The White Lady of Oystermouth

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2012-01-05T22:20:00.000Z

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No Takers

2011-06-30T11:39:00.000+01:00

Well, two publishers asked to see my manuscript, and I was hopeful. After three months I got in touch to ask about it, and one said 'Thanks but no thanks' but suggested some other publishers who might be interested. I contacted them and didn't even get a reply. The other one said they were still looking at it. After another two months, the other publisher said they liked it but they had had their funding cut and could no longer afford to publish such books.

I tried contacting the Gower Society, who publish books on local issues, and wrote to the editor of their Journal, since I couldn't find a submissions address. I asked if he could point me to the right person. He didn't even acknowledge me. I tried contacting the councillor who gave me his business card and offered support, and got no reply. So now I am full of doubt about the quality of the book, and don't know what to do next.

And to rub it in, the grand opening of Alina's chapel is in two weeks. It would have been the perfect opportunity to market the book, since it is Alina's chapel and there are no books about Alina.

Next week is the Swansea Writers Circle meeting, so I am going too ask for help there. Perhaps someone can advise me and offer to read it.

Hope Rises

2010-12-22T22:47:00.001Z

Yesterday another publisher emailed me and asked to see my book, and due to the post being messed up by the snow, he wants it electronically. So I sent it off last night.

Now I have two publishers reading the manuscript. Hope rises...

Publisher, possibly

2010-12-09T15:58:00.003Z

I finally plucked up the courage to begin contacting publishers about the book. All the advice seemed to say 'Don't email publishers, they don't like it' and 'Publishers will keep you waiting weeks for a reply, so be patient.' Wrong on both counts.

I began by searching 'The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook' for suitable publishers and made a list. Then I checked out each of their web sites and eliminated a few. There were several which gave email addresses for initial contact. So, using the advice from the yearbook, I composed an enquiry letter and emailed it off with my Introduction, which contains a synopsis, and a chapter list with brief details. Most non-fiction publishers expect a proposal, and you will only write the book once they have agreed. I made it clear that the book is already written and substantially edited.

So yesterday morning I sent the emails and went out. When I came home I had a reply from one publisher asking to see the book! So today I printed it out and wrote a cover letter, and it will be posted tomorrow!

Watch this space.

The Haxey Hood

2010-10-12T19:37:00.003+01:00

I have just discovered this story of an event which still happens every year, commemorating Alina. It's nice to know she is not completely forgotten.

When Alina was married to John de Mowbray, some time before 1322, she was out riding one day and passed through the village of Haxey. A sudden gust of wind blew her hat off, and the villagers chased after it. She rewarded those who returned her hat with strips of land and silly titles.

In remembrance, every January 6th, the event is re-enacted in a scrummage between the local public houses, called the Haxey Hood. My thanks to the Hambo Central blog for putting me on to it, where there is also a photo.

According to the North Lincolnshire Council web site, she named the person who returned it to her 'The Lord of the Hood', and the man who actually caught it but dared not hand it to her 'The Fool.' The rest were called Boggins, apparently because each time the hood changed hands during the chase she squealed in delight " It’s boggined again." She directed that the happening be restaged every year. All were to wear red jackets except The Fool, whose appearance was to be similar to that of a harlequin.

The event takes place on the Twelfth Night of Christmas, January 6 in a field in Haxey. It is believed to be Britain’s oldest traditional tussle. Proceedings are launched by the Fool from his stone in front of Haxey Parish Church, usually around 2.30pm, and include the ’smoking’ of the fool. He then leads the crowd up the hill for games for the children and the start of the main game at 3.30pm. The Hood, a long leather cylinder, is thrown into the air to launch the proceedings. When it falls the participants (regulars from the local public houses) swarm around it and attempt to sway the hood out of the field, through the streets and back to their favourite hostelry for a celebration and the honour of holding it for the coming year.

The game is refereed by the Lord of the Hood, helped by his Chief Boggin both dressed in scarlet hunting coats and hats decorated with flowers and plumes. The ceremonial Fool, and a bunch of Boggins in red sweaters keep order.

Latest Draft and a New Title

2010-10-03T11:24:00.003+01:00

Well, it's finished. For how long, I don't know. The book ended up over fifteen thousand words long, with over two hundred endnotes. Some references I couldn't find so I rewrote the passage, but I found some new stuff as well. It's hard to know where to stop. I have found a sweet story about Alina since, and I don't know whether to put that in as well. Maybe I'll blog it.

I have also amended the title to better reflect what it is about. It is now called 'The White Lady of Oystermouth and the Fall of a King'.

Anyway, for now, it has gone off to the kind people at the Historical Association for comment, and to my husband, who has not read it before. He is my sternest critic. So watch this space.

Endnotes

2010-09-21T16:13:00.003+01:00

It has been a big job, adding endnotes to something already written, and it's not finished yet. I have been through all my research notes and the books I bought, and even got some new ones out of the library, but I have not been able to find everything yet.

Strangely enough, it is the basic history which eludes me. Unfortunately when I began this project it was going to be a historical novel or historical fantasy novel, so I didn't bother to note down where I found my information. Once it turned into popular history I thought a bibliography would be enough. But I have come to see that although it is not destined to be an academic work, it is still important to establish my sources.

The trouble is that I want it to be more than dry historical facts, and have managed to ferret out all sorts of interesting details to bring the story to life. But they came from many different books, and I have to retrace my steps. So many books only tell the bare bones of the story.

I also have a problem that I have written two general chapters on daily life and marriage in medieval times, and relied for a lot of it on internet research. Academics don't approve. Sometimes I have looked at one web site and assumed it was accurate, whereas I should have cross checked the information.

The academics from the Historical Association who kindly read the draft pointed out some valid things and made some very good suggestions. I am rather pleased though that one person disagreed with one of my statements and I have managed to find the source and corroborate it!

In addition to doing the endnotes I have listened to advice and thought about the structure of the book, and as a result have moved a lot of chapters around and reworked things into a more logical order. I must remember that having decided to base the story around Alina's life, it has to always relate to her. I have a habit of going off into an interesting bit of history that doesn't actually have anything to do with her. For example, I did a lot of work on a chapter on the pacification of the Welsh, which I am very proud of (posted in three parts on this blog in Dec 09 and Jan 10). Unfortunately it happened before she was born.

Every time I don't think I can do any more to the story I get some advice that lifts it to a new level, so I am certain it is worth the effort. I may never get it published, but I have certainly enjoyed it, and learned a lot.

References

2010-08-23T14:39:00.002+01:00

The wonderful people at the Historical Association have reviewed my book and given me some really good feedback. I'm going to take their advice, but two things have become clear:

I am going to have to do more research. Some parts of the book are based on just one source and are being questioned and other references suggested. I obviously didn't look far enough.
Although I have been avoiding it, I really have to do endnotes. If I had done them as I went along it would have been relatively easy. Doing it afterwards is going to be like writing it all again. I have my bibliography and all the research notes I made, but it's a big job. But I can't avoid it.

