and on 27 August 1254 he was appointed the prince’s first seneschal of Gascony. After Henry III’s departure from Gascony he remained with Edward there until autumn 1255, but their administration aroused opposition, and the king may have forced Edward to dismiss de Bauzan on 30 September before they returned to England. In April 1257 Stephen went to Wales to defend Edward’s interests there and it was in this cause that he fought and was killed on 2 June 1257.18 It is possible that prisoners were taken. It is known that Nicholas FitzMartin of Cemais (Pembs.) was captured in the course of the campaign and the Tewkesbury annalist indicates that he was taken at Cymerau.19

Aftermath

Two main themes emerge from the defeat. Militarily, the defeat of this English force greatly weakened English power in south west Wales. This victory was the starting point for a campaign of conquest by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s sympathisers across southern Wales. The castles of Laugharne, Llanstephan and Narberth were stormed and by midsummer, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd himself came south to take the lead. Politically, the effects of the twin victories were more nuanced and more problematic. In the short term the reduction of English power created a vacuum which Llywelyn was able to step into. The defection of Rhys Fychan to his cause, however, was problematic. The Brut y Tywysogion states that Llywelyn was able to effect an accommodation between Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg and Rhys Fychan and it was this that enable the campaign across south Wales to proceed. Having secured from Llywelyn what he had sought, Rhys Fychan’s defection compelled Maredudd to forfeit his gains to secure the position of Rhys. This in turn left Maredudd open to the blandishments of Henry III who was able to offer him far greater rewards than Llywelyn.

Assessment

18 H. W. Ridgeway, ‘Bauzan, Sir Stephen (b. after 1210, d. 1257)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/47235, accessed 07 Jan 2013] 19 Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1247-58, 581, AnnTewk, 158.

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research

Rees Davies described the defeats inflicted on 2 June 1257 as ‘one of the most devastating defeats inflicted on an English army in Wales in the thirteenth century.’20 It is hard to disagree. It was arguably the springboard for the extension of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s power beyond Gwynedd and into southern Wales as well as securing him allies in Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi. The dilemma created by the last minute defection of Rhys Fychan, however, is illustrative of the problems which faced Llywelyn ap Gruffudd despite his military success in 1257 and 1258. As a military springboard, the victory was invaluable, as a political omen, it was all too prescient of troubles to come.

In the short term, however, the destruction of English power in south west Wales, coupled with Llywelyn’s military success elsewhere, compelled Henry III to act. The king’s support for his son’s efforts to secure his authority in Wales had been insubstantial, providing neither sufficient men or resources. The result, when faced with an opponent as ambitious and increasingly powerful as Llywelyn, was a disaster for the English and, by March 1258, most of the leaders of native Wales were, by one means or another, supporters of Llywelyn. This gave him the opportunity to press for a truce with the English and, by extension, recognition of his authority in Wales. In no small part, the victory of his allies at Coed Llathen and, particularly, Cymerau were the catalysts of this process.21

So far as the sites for the battles are concerned, Coed Llathen seems the more secure of the two. It occupies a position which accords with the narrative sources available and the traditionally accepted site bears field names and a location with historical currency. Cymerau is more complicated. Lloyd’s suggested site was, by his own admission, based on speculation. The confluence of the rivers Twyi and Cothi seems only to have been referred as ‘Cymerau’ with reference to Lloyd’s description. That the suggestion also relies on a scribe confusing Cardigan for Carmarthen is problematic and, from the pragmatic view of military commanders who had been surrounded and then attacked, retreating the way they had come to an uncertain reception might have been considered unwise. From this perspective, leading their forces to Cardigan and the possibility of reinforcements from Ireland would be sensible though this suggestion relies on an assumption on Beverley Smith’s behalf. He suggested that evidence of supplies and men being shipped from Ireland in July may have started earlier: the documents that survive cannot, unfortunately, confirm this one way or the other.

20 Davies, The Age of Conquest, 310. 21 Davies, The Age of Conquest, 311-2.

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research

Linguistically Lloyd’s site creates another problem since it is undoubtedly one confluence rather than many. In this respect, Phillimore’s suggested site at the confluences (W. Cymerau) of Afon Ddulas, Afon Ddu and Nant Llwyd, two miles south-west of Talyllychau (SN645305), approximately 9km north west of Llandeilo merits serious consideration and investigation.

