Night of St Gertrude

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. Then the king, having gathered a large army, set out for Wales around the feast of Pentecost and forced the Welsh to retreat into the mountains. The sailors from the ports also acted boldly and, placing themselves in great danger, captured the island of Anglesey. They drove out the Welsh and killed some of them. The king said, Now Llywelyn has lost the fairest feather in his whole tail. He ordered a bridge to be built across the Menai Strait toward the entrance to Snowdonia. The bridge was constructed using many ships fastened together, with timbers and planks laid across them so that sixty armed men could cross abreast in a single front. While the king remained at the castle of Aberconwy and had not yet prepared to cross, a group of our men, seven nearly-bannerets with about three hundred armed soldiers, crossed prematurely. They sought to win praise and make a name for themselves. The bridge was not yet fully secured or completed. They crossed during low tide when the water had receded. After they had moved into the foothills of the mountains and had gone some distance from the bridge, the tides and the swelling of the sea came in again. The water became so great that they could not return to the bridge. At that moment, the Welsh emerged from the high mountains and advanced toward them, tracking their movements and path. But our men, stunned and fearing the great number of enemies, chose rather to entrust themselves to the water than to the foe. They entered the strait as they were, heavily burdened and armed, and were almost immediately drowned. Among them was the well-known knight Sir Luke de Tany, who had formerly been seneschal of Gascony. For the king had in his army many men from Gascony and the Basque country, who had come to his aid in splendid fashion, though not all of them would return. Yet the Lord preserved on that day the most valiant knight Sir William Latimer, who was carried through the deep waters on his war horse. This tragic drowning took place on the feast of Saint Leonard, Confessor [6th November 1282].

Deinde rex, congregato exercitu copioso, profectus est in Walliam circa festum Pentecostes, et coarctavit eos ut in montes ascenderent. Marinarii etiam de portubus agentes animose, et periculo se credentes immenso, ceperunt insulam de Anglesay, fugatis Wallensibus et aliquibus interfectis. Et ait rex, Jam Leulinus, inquit, perdidit pulchriorem pennam totius caudæ suæ, fecitque fieri pontem ultra aquam Meneth ad ingressum de Snawdon super naves multas ad invicem conjunctas, compositis lignis et conjunctis tabulis super ipsas naves ita quod in fronte una transire possent LX armati. Dumque esset rex in castro Abreconway nec adhuc transire parasset, ecce quidam ex nostris VII quasi baneretti cum CCC fere armatis, ut laudem acquirerent et nomen curiosum, necdum ponte plene firmato et perfecto, incautius transierunt, et hoc in descensu aquæ et aqua retracta; cumque lustrassent pedes montium, et essent a ponte aliquantisper remoti, superque venissent fluctus marisque inundantia ita quod ad pontem redire non possent præ aqua nimia, egressi sunt Wallenses a montibus excelsis, dirigentes ad eos iter et gressus suos. At nostri attoniti et multitudinem timentes magnam, se potius aquæ quam hosti credere voluerunt; ingressique sunt aquam ita ut erant Strait. onusti et armati, et quasi in puncto submersi sunt inter quos erat ille nominatus miles dominus Lucas Tanay qui senescallus Vasconia dudum extiterat, habuit enim rex in exercitu suo multos Vasconienses et Basclenses qui in ejus auxilium pompose venerant, sed non revertebantur omnes; salvavit tamen Dominus in illa die illum strenuissimum militem dominum Willelmum Latymer, qui in dextrario suo portatus est per medium aquarum multarum. Facta est illa submersio misera die Sancti Leonardi, confessoris.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. Around the next feast of Saint Nicholas [6th December 1282], Llywelyn descended from the mountains with only one squire, wishing to cautiously observe whether the inhabitants of the valleys remained loyal to him as before. He left his entire army on the ridge of the mountain above the river called Wye. His men took possession of the bridge of Orewin, and many Welsh remained there on his side, while on the other side were many royal troops. The king himself was that same day stationed at Rhuddlan [Map]. As the royal forces, whose leaders were Sir John Giffard and the young Sir Roger de Mortimer, saw the Welsh at the bridge and the large army on the ridge above, they discussed among themselves what ought to be done. One of them, named Elias Walwyn, replied, If we remain here, we can neither advance nor cross. But there is a certain ford not far from here and unknown to the Welsh, where we can cross, though with difficulty. Let brave men follow me, and we shall strike the Welsh from behind, those who are now at the bridge. Then the way across the bridge will be opened for the rest of our army, and from there we shall be able to press forward against the remaining enemies.

And so he did, and he crossed the ford that was unknown to others, from which the place took its name that it bears to this day, and it was called Hiliswath. After the Welsh who were stationed at the bridge were struck down, the way was opened for the rest of our army to pass through freely. When the sound of battle reached the ears of Llywelyn himself, who was hiding nearby in a barn at Thaulweyr, he said, "Are not my Welshmen holding the bridge at Orewin?" They replied to him, "Indeed, they are." And he said, "Even if all England were on the other side, I would not fear them." But as the noise of the fighting grew louder and his army on the heights began to panic when they saw the English forces approaching, Llywelyn hastened to slip away secretly with his page, for he feared for his life when he learned what had happened. He was spotted by one of our men, Stephen of Frankton, though he did not know who he was. Stephen followed him with a few others and, finding him fleeing and lightly armed, pierced him with a lance, and then quickly withdrew and returned to our army. The Welsh troops stood in their formations on the mountain ridge, waiting for their prince and lord, but in vain. As our forces advanced up the hill, the Welsh shot many arrows and bolts, and there was a brief skirmish with our archers, who were positioned among the cavalry. Many of the Welsh fell, because they had bravely held their ground in hope of their leader's return. At last, our cavalry reached the summit of the hill above them. After some were cut down, the rest