So here we go...

Historical Association

2010-08-09T18:34:00.002+01:00

Last week I saw a poster for the Swansea Branch of the Historical Association and on impulse I emailed them about my Alina book. To my surprise I got a reply straight away from the Vice-Chairman, who asked a few questions and offered to read it and give me advice. There have been further emails, and now four other people from the association have also agreed to read it. This is a real breakthrough for me, as I am totally inexperienced in history and publishing. I hope it comes to something.

Authonomy

2010-07-29T20:29:00.002+01:00

On Tuesday night (27th July) I uploaded my book to the Authonomy website. It is a place for authors to showcase their work and for readers to find new writing and comment on it and rate it. I wondered whether anyone would read it and what the comments would be.

I was stunned to find the next morning that I already had 17 comments and all positive! Several people have backed it. Today there are a few more comments and again they are all positive. I am amazed and really encouraged.

If you want to read it and leave comments, go here.

Re-Think, Re-Write

2010-07-20T20:04:00.003+01:00

I have done a lot of thinking about this book while I have been in hospital with my stroke, and with some distance from the initial creative spurt have begun to re-think things. My thoughts were confirmed when my daughter-in-law, the historian, returned my manuscript with copious notes. She had come to the same conclusion.

I have become fascinated by this period in history, and although I say that I am using the life of Alina de Breos to hang the story from, I have actually gone and written about everything, with occasional reference to Alina. So it doesn't work.

I am very attached to what I have written, like most writers, and have to make a hard decision: Do I revert to a straight history of the period, or do I cut out the stuff that is not relevant to Alina? I have concluded that a straight history would not have the appeal that 'The White Lady of Oystermouth' would, especially with the opening of the visitors centre in Alina's chapel at Oystermouth castle next year.

So I have the painful job of rejecting large chunks of my history (though I won't delete it - you never know when it might come in useful), re-writing some with more relevance to Alina, and adding a lot that I have researched about daily life to tell more of her story. It is harder than I first thought because there is actually very little on record about Alina, or indeed any women in that period. They were considered inferior and just used to make prestigious alliances by marriage.

Wish me luck, and watch this space. I might drop some tidbits about life in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

Inactivity

2010-07-04T17:03:00.002+01:00

For anyone thinking this blog has died, I had a stroke on 11th May. See my other blog for details. During my forced inactivity I have had lots of ideas for improving my Alina book, but it will take some time. So, patience please, and wish me well.

The Friends of Oystermouth Castle

2010-03-19T13:39:00.002Z

Great news! I contacted the chairman of the Friends of Oystermouth Castle to tell him I had finished the first draft of the book, and he invited me to their AGM last night. I also sent him a copy of the book, which he said he would look at before the meeting.

I was the last item on the agenda under 'Any Other Business', but the meeting itself was very interesting, and I have a copy of the plans for the refurbishment and development of the castle over the next few years. They hope to have up to £2.2m to spend, and the plans, especially for the visitors centre in Alina's chapel, are fabulous.

Anyway, I was nervous that they would say that it had been done before, or not be very interested, but the members were great. They all thought it was a great idea, and 12 people have offered to read it - I emailed it to two, and the rest will have photocopies from the chairman. Several people stopped to give me encouragement, and one was a Swansea Councillor, who said he would give me every assistance, and just to ask him if there was anything he could do. He offered to pass the manuscript on to the project manager for the castle development, in Swansea Council. So who knows what will happen.

The chairman was impressed with the book and made some useful comments (like the fact that I spelled 'peninsula' with an r at the end!). I will wait for comment from the others before I start revision. I am much more confident now than I was before.

William at War

2010-03-08T21:15:00.001Z

Here is a brief list of William's service in war:
1277 & 1282 William served the king during the wars in North Wales
1286 William served with the king on the Continent
1287 Swansea Castle damaged by Rhys ap Meredith. Sacked and burned the town. Castle badly damaged.
1288 Blockade of [Newcastle] Emlyn started 1st Jan. 10th Jan William's siege engine arrived. 20th Jan castle fell with no man lost
1294 William served in west Wales where English settlements were being devastated by the Welsh.
1295/6 Served as 'keeper of the peace' in West Wales
1296 Served in Scotland
1296-98 Served in Flanders
April 1298 William was appointed a commissioner of array, to raise infantry from Gower to fight the Scots in Carlisle
June 1298 Fought at Falkirk – helped defeat William Wallace
July 1304 Reward for service in Scotland, the king granted a charter in October to William for royal jurisdiction
1310 William fought in Scotland
1314 William fought in Scotland at Bannockburn
1317 Another Scottish campaign

Finished!

2010-02-28T21:22:00.003Z

I have just finished the first draft of Alina: The White Lady of Oystermouth! The chapters are all different lengths, and it's only the first draft, but I've got it all down, and I am so relieved. My daughter-in-law is going to read it for me, and now I can contact the people who I hope will be interested in publishing it.

Wish me luck.

The Story of the Book

2010-02-23T23:08:00.001Z

Notes from The Story of the Book, by Agnes Allen:
p.90
By this time, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, books were not used only in monasteries and churches. Wealthy people liked to possess beautiful illuminated books, or to give them as presents to other people – but they had to order the book they wanted, and then wait a very long time while the scribe wrote it out, and the illuminator painted the pictures and the binders bound it, and such books were very expensive.

During the thirteenth and early part of the fourteenth centuries one of the most popular books was the Apocalypse. That is the name which is sometimes given to the Book of Revelation… It gave the artists a fine chance to use their imaginations, and they produced some wonderful books full of lovely pictures.

p.92
Another kind of book that was very popular about this time was called a Bestiary, and it was a very odd sort of book indeed. It was a kind of natural history and book of morals combined. But the natural history was not like anything we learn today. In the Middle Ages very few people had been far from their homes, so they were ready to believe that absolutely anything was possible in far-away lands. They had no difficulty in accepting dragons that breathed out flame and smoke, centaurs that were half men and half horses, salamanders that could live in fire, ant-lions that had the forepart of a lion and the hind-part of an ant – and other surprising creatures.

In the Bestiaries the strange ways (sometimes true but often quite imaginary) of real animals, and of these other fantastic creatures, were described, and a moral lesson of some kind was drawn from them. For instance, the reader is told that an elephant which has a load on its back cannot rise without help; and that in the same way man, who carries a load of sin, cannot rise without Christ. And he is told that the salamander can live in fire, just as the Christian can resist the fire of temptation.

