Bangor University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Image and Reality in Medieval Weaponry and Warfare: Wales c.1100 – c.1450 Colcough, Samantha Award date: 2015 Awarding institution: Bangor University Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 24. Sep. 2021 BANGOR UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF HISTORY, WELSH HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY Note: Some of the images in this digital version of the thesis have been removed due to Copyright restrictions Image and Reality in Medieval Weaponry and Warfare: Wales c.1100 – c.1450 Samantha Jane Colclough Note: Some of the images in this digital version of the thesis have been removed due to Copyright restrictions [i] Summary The established image of the art of war in medieval Wales is based on the analysis of historical documents, the majority of which have been written by foreign hands, most notably those associated with the English court. This thesis has revisited the historical evidence, and together with the analysis of literature and virtually untouched archaeological material, in order to determine the accuracy of this image. The thesis is separated into three sections. The first examines the variety of evidence available to study the art of war in medieval Wales, and assesses its value to the proposed research. The second is formed by a discussion of the different types of military equipment that would have been used, including the bow and arrow, the spear, the sword and other miscellaneous weapons. There is also a discussion on the form of the shield. Finally this is brought together in the final section to discuss the reality of soldiering in medieval Wales. Medieval writers established an image of Welsh soldiering that is quite often backward and barbaric, and although some refer to Welsh skill in combat, they also emphasise the weaknesses of their approach and their unwillingness to partake in open battle, preferring night attacks and ambushes. However, it is clear from this assessment of the sources, that difference between the Welsh approach to war and that of their Norman and English counterparts was not significantly different. Occasionally native equipment was abandoned in favour of foreign forms, including a change from native round shields to kite and heater shields during the thirteenth century. In other circumstances it appears that elements of Welsh warfare were adopted by the English. However the differences between the weaponry used and tactics deployed. [ii] Note: Some of the images in this digital version of the thesis have been removed due to Contents Copyright restrictions Summary .......................................................................................................................................... ii Contents ........................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... iv Declaration and Consent................................................................................................................... v List of Illustrations ........................................................................................................................ viii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: The Research Agenda ..................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: The Value of the Written Sources to the Study of Medieval Warfare in Wales……..28 Chapter 3: The Value of the Material Evidence to the Study of Medieval Warfare in Wales ....... 50 Chapter 4: The Context of Warfare in Medieval Wales ............................................................... 107 Chapter 5: The Bow and Arrow and the Crossbow ...................................................................... 127 Chapter 6: The Spear .................................................................................................................... 165 Chapter 7: The Sword, The Dagger and The Knife ...................................................................... 209 Chapter 8: Miscellaneous Weaponry and Shields ........................................................................ 242 Chapter 9: The Reality of Weaponry and Warfare: Wales c.1100 – c.1450 ................................ 276 Appendix A: Catalogue ............................................................................................................... 300 Appendix B: Catalogue Photos .................................................................................................... 350 Appendix C: Spear Types on the Bayeux Tapestry…………………………………………...…370 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 375 [iii] In addition to the above I also agree to the following: 1. That I am the author or have the authority of the author(s) to make this agreement and do hereby give Bangor University the right to make available the Work in the way described above. 2. That the electronic copy of the Work deposited in the digital repository and covered by this agreement, is identical in content to the paper copy of the Work deposited in the Bangor University Library, subject to point 4 below. 3. That I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the Work is original and, to the best of my knowledge, does not breach any laws – including those relating to defamation, libel and copyright. 4. That I have, in instances where the intellectual property of other authors or copyright holders is included in the Work, and where appropriate, gained explicit permission for the inclusion of that material in the Work, and in the electronic form of the Work as accessed through the open access digital repository, or that I have identified and removed that material for which adequate and appropriate permission has not been obtained and which will be inaccessible via the digital repository. 5. That Bangor University does not hold any obligation to take legal action on behalf of the Depositor, or other rights holders, in the event of a breach of intellectual property rights, or any other right, in the material deposited. 6. That I will indemnify and keep indemnified Bangor University and the National Library of Wales from and against any loss, liability, claim or damage, including without limitation any related legal fees and court costs (on a full indemnity bases), related to any breach by myself of any term of this agreement. Signature: ……………………………………… Date : ……………………………………………. [vii] List of Figures Fig. 1.1 Soil Map of Wales and key Demonstrating the acidity of the majority of soils there Fig. 3.1 Effigy of the Lord Rhys in St David’s Cathedral Fig. 3.2 Effigy of Rhys Gryg in St David’s Cathedral Fig. 3.3 Two warriors carved into the doorway of Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire Fig. 3.4 Carvings of soldiers identified during the excavation of Castell y Bere Fig. 3.5 Illustration of warfare in Royal MS 2 B VII, f. 56 Fig. 3.6 Illustration of warfare in Lansdowne MS 782, f.10 Fig. 5.1 Fifteenth century Turkish horse archer practicing the ‘Parthian shot’ Fig. 5.2 Archers in the border of the Bayeux Tapestry (Scene 56) Note: Some Fig. 5.3 Archers using short bows on the Bayeux Tapestry (Scene 51) of the Fig. 5.4 Archers using longbows on the Bayeux Tapestry (Scene 56) images in Fig. 5.5 Illustration of a Welsh Archer in The Littere Wallie this digital Fig. 5.6 Ward-Perkins arrowhead typology version of Fig. 5.7 Jessop arrowhead typology the thesis Fig. 5.8 Distribution Map of all types of arrowheads found in Wales have been Fig. 5.9 CC007 – Bronze arrowhead found on Margam Beach removed due to Fig. 6.1 Illustration of a Welsh spearman in the Littere Wallie Copyright Fig. 6.2 Painting of Sir Neill O’ Neill depicting Scottish javelins Fig. 6.3 Norman knights throwing spears on the Bayeux Tapestry (Scene 17) restrictions Fig 6.4 English footsoldiers throwing spears on the Bayeux Tapestry (Scene 51) Fig. 6.5 Barbed spear illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry (Scene 10) Fig. 6.6 Leaf shaped spear illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry (Scene 8) Fig. 6.7 Ward-Perkins spearhead typology Fig. 6.8 Petersen’s spearhead typology Fig. 6.9 Solberg’s spearhead typology Fig. 6.10a CC502 - WP6 spearhead, unprovenanced Fig. 6.10b CC486 – WP6 spearhead from Cardiff castle Fig. 6.11 Comparison between the overall length and the width of leaf shaped spearheads Fig. 6.12 Comparison between the overall length and the blade length of leaf shaped spearheads Fig. 6.13 Comparison between the length and width of the blades