The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

The Welsh soldier: 1283-1422

The Welsh soldier: 1283-1422
The Welsh soldier: 1283-1422
The present thesis is a study of the reality – and the myth – of the ‘Welsh soldier’ in the later middle ages. The final defeat of the Princes of Gwynedd in 1283 was formalised by the division of the principality of Gwynedd and the ‘feudalisation’ of its territory set out in the statute of Wales proclaimed at Rhuddlan in 1284. As Morris long ago demonstrated, and as Davies and others have since reaffirmed the ‘wars of independence’ – at least in the thirteenth century – were conducted as much between Welshmen as between ‘the Welsh’, the Marchers and the English crown. The picture of Edward I’s pragmatism driven by ‘imperial’ principle – ironically achieving Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s aim of taking Wales into the ambit of the feudal and political structure of England – without Llywelyn painted by Glyn Roberts is appropriate.1 The integration of Welshmen into Edward I’s military machine was swift, but required innovations of military organisation, chiefly, the Commission of Array. Most Welshmen served at a low level in English armies, as archers, and consequently, are far harder to trace as individuals before the regular survival of full muster accounts in the years after 1369.though global figures can be deduced more readily for the armies of Edward I, Edward II and Edward III, more precise detail cannot. Despite this, patterns of the service of Welshmen, both from the Shires of the principality of Wales and the Welsh March can be generally described over the period covered by this thesis.

The concentration of military historians on the formation of royal armies has downplayed the role of military lordship and its importance in the March of Wales. Similarly, while the events of the Glyn D?r rebellion (1400-1410) are well understood, and the consequences of the rebellion on Welsh society have excited some interest, the immediate impact on the Welsh as soldiers has not been fully explored. The place of the Welsh at the battle of Agincourt provides a bridge between the chronological spine of this thesis and the consideration of what might be termed the cultural impression of the medieval Welsh soldier. Thanks largely to Shakespeare’s depiction of Captain Fluellen in Henry V (1599) the Welsh are inextricably linked with this battle, though contemporary evidence suggests the sum of their involvement was extremely limited. Ironically perhaps, in fifteenth century Welsh culture, Agincourt is the silent battle; uniquely there are no poetic references to this battle in a culture where war against France and the earlier battles of Crécy and Poitiers were staple metaphors for the prowess of individuals and as a source of patronage to the bards themselves. The image of Welshmen at war, and particularly, their skill with the longbow, appears to owe much to Gerald of Wales whose accounts of the men of Gwent as archers in the twelfth century has become the province of folklore rather than a reflection of historical reality. There is a striking difference between the Welsh account of their experience at war and the perspective of outsiders. Fundamentally this was because most external commentators saw the Welsh as an undifferentiated mass. Our evidence for the corresponding Welsh view is based upon literature praising the actions of individuals. The majority of their opponents, in Scotland and in France, but also in much of England, the only Welshmen who would ordinarily be encountered were soldiers. The difference in impression was preserved by later observers and the staple depiction of the Welsh as primitive and backward, ‘Wild men from the woods’ in the words of the author of the Vita Edwardi Secundi would have been recognisable to the pamphleteers of the seventeenth century who were themselves describing soldiers. The aim of this thesis therefore is to bring together these views of the ‘Welsh Soldier’ to give a better understanding of his role in later medieval warfare, and the place of war in fourteenth and early fifteenth century Welsh society.
Chapman, Adam John
64bf6bf7-2c5c-4f55-825f-ab1faabca3c8
Chapman, Adam John
64bf6bf7-2c5c-4f55-825f-ab1faabca3c8
Curry, Anne
8dfe10f0-50e4-41b5-ae8e-526376ef8c95

Chapman, Adam John (2009) The Welsh soldier: 1283-1422. University of Southampton, School of Humanities, Doctoral Thesis, 305pp.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

The present thesis is a study of the reality – and the myth – of the ‘Welsh soldier’ in the later middle ages. The final defeat of the Princes of Gwynedd in 1283 was formalised by the division of the principality of Gwynedd and the ‘feudalisation’ of its territory set out in the statute of Wales proclaimed at Rhuddlan in 1284. As Morris long ago demonstrated, and as Davies and others have since reaffirmed the ‘wars of independence’ – at least in the thirteenth century – were conducted as much between Welshmen as between ‘the Welsh’, the Marchers and the English crown. The picture of Edward I’s pragmatism driven by ‘imperial’ principle – ironically achieving Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s aim of taking Wales into the ambit of the feudal and political structure of England – without Llywelyn painted by Glyn Roberts is appropriate.1 The integration of Welshmen into Edward I’s military machine was swift, but required innovations of military organisation, chiefly, the Commission of Array. Most Welshmen served at a low level in English armies, as archers, and consequently, are far harder to trace as individuals before the regular survival of full muster accounts in the years after 1369.though global figures can be deduced more readily for the armies of Edward I, Edward II and Edward III, more precise detail cannot. Despite this, patterns of the service of Welshmen, both from the Shires of the principality of Wales and the Welsh March can be generally described over the period covered by this thesis.

The concentration of military historians on the formation of royal armies has downplayed the role of military lordship and its importance in the March of Wales. Similarly, while the events of the Glyn D?r rebellion (1400-1410) are well understood, and the consequences of the rebellion on Welsh society have excited some interest, the immediate impact on the Welsh as soldiers has not been fully explored. The place of the Welsh at the battle of Agincourt provides a bridge between the chronological spine of this thesis and the consideration of what might be termed the cultural impression of the medieval Welsh soldier. Thanks largely to Shakespeare’s depiction of Captain Fluellen in Henry V (1599) the Welsh are inextricably linked with this battle, though contemporary evidence suggests the sum of their involvement was extremely limited. Ironically perhaps, in fifteenth century Welsh culture, Agincourt is the silent battle; uniquely there are no poetic references to this battle in a culture where war against France and the earlier battles of Crécy and Poitiers were staple metaphors for the prowess of individuals and as a source of patronage to the bards themselves. The image of Welshmen at war, and particularly, their skill with the longbow, appears to owe much to Gerald of Wales whose accounts of the men of Gwent as archers in the twelfth century has become the province of folklore rather than a reflection of historical reality. There is a striking difference between the Welsh account of their experience at war and the perspective of outsiders. Fundamentally this was because most external commentators saw the Welsh as an undifferentiated mass. Our evidence for the corresponding Welsh view is based upon literature praising the actions of individuals. The majority of their opponents, in Scotland and in France, but also in much of England, the only Welshmen who would ordinarily be encountered were soldiers. The difference in impression was preserved by later observers and the staple depiction of the Welsh as primitive and backward, ‘Wild men from the woods’ in the words of the author of the Vita Edwardi Secundi would have been recognisable to the pamphleteers of the seventeenth century who were themselves describing soldiers. The aim of this thesis therefore is to bring together these views of the ‘Welsh Soldier’ to give a better understanding of his role in later medieval warfare, and the place of war in fourteenth and early fifteenth century Welsh society.

Text
AJChapman_ethesis.pdf - Other
Download (1MB)

More information

Published date: November 2009
Organisations: University of Southampton

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 169897
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/169897
PURE UUID: 6dd06080-a972-4132-a591-1a98a7f9a60d
ORCID for Anne Curry: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7677-5561

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 23 Dec 2010 15:05
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:49

Export record

Contributors

Author: Adam John Chapman
Thesis advisor: Anne Curry ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×