The artists who illuminated the Bestiaries had plenty of opportunity to use their imaginations, and they created some really extraordinary and fearsome creatures, with the strangest habits.

p.93
By the end of the thirteenth century another kind of book had become very popular. It was the Psalter, or book of Psalms. Psalters had been written from the earliest days of Christianity… for in the church services of the Middle Ages the whole of the psalms were said, or sung, every week. But the Psalters of the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries contained more than just the psalms, and they were the most generously and elaborately decorated of all the books made during the Middle Ages. The first part of the book was a calendar of the Church’s year, showing the saints’ days and the festivals of the Church…

Next, very often, came several pages of pictures, sometimes of scenes from the life of Christ. Then came the beginning of the psalms, and the page on which the most care and labour was lavished. It is called the Beatus page, because the first words are ‘Beatus sit’ (Blessed be the man). The psalms are divided into sections for each day’s worship, and there is usually a richly ornamented page at the beginning of each section. Next come the canticles, or sacred songs of the Church, which also formed part of the daily services, and sometimes a number of litanies and prayers.

The Hanged Man

2010-02-16T22:04:00.002Z

There is a strange incident which happened to William de Breos' father (William) and step-mother Mary. The following was taken from a display in Swansea Museum:

William Cragh and Trahearn ap Hywel were hanged on Gibbet Hill in 1289. (Cragh meant ‘scabby’ , he was really William ap Rees).
Williams was accused of rebellion. The gallows broke and they were strung up again (Trahearn was a big man). People in the castle, at Swansea’s West Gate (near our Dragon Hotel), and on the town wall saw it all. William’s body was eventually carried to the house of a burgess in High Street.

“His whole face was black... his eyes had come out of their sockets (which)... were filled with blood. His mouth, neck and throat, and also his nostrils, were filled with blood... his tongue hung out of his mouth the length of a man’s finger, and it was completely black and swollen and as thick with the blood sticking to it... (as)... the size of a man’s two fists together.”

And yet that night Williams started to breath and stir! Lady Mary de Breos, wife of the Norman Lord, had prayed to St Thomas de Canteloup to bring William back to life. Some days later, with William de Breos, father and son, and the revived William Cragh, she travelled to Hereford where the resurrection was proclaimed a miracle.

This authentic account is based on Professor Robert Bartlett’s very well researched book “The Hanged Man” (Princeton University, 2004)
----------
I have read the book "The Hanged Man" and it is fascinating, not only in telling the story, but in giving lots of details about life at the time. I strongly recommend it. This was before Alina's time, but would likely have left a deep impression on her father.

Castle Building

2010-02-04T19:34:00.002Z

When Edward I finally pacified Wales, he could not simply go home and expect the Welsh to meekly behave themselves. Even the imposition of new laws and enforcing officers would not be enough. He needed strong bases from which he could operate in case of any further uprisings, so he embarked on a huge programme of castle building.

In South Wales where the Marcher Lords ruled there were already strong, stone-built castles at Caerphilly, Cardiff, Pembroke, Cardigan and Carmarthen. He also took over the castles of the former Welsh princes at Dinefwr and Dryslwyn. But in the north, where Llewellyn had reigned, he had to start from scratch. He built huge stone castles at Rhuthun, Denbigh, Holt and Hope, all started by 1282, followed by Conwy, Harlech and Caernarfon. In 1295, after another uprising in the north, he began Beaumaris castle on Anglesey.

The cost was immense. Most of the castles were finished by 1301, by which time the cost was over £80,000. Today that translates to about £60 million. Materials like stone, lead and iron, and craftsmen, were brought to North Wales from all over Britain.

Not only were the castles themselves a deterrent to uprising, but the Welsh were not allowed to live or work anywhere near them. They were run by Englishmen, who brought their own laws and their own men to run them and govern the area. This created a marked feeling of inferiority in the Welsh and superiority in the English that changed the face of the country, and persisted for centuries.

For photos of Welsh castles, see here.

Great Progress

2010-02-01T22:02:00.003Z

I am in a quandary - I want to share my work on the White Lady of Oystermouth, but I understand that putting it here my count as publishing, and affect my attempts to get it published on paper later. So all I can share right now is my progress report.

I have really got stuck in recently and have written a lot. I now have the introduction and five and a half chapters out of eight, and the end is in sight. This is only the first draft, and is about seven thousand words so far. I am trying to keep it short and sweet.

I do have a lot of research material which could be used to make it longer, but my initial hope is that it might be picked up to publish as a tourist pamphlet. Oystermouth Castle has received over one million pounds for improvements, which include a new visitors centre built inside the chapel which Alina de Mowbray traditionally built. A pamphlet about her would be great. Once the first draft is finished I will be contacting the Friends of Oystermouth Castle.

The Pacification of the Welsh 3

2010-01-07T21:22:00.001Z

To emphasise the end of Welsh independence, Edward went on a triumphal progress through Wales, from Chester to Chepstow. On the way he stayed at Oystermouth Castle (we assume that Swansea Castle was still in disrepair). In addition, he took to himself the symbols of Welsh princely power - Llewelyn's coronet and seal, the jewel or crown of Arthur, and the most cherished relic in Wales, the piece of the True Cross known as Y Groes Naid. Edward did the same to Scotland when he removed the Stone of Scone.

Rhys ap Meredudd, in the south west, had defected to the king during the early fighting, but was unhappy with the settlement and rose in rebellion in 1287. It was put down, in part, with the help of the great siege engine owned by William de Breos mentioned in chapter 2. It was used to capture Dryslwyn and was then instrumental in winning the siege of [Newcastle] Emlyn without any loss of life. The whole bill for the engine, the men to maintain and man it, and the siege works, came to over £18. In addition to the siege engine, William had seven mounted knights and sixty three foot soldiers in his personal following and raised an additional twenty one horse, twenty one crossbowmen and four hundred foot. In total, an army of over 25,000 men was mobilised to crush this rebellion.

The last great Welsh rebellion, in 1294, was more serious because it was more widespread. In addition to the oppression and exploitation by Edward's officials in administering Wales, the whole country was called to provide men and funds for Edward to fight in Gascony for his land there. Those Welsh leaders who did raise bands of knights and foot soldiers gave them arms which they then used against the English, and many of the lords were already away preparing to sail for France.

Once again Edward was forced to march armies into Wales, and by March 1295 the Welsh resistance was exhausted. Edward's castles had proved their worth, and sucked up the Welsh assaults and drained their strength. Ifor Rowlands in the book 'Edward I and Wales' summed it up well: "Three campaigns within twenty years had deprived the Welsh of their natural leaders, drained them of resources and destroyed their capacity for resistance. An economically under-resourced, militarily backward and politically divided people - ever a volatile element within the Plantagenet dominions - had been ground to submission by an infinitely more powerful neighbour."