Bibliography

Printed Primary Sources

Calendar of Patent Rolls 1247-58 Annales Cambriae, ed. J. Williams ab Ithel (Rolls Series, 1860) Brut y Tywysogion or the Chronicle of the Princes, Peniarth MS. 20 Version, Translation and Notes, ed. T. Jones (Cardiff, 1952) ‘“Cronica de Wallia” and other Documents from Exeter Cathedral Library MS3514’ ed. T. Jones. B, 12 (1946-8), 27-44. ‘Annales Monasterii de Theokesberia’, Annales Monasticici, i. ed. H.R. Luard (Rolls Series, 1864) Melville Richards Placename Archive http://www.e-gymraeg.org/enwaulleoedd/amr/cronfa_en.aspx

Secondary Sources

R.R. Davies, The Age of Conquest, Wales c. 1066-c. 1415 (Oxford, 1991) J. Beverley Smith, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales (Cardiff, 1998) J.E. Lloyd (ed.) A History of Carmarthenshire (2 volumes, London, 1935-9) J.E. Lloyd, A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest (2 volumes, London, 1911) M. Prestwich, Edward I (New Haven and London, 1988) Thom Richardson, ‘Armour in England, 1325-99’, Journal of Medieval History 37 (2011), 304-320. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography RCAHM Carmarthenshire Inventory, 1917

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research

A – Lloyd’s suggested site for Cymerau on the confluence of the Tywi and Cothi

B – Possible site suggested in Owen, A Historie of Pembrokeshire (date) and cited by Beverley Smith. This is based on taking the Annales Cambriae at face value and suggesting that the English army was heading towards cardigan rather than, as Lloyd assumed, Carmarthen (assuming scribal error)

C – Probable site of Coed Llathen attested by tradition and field name evidence. Although not marked on modern OS mapping it was shown on the first edition of 1891.

© Crown Copyright 2013

A – Lloyd’s suggested site for Cymerau on the confluence of the Tywi and Cothi

B – Possible site suggested in Owen, A Historie of Pembrokeshire (date) and cited by Beverley Smith. This is based on taking the Annales Cambriae at face value and suggesting that the English army was heading towards Cardigan rather than, as Lloyd assumed, Carmarthen (assuming scribal error)

C – Probable site of Coed Llathen attested by tradition and field name evidence.

Although not marked on modern OS mapping it was shown on the first edition of 1891. Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research

© Crown Copyright 2013

OS 1:10560 survey 1891

A – Approximate bounds of battle site. B – ‘Cae Dial,’ [Vengence/Revenge Field]

C - ‘Cae Tranc,’ [Death Field]

The two field names, with one other in the vicinity which is not shown on the mapping ‘Cae yr ochain’ [The Groaning Field] are all suggestive names but whether they are founded on memory or deduction is not clear. None of these names are attested prior

to the early editions of the Ordnance Survey.

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

A – Lloyd’s suggested site for Cymerau on the confluence of the Tywi and Cothi

B – Possible site suggested in Owen, A Historie of Pembrokeshire (date) and cited by Beverley Smith. This is based on taking the Annales Cambriae at face value and suggesting that the English army was heading towards cardigan rather than, as Lloyd assumed, Carmarthen (assuming scribal error)

C – Probable site of Coed Llathen attested by tradition and field name evidence. Although not marked on modern OS mapping it was shown on the first edition of 1891.

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research

Possible direction of travel of de Bauzan’s forces (from Coed Llathen towards Carmarthen)

© Crown Copyright 2013

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013

Welsh Battlefields Historical and Documentary Research

Alternate site for the battle of Cymerau suggested by Egerton Phillimore in G. Owen, The Description of Pembrokeshire (1910)

Afon Ddu

Nant Llwyd

Afon Ddulais

© Crown Copyright 2013 Possible direction of approach of Stephen de Bauzan’s forces (from Llandeilo).

Coed Llathen and Cymerau (2 June 1257) by Dr Adam Chapman, 2013