To cap it all, Edward's son (also called Edward), born in Caernarfon in 1284, was invested as Prince of Wales in 1301.

The Pacification of the Welsh 2

2010-01-02T22:28:00.002Z

In 1277 Llewelyn was forced to come to terms in the treaty of Aberconwy and pay homage after Edward I defeated him, but the peace did not last long. Dafydd had been settled on territory in North Wales, and made peace with Llewelyn, and became just as unhappy with the officials of the king. In March 1282 he attacked Hawarden castle and captured its English commander. This provoked other rebellions along the border of Gwynedd, and Llewelyn was forced to mobilise or lose his authority. This time when Edward assembled his armies he was determined not merely to bring Llewelyn to heel, but to completely disinherit him. What began as a 'just war' against a people unfaithful to the king, became a war of conquest.

Once again Edward mobilised three armies, but on a much larger scale than in the previous war, and men from Gower served again in the south. Possibly while they were away, Rhys ap Maredudd launched a surprise attack on Gower, burned and sacked Swansea, and laid siege to Oystermouth Castle. When the castle fell, it and village were also burned and the church looted. Ships from Swansea were also used to bring supplies to the north. As Edward's armies closed in on Snowdonia, Llewelyn broke out southwards towards Builth in an attempt to rally support from the south. It was a tragic move, as he met a small band of soldiers outside Builth and was killed on 11th December 1282.

The war continued for several months, until Llewelyn's brother Dafydd was betrayed by his own people and handed over to the English, who executed him in 1283. Edward linked the advance of his armies with castle building to secure the territory he captured and provide for containment of the Welsh once peace was restored. Some castles had been built or remodelled in 1277, but many more were built from 1283. The cost was enormous - £90,000, and the total cost of the two wars and the castles was almost £175,000, a sum equivalent to over one billion pounds today. New boroughs were laid out around each castle, and the best land given to faithful Englishmen. The creation of these castles totally changed the balance of power and allowed Edward to control north Wales in particular.

Llewelyn had no heir and his daughter was sent by Edward to a nunnery. Without leadership, the internal rivalries of the Welsh lords rose to the surface, and they were easily conquered individually. The Statute of Rhuddlan was issued by Edward on 19th March 1284, to lay out the governance of Wales. Welsh territories were converted to English shires, the main ones being Flint, Anglesey, Caernarfonshire, Merionethshire, Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire. Several new Marcher lordships were also created, such as Chirk, Denbigh and Ruthun. The process of introducing the English justice system was begun by appointing a justiciar for Wales, Robert de Tibotot.

The Pacification of the Welsh 1

2009-12-28T18:48:00.003Z

Many Welsh people are not aware of their own history, and how Wales became part of England. There are several books about the pacification of the Welsh, which I have condensed into a chapter in my book. So for those who don't know, here is the first part:

As early as 1267 an attempt was made to reconcile England and Wales. Llewelyn ap Gruffudd was lord of Gwynedd (north Wales), but had the allegiance of the barons of Powys (mid Wales) and Dehaubarth (south west Wales), so he was the key figure in the negotiations. Eastern and southern Wales were already under the English rule of the Marcher lordships.

Llewelyn had originally inherited Gwynedd jointly with his brother Owain, but defeated him and kept him permanently imprisoned. By 1258 he declared himself 'Prince of Wales' and ruled from his stronghold in Snowdonia. His other two brothers were no threat. The youngest brother Rhodri seemed to present no challenge, and Dafydd accepted a lesser role.

As part of the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267 he agreed to pay homage to the king of England (Henry III)in return for virtual autonomy in Wales. His self-proclaimed title of 'Prince of Wales' was also formally recognised. The historian David Walker says in his book 'Medieval Wales' that the Treaty offered the most favourable terms ever extracted from the English crown. Llewelyn used the following decade to consolidate the great Welsh dynasties into a united country. Poets addressed him as 'the true king of Wales' (gwir frenin Cymru). He captured parts of the March at various times, particularly in mid Wales, and there were frequent skirmishes with Marcher lords defending or attempting to recover their lands.

By the end of 1276 the new king, Edward I, called a full council which agreed to call out the feudal host against Llewelyn. Edward was also encouraged by dissent in Wales. Following a failed conspiracy to assassinate Llewelyn, the two main conspirators, Llewelyn's brother Dafydd and the lord of Powys, Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn, had fled to England. Edward was unable to march directly on Snowdon, but had to fight battles all along the edge of the Marches for several months.

Three armies moved in from Chester, Montgomery and Carmarthen. Alina's grandfather served with the Carmarthen army, and William served as squire to Reginald de Grey, lord of Ruthin. By April 1277 the Carmarthen army had subdued south Wales and much of Ceredigion. There were similar victories in the middle and north march. The northern army countered Llewelyn's guerrilla tactics by using large numbers of men to cut wide paths through the forests to enable the army to move in force. They never came to battle, because when a separate force was sent to Anglesey, threatening Llewelyn's summer crops, he came to terms, and the king withdrew.

The Treaty of Montgomery had restricted Llewelyn to Snowdonia and Anglesey, but although his political power was diminished, he became the focus for all the frustrations and aspirations of the Welsh. These were aggravated ten years later by the behaviour of the officials set in place by Edward over the newly-conquered territories and the resentment of the other Welsh lords at their heavy-handed treatment by the crown. Llewelyn also repeatedly failed to pay homage to the king. Despite granting him autonomy, the king was adamant that royal overlordship be recognised, just as Llewelyn was determined not to do so.

The White Lady and the Introduction

2009-11-23T19:45:00.002Z

More and more I find people referring to Alina as the White Lady of Oystermouth, so I am renaming this blog, although I can't change the URL.

I am unsure where I would stand for publication if I published every chapter of the biography on the web first, so while I find out, here is the Introduction to whet your appetite.

Introduction

This story began when I stood one day outside Swansea Castle and wondered what it looked like in its heyday. What I discovered when I started finding out, led me deeper into history than I had ever gone before. History was not a subject I enjoyed in school, but these became real people to me, and I was fascinated. My research also showed me some things about Swansea that I never suspected. I always assumed that, other than being a good port, Swansea was not very important that far back in history. But I discovered that the owner of Swansea Castle was pivotal in the rebellion which toppled the king of England.

I am using the life of Alina de Mowbray to tell this story, as it gives the opportunity to look at the actions of both her father and her husband, as well as the trials of life in the early fourteenth century, a period which popular history seldom covers. To those familiar with Swansea and Gower, this story will be of great interest, but also for others it will give a different perspective on this turbulent time for Wales and for England.

The first four chapters set the scene, before coming to the key events of the story. Chapter one covers Alina's early life, based on records of her father and what life was typically like for the aristocracy in the late thirteenth century. Chapter two gives the background of the family and more on her father. Chapter three looks at the physical setting, especially the two main castles of Swansea and Oystermouth.

Alina's father, William de Breos, fought for Edward I in his defeat of the Prince of Wales. Chapter four covers this important point in history. From then, Wales was never again independent. The Welsh marches were conquered soon after England, and had been part of England since then. These Norman lords supplied men and weapons to assist the king in his many wars, at home and abroad. Even when Wales was created as a Principality, the marches were not included.

Edward I was a champion, his son Edward II was the complete opposite. From chapter five onwards the story unfolds of William de Breos's troubles and schemes which eventually led to the rebellion of his son in law, attempting to protect Alina's inheritance. That local rebellion, like a rolling snowball, gathered other barons in a country-wide uprising against a weak and distrusted king. When the queen herself led an army against him, it was to Wales that he fled.

Local History Book Fair

2009-11-15T20:36:00.003Z

Yesterday there was a Local History Book Fair at Swansea Museum. I popped in with my friend, not expecting anything, but it proved really helpful. I bought two books, one of which I had found really useful from the library, so now I have my own copy. The other was about Edward I, and I am researching his pacification of the Welsh, for a chapter in the book.

The thing that was most useful, was a chat with one of the authors. To my shame, I can't remember his name, but he has written three books on executions and prisons. He gave me some good advice about finding a publisher, getting permission for quotes and illustrations, and the importance of a bibliography.

I now have an introduction and three chapters written. The next chapter is on the pacification of the Welsh. I'm trying to give the setting and some history, but still keep Alina in the picture. I want to share what I'm writing, but not compromise the chance of having it published, so I have to think about that. I will share at least some extracts - watch this space.

In Print!

2009-10-28T21:05:00.002Z

I had had my first publication, and it's about Swansea Castle! I wrote to the editors of the Swansea Central Community Magazine and asked them if they would like an article on Swansea Castle, since it's in the centre of the area which the magazine covers. They said yes, and the article is in the October edition.

It is encouraging, and it's submission has spurred me on to start the book. I have already written the first draft of the first three chapters. Once they are in better shape I will blog them, so you know you have something concrete to look forward to.

Pen Portrait of Alina

2009-10-09T20:52:00.000+01:00

Alina de Mowbray lived through one of the most significant times in the history of the Lordship of Gower. The daughter of William de Breos (one of a long line of Williams), she was born in 1291, the same year that her father inherited the estates of Gower in South Wales and Bramber in West Sussex, on the death of his father.

The de Breoses (originally de Briouze and then de Braose) had fallen a long way by the time of Alina's birth, and would fall even further in her lifetime. At their height they owned estates in France, England, Wales and Ireland. Some were lost when daughters married and took their inheritance to a new family, some were confiscated because of the king's displeasure, some were sold to raise money.

When Alina's father inherited what was left, he also inherited large debts, several law suits, and a profligate lifestyle. W H Jones, the historian of Swansea, summed up the de Breoses: "The de Breoses were a licentious clan of freebooters, who appear to have been so habituated to duplicity and chicanery as to render it impossible to be straightforward and honest in their dealings with their neighbours."

William was often away fighting for the king, so it is possible that Alina saw little of him. She would have spent her time with her mother Agnes, her older brother William and sister Joan. Her father was given the valuable wardship of John de Mowbray in return for service in Flanders, which he immediately took advantage of by marrying John to Alina when she was only seven and he was twelve. He never paid the marriage fee.

The marriage took place in Swansea castle, but the family preferred to live at Oystermouth castle, which they improved. Indeed, so much of Swansea castle was damaged or sold off that, around 1300, William built the 'New Castle' by enclosing the south-east corner of the original castle. Once Edward 1 pacified the Welsh, Swansea was no longer important militarily, and became the administrative centre of the lordship of Gower. Alina had her first child, John, when she was nineteen, but in the next thirteen years she would lose her mother, brother, husband and then her sister. Although her father married Elizabeth de Sully, an heiress, they had no children, so there were no other heirs.

William had arranged for Alina and John to inherit his estates, but in a desperate search for money he also arranged to sell Gower to several people at once. One of these was Hugh le Despenser, King Edward II's favourite, who, among other titles, was Lord of Glamorgan. Trying to protect their inheritance, in October 1320, John seized Gower by force. Despenser accused John of treason. The king declared Gower forfeit to Despenser and sent men to take Swansea castle. They were met by an armed mob in St Thomas who refused to allow them to cross the river.

Although Swansea castle was later surrendered without a fight, John's resistance encouraged other barons to rise in revolt. They were already greatly dissatisfied with the king, particularly his behaviour with Despenser, not only sexually but in granting him so many favours against their interests as he grabbed for land. The revolt was initially successful and the king had to banish Despenser and his father.

In August 1321 John de Mowbray was pardoned for his part in the revolt, but in October the king launched a counter-attack. Due to a breakdown in communication, the barons were defeated and the leaders were executed. John was hanged at York, and the king was so incensed that he refused to allow his body to be taken down for three years. Alina fled with her son to Ilfracombe, but they were captured and sent to the Tower of London.

Alina spent three years in the Tower, during which time she was forced to sell her estates to Despenser's father in order to provide living expenses. Her son John was only twelve when he went to the Tower. Gower had been confiscated by the king and given to Despenser, who had been reinstated. So Alina was left destitute.

At this point, Alina's father William comes back into the picture. Despenser had cunningly exchanged Gower for Gwent, ordering Gower to be plundered before handing it over. William, desperate to gain his daughter's freedom, submitted to Despenser's schemes to regain Gower. William went to court and claimed that Gower had been illegally acquired, and regained it for himself. He immediately gave it to Despenser, who thus gained Gwent and Gower. William gave up almost everything he owned, and apparently went senile. He never saw Alina free, and died in 1326.

While Alina was in the Tower, Queen Isabella went to France to negotiate between Edward II and the French king, and managed to get her son Edward sent to France as well. There she joined forces with the exiled Roger Mortimer and they landed in England and began to raise an army against the king. The king called the barons to arms, but they deserted him and joined the queen. Edward was forced to flee and eventually abdicated. Despenser and his father were brutally executed and their lands confiscated. When Edward III came to the throne, the barons were pardoned and their estates returned to them. Unfortunately, Alina did not qualify however because her right to inherit Gower had not, originally, been completed correctly by her father.

But Alina's story had a happy outcome in two ways. Firstly, the king showed mercy to her and gave her Gower. Secondly, she married a man she met in the Tower, Richard de Peschale, and went on to have four more children. Sadly, she didn't live long to enjoy it, and died in 1331, only four years after her release from the Tower. Her eldest son John, however, had an illustrious career and became a close companion in arms of the king.

Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust

2009-09-26T22:34:00.004+01:00

In my search for information, on Thursday I took the day off work and made an appointment to visit the Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust, whose offices are just a couple of streets away. I was told that it would be best to submit your requests in advance, so that they would have all the materials ready for you when you arrived. Well!

I arrived, and the person who answered the door had no idea who I was. I was invited in and told that no one was available to see me, and asked to wait. I was shown into an office where they looked at me expectantly and asked what I wanted. Not a good start! I explained and they rushed around and eventually found my questions, but were obviously not prepared. So they kept me talking while they rushed off to look for stuff.

Then it turned out that their meeting room has dry rot, which is being treated, so they squeezed me onto someone's desk (I don't know where they worked while I was there), and gave me a pile of books and files to look at. I don't know what I was expecting, but that wasn't it.

Anyway, I was there for three hours, and took loads of notes. Some things I just noted references as I thought I had the information already. They told me I can go back any time and ask for specific things, now I have seen the files, and I was allowed to photocopy some stuff.

The most interesting thing was that Dr Edith Evans, who wrote the booklet which I started my research with - Swansea Castle and the Medieval Town - works for GGAT and talked to me for quite a while. I suspect it may have been her desk I borrowed.

I also found a source which referred to Alina as Alianora, but I think I'll stick with Alina. The family name has also gone through several permutations. In France they were de Briouze. In England they were de Braose, and there is a lot of resource material still using that name. Then, locally, they were de Breos. I also found out that the local pronounciation for many generations for Parc le Breos, named after the family, is more like Brouze. Interesting.

Oh, one more thing. Gerald Gabb (see previous post) emailed me and asked for a copy of my outline, because he was so impressed with it. I am delighted.

Real People

2009-09-22T19:20:00.002+01:00

After doing a lot of research in the library and online, I have finally plucked up the courage to talk to some real people, face to face. I met with Gerald Gabb last night. He is recently retired from Swansea Museum, and the lady who gave me his email address told me that no one else was a patch on him for local history, so I was quite nervous. I am really grateful that he was so nice to me, and seemed impressed with the extent of my research - I didn't want to look like an amateur. I am also grateful for all the trouble he went to, providing me with books to check out and notes of other sources. I just wanted to pick his brains but he had done some research for me as well.

Apart from more information, the great thing about talking to someone is the chance to toss ideas around and discuss approaches to the subject. For instance, I have details of the daily life of a baronial household in the thirteenth century, but I wasn't sure how much I could ascribe it to the de Breoses. We talked about how poor they might have been (or not) and where the money came from and where it went. I all helps me to get a picture of the context of Alina's life. He also approved of my outline, which has helped me begin to shape the story I want to tell.

Another thing we discussed was their colouring. In an earlier post I surmised that the Normans would be blond and blue eyed, as they were descended from the Vikings who settled in northern France. Mr Gabb pointed out that there were knights from a wide area who came over with William the Conqueror, so they wouldn't all be 'north men', and the Vikings would have intermarried with the local people. Once in England, and then Wales, they also intermarried with the English and the Welsh. Indeed, some of the earlier de Breoses married Welsh princesses. So, basically, anything goes for their colouring. I like the idea of blond and blue eyed for my heroine, it's appropriately romantic!

Alina is interesting, not just because of the times she lived through because of her father and her husband, but because information about women is rare from those days. Still, Mr Gabb's first comment about a biography of Alina was that it would only be half a page! It will be longer than that, but I will be including background, which will make it much longer and add colour and context. Still, I doubt it will be long enough to publish, and he also agreed that a historical novel is the way to go. But I want to write the biography first to get my facts straight.

I have other people to see too. I have an appointment on Thursday morning at the Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust, which I found, to my surprise, is almost around the corner from where I live. I have submitted questions to them about Swansea and Oystermouth Castles and some other bits and pieces. I also contacted Roger Parmiter, the chairman of the Friends of Oystermouth Castle, who is going to get me a copy of his drawing of how Oystermouth Castle might have looked, and has agreed to meet me when he returns from holiday. So it's all starting to come together!

Progress

2009-09-14T22:53:00.002+01:00

My research is progressing in a new direction, and I have begun to write, but cannot post it yet. Let me explain.

Firstly, the research. I feel I have gleaned all I can for now from the internet and the library. All I am finding is more copies of the same information. What I need now is someone to discuss it with and ask some specific questions. To that end, I have plucked up courage and telephoned the contacts I was given. One has agreed to meet me in a week or two, and I have been given the other's email address. I also feel I am ready to contact the Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust, as I have specific questions about the castles. I have taken time to survey my research and list my questions, so I have some clarity.

Secondly, I found the Swansea Writers Circle and attended a meeting. Not only were they just what I was hoping for, but the speaker of the evening talked about writing a historical biography, so it was obviously meant to be! I mentioned my work on Alina and my questioning whether to write a biography or a historical novel, and it was unanimous around the table that, being so far in the past, a novel would be the best approach. We had 'homework' to write a pen portrait in less than 1000 words, which I completed this evening - on Alina, of course. But I can't post it until it's been handed in and 'marked'.

Thirdly, I contacted the Swansea Central Magazine and offered them an article on Swansea Castle, which they accepted. They didn't give a word count or deadline, but I have written it, and after a review, will be sending it off. So I can't post that either, until it's published.

Sorry to disappoint anyone out there who is actually following this, but be glad for my progress. I promise to write some more of the story for you next. There's lots of good stuff.

Weak or Strong?

2009-08-30T16:22:00.002+01:00

Having estabished that our heroine Alina was probably blond haired and blue eyed, what sort of person was she? She may have looked like a typical storybook heroine, but for the women of the aristocracy, life did not consist of embroidery and reading poetry, or being a decorative ornament on the dais next to her husband.

Since their men were so often away fighting, or training to fight, and since there were often several estates, which the lord would visit, most of the management of the estates was done by their wives. The household was a pyramidal structure, with a mass of ordinary servants who were controlled by a group of higher officials, and ultimately by the steward. But they were supervised by the lord and lady.

Most estates were largely self-sufficient in many ways. They grew their own food, and there would have been fish in the sea and the river. They had blacksmiths and farriers, tailors and armourers. For those familiar with Swansea, Orchard Street is where there was an orchard jsut outside the town gate, and Brynmill was indeed the site of a mill. But many items would need to be purchased, for example, the large quantity of spices used in medieval cooking, which were expensive and guarded like jewels.

The lady would have to authorise purchases, supervise the farms and livestock, keep accounts and manage the senior servants.

The medieval aristocratic household moved frequently, over considerable distances, visiting their estates and those of others. It operated like a well-oiled machine, packing all that was needed, including collapsible furniture, onto great sumpter horses and carts. There was also the need to transport goods bought from markets and fairs across the country.

Of course, when Alina was young, all this would have been the concern of her mother, Agnes, but she would have been raised to learn these skills. She married at the age of seven, but I don't know when she would have taken on her own household. Since her husband was only twelve, I would imagine they would not have set up on their own straight away, but her husband John de Mowbray, would inherit estates of his own, as well as those she would inherit from her father.

There was also a continual worry over money. Estates brought in revenue to their lords, but the De Breoses were very bad with money. I wonder how it affected Agnes and Alina?

So I think Alina would have been a strong character. She would have needed it for the future.

William's 'Great Unthrift'

2009-08-23T21:40:00.003+01:00

As I have mentioned before, the heart of the problem, which led to the toppling of Edward II, was the de Breoses' inabiility to handle their money.

W H Jones, the historian of Swansea, summed them up like this: “The de Breoses were a licentious clan of freebooters, who appear to have been so habituated to duplicity and chicanery as to render it impossible to be straightforward and honest in their dealings with their neighbours.” What a condemnation!

The lawsuits and debts from William's father were added to by William himself. As early as 1292, the king warned William that if he did not pay his debts, the king's agents would enter Gower and take away his goods. Things came to a head in 1305 when his stepmother Mary de Roos took him to court over a debt of 800 marks, and won, much to William's annoyance. He climbed over the bar and was so insulting to the judge that he was put in the Tower of London for contempt of court. He was virtually bankrupt and had to sell some of his lands to pay his debts. He also never paid the price for John de Mowbray marrying Alina.

Between 1272 & 1290 William disposed of 'the former north gate of the outer bailey of the Castle of Swansea with two towers adjacent' and the south gate of the same bailey. [Today this is by Argos and by Yates, for those who know Swansea]. Between 1307 & 1319 William disposed of two towers, one called 'Donelstour' (Donald's tower) and one which belonged to Thomas de Singleton. Over the years he sold pieces of land, mills, coal mines, and the Swansea ferry. He also sold Loughor Castle to his steward, John Iweyn, who turned out to be an even bigger scoundrel than he was.

William's tenants were never happy with him. In 1284 his tenants in the north-western corner of Gower asked that their lands be changed to the neighbouring Is-Cennan, which came under the king. In 1299 there was a suit from the Bishop of Llandaff, complaining that he had trespassed on the bishop's manors, carried off some of his goods, and imprisoned some of his men. There was another suit almost the same in 1315. There were constant suits from his tenants that William had 'oppressed' them – fines, forced loans, imprisonment. The suit from his tenants in Gower in 1305 accused him of failing to protect them and their rights, and that he was a disgrace to the marcher lordships. He had also appointed a Sheriff, which was contrary to law. As a result, in 1306 he was forced to issue charters of rights for the burgesses of Swansea and his tenants in Gower, Welsh and English.

William's wife Agnes died, and in 1317 he married the heiress Elizabeth de Sully, who brought him several manors, although they had no children. Having made arrangements to make Alina his heir, he nevertheless set about trying to sell the lordship of Gower, in order to raise money. At one point there were at least three lords who all claimed to have bought it. Eventually he sold it to the king's favourite, Hugh Despenser (the younger), for the huge sum of £10,000. Alina's husband, John de Mowbray, tried to hold on to their inheritance, and so gave rise to the barons' rebellion - more of this to come.

Research Progress

2009-08-22T23:30:00.002+01:00

I have started to pursue some of my research outside of the library and the internet. About 9 days ago I went to Oystermouth Castle, and stood the places Alina walked so many centuries ago. I was a weird feeling. I bought the booklet from the visitor's centre and there was some good stuff in it, including drawings of what it would have looked like. I also got the phone number of someone from the Friends of Oystermouth Castle, who may be able to help me.

Today I went to Ty Hanes, the Mumbles Local History Centre. I found them just in time, as they have lost their funding and are closing on 29th August. Their displays were all much later than the period in which I am interested, but again I got a phone number of their historian. They were also selling their books, and I bought two which had some useful stuff in, and a great help to be able to keep them and not have to keep going back to the library.

[Notice how academic I am, with all this 'stuff', sorry guys.] Anyway, I have just bought a new computer with Microsoft Office 2007, which includes One Note, which I have just spent the evening reviewing. It is a facility for organising notes, files, extracts, lists etc., etc., and looks like just what I need to sort out my research. So watch this space!

Pretty as a Picture?

2009-08-12T21:37:00.001+01:00

Thinking of the characters in my story, especially Alina, how do I describe them? I can get a small idea of their character from their history, but what did they look like? I talked to my husband Michael about it, and surprisingly Alina may have been the typical heroine - blond hair and blue eyes. They were Norman, and Normans were descended from the Vikings - they were 'North men'.

I wonder if that is right? I can't help thinking that it's going to look trite, to make her blond and blue eyed, but it may be true.

Alina Timeline

2009-08-07T22:19:00.002+01:00

I spent some time last night creating a timeline for Alina's life, and noticed some things I hadn't noticed before. Here's the first part of the timeline, and my comments afterwards. See if you spot them too.

1291 Born to William & Agnes de Breos, same year he inherited. Named after William's mother. Older brother William, older sister Joan.
Father served the king in many wars – so away a lot.
1295 Joan married James de Bohun of Midhurst.
1297 Betrothed to William's ward, John de Mowbray.
1298 Married John de Mowbray in Swansea Castle – he was 12, she was 7. Marriage never paid for by her father.
Father unpaid debts and law suits etc. 1305 he was sent briefly to the Tower.
1310 Son John born (Alina 19), William fighting in Scotland.
1315 William had installed his son William in Landimore in north Gower.
1316 William obtained royal licence to settle all but one of his English manors on Alina & John – did not include Gower.
1317 Mother dead by now, father marries heiress Elizabeth de Sully. (Alina 26).
1318/19 William selling off Gower to several people to raise money.
1320 Husband John seizes Gower to protect Alina's inheritance. King sends men to take it back, John leads rebellion against the king, many barons join. Rebellion defeated.
1320 Brother William dies.
1321 King pardons de Mowbray.

Already you can begin to see what a life she led - it certainly wasn't boring. Lots more happened later, but I won't give it away yet.

Anyway, the first thing that surprised me was that, although her brother William would have been the heir, her father arranged to settle most of his English manors on Alina and her husband. Presumably, her brother would inherit Gower, but why not everything?

And what about her older sister Joan? She doesn't seem to have been promised anything. Even when her brother dies, Joan still isn't mentioned. Maybe her marriage gave her a great land-holding, and she didn't need anything from her father. I haven't looked into her husband, but it's probably not worth it, as she probably moved away to her husband's estates, and died in 1323.

I intend to look into the English estates, but they were worth something, as Alina later sold them when she was in desperate straits. Would the lordship of Gower outweigh them, or was Alina being given a greater inheritance than her brother? Alina's husband, John de Mowbray, was William's ward, so maybe her felt he was keeping it in the family by leaving the estates to them.

When her brother William died, Alina and John became heirs to Gower as well, which was highly prized and fought over in the following years. More on that later.

There was another curiosity. Alina later married Richard de Peschale, and assuming she didn't have his children before they married, she appears to have had four children in three years - quite and achievement! I'll keep you posted on my research.

Digressions

2009-08-02T20:33:00.002+01:00

In July's Writing Magazine there is an article called 'Thickening the plot', about the good use of digressions in your writing. It is well known that there is always a huge amount more research and background than ever goes into the book. I have already amassed quite a lot of information on the town of Swansea, the daily life of a manor, and the fall of the king, for example, and it would be nice to pass some of that on.

The idea in the article is that, at appropriate points in the narrative, you can digress to give some background or wider information, to make the narrative more interesting. The Kate Summerscale book 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher' is used as an example. My husband bought it and loved it, and I think I'll read it. It is a classic crime story, but true, and tells of the investigation of a murder by the first real detective, John Whicher. In the process she digresses in enough places to give a comprehensive history of the earliest days of detection, along with fashion, transport, and the Victorian style of living.

I really fancy that idea, so I'll be giving you some digressions as I piece this together, along with the information, as I have started to do so far, and pieces of actual writing as they come. I'm getting excited.

William de Breos - early history

2009-07-29T22:03:00.000+01:00

The name De Breos (De Braose, or various other spellings) is one of the significant ones in the history of Swansea, and in the family line were several Williams. Some of these inherited the estates and some died young, making the counting of them somewhat controversial. The one we are interested in was born in 1261, referred to as either William III or William VII. Let us just call him William.

William took over many of the duties of running the estates before his father (another William) died, but he didn't inherit until 1291. Along with the estate, he inherited large debts, several law suits, and a profligate lifestyle. Consequently he was always looking for money, and not always particular about how he got it. The inheritance was large, and over the centuries the number of lands varied widely, depending on honours given and received, and sales made in an attempt to balance the books. In some cases land was forfeit due to the displeasure of the king, and in others land was given in recognition of service, particularly in war.

At the time of his inheritance, the main estates were Bramber (West Sussex) and Gower (South Wales), but William seems to have spent a lot of time in Gower, and rebuilt Oystermouth Castle in stone, which he preferred to live in, although Swansea Castle was the main seat of Gower. However, it is possible that Swansea Castle was in some disrepair, as the whole town was sacked and burned just over 50 years before, by Rhys ap Maredudd in a Welsh uprising.

By the time William inherited, his father had already sold off the north and south gates of the castle, and William himself sold some of the towers. He was able to do this because the castle became less important for military purposes by 1300, with the end of the Welsh wars. It was however, still the administrative centre and principal seat of the lordship. When he eventually worked on it, he built the 'new castle' in the south west corner of the original, and left the rest as part of the town.

William was married to Agnes and had one son (another William), and two daughters, Joan and Alina (named after his mother). Sadly, William (the son) and Joan died before him, and Alina was left as his heir. He did, in fact, make arrangements for her to inherit, but his “great unthrift”, as one writer put it, meant that her inheritance was far from certain.

To be fair, all barons had to raise men to fight for the king, at their own expense, and both William and his father had done so several times, and to great success. He served in Scotland many times, including the defeat of William Wallace, and at Bannockburn. He served in Flanders and elsewhere on the Continent. And also in West Wales against the Welsh, for the Marcher lands like Gower were part of England. William even had a huge siege engine, with all the men necessary to maintain, move and operate it, which was a key factor in winning the siege of Emlyn Castle, in the campaign against Rhys ap Maredudd in West Wales in 1288.

Swansea Castle

2009-07-26T20:17:00.002+01:00

Let us begin where I began - with Swansea Castle. There only remains one corner in the centre of town, of what was known as the 'New Castle'. The very earliest castle was a motte and bailey, timber construction, of which nothing remains. It overlooked the lowest crossing of the Tawe, a good harbour, and the main east-west route in South Wales. It was also needed to guard against the Welsh, for South Wales was not part of the principality, but English, or rather Norman.

Not only was there a distinction between the lords and the serfs, but between the Englishry and the Welshry. The lordship of Gower was loyal to the king, and covered a large amount of land inland, as well as the peninsular of Gower we know today.

The stone castle which replaced the wooden one covered most of what is now the town centre. In it's heyday in the late 13th century it stretched from Welcome Lane (at the side of Argos) in the north to Caer Street (south of Castle Square) in the south, and from the clifftop in the east almost to Princess Way in the west. It adjoined St Mary's Church.

In the late 13th century it had fallen into disrepair, possibly following several attacks by the Welsh, and parts of it had been sold to raise money. It was no longer important militarily, following the pacification of the Welsh by Edward I. The New Castle was built into the south-west corner, with a new wall erected along Castle Bailey Street, which used to run across the castle bailey, and from there to the rear wall overlooking the cliff. The river used to run below the cliff, but was diverted much later to straighten the river and create land on the town side.

Although the de Breoses preferred to live at Oystermouth Castle, which they greatly improved, it would be nice to think of Alina living, at least some of the time, in Swansea Castle. I envision her wanting her own place when she married, at least when she grew up, and maybe she moved there, leaving Oystermouth to her father.

The Grey Lady of Oystermouth

2009-07-25T20:32:00.001+01:00

Alina de Breos (also spelled de Braose) was born about 1291 and her father William de Breos was Lord of Gower. The administrative centre for Gower was at Swansea Castle, but they preferred to live at Oystermouth Castle. Alina was married to John de Mowbray when she was only seven, and led an eventful life. She is regarded as being responsible for the building of the chapel at Oystermouth Castle, and is said to haunt it, being known as the Grey Lady of Oystermouth.

I first discovered Alina when researching Swansea Castle for a fantasy story idea about travelling back in time to the castle in it's heyday. It's heyday turned out to be the late 13th and early 14th century. All that remains of the castle is one corner at the top of a steep bank above The Strand, which used to run along the River Tawe. Apart from being a major port, I always assumed that Swansea was an insignificant town, but as I researched I found that it was part of a rebellion which toppled a king.

The fantasy story receded further into the background as I got more and more interested in this period in history. In this blog I aim to share my research and my thoughts as I plan to write a historical novel about Alina. In a novel, certain things have to be made up - the details of daily life, conversations etc. - but the historical facts must be accurate. I need to find out as much as I can, and make decisions about how to portray the rest. I hope you'll join me for the journey, and maybe learn a few things along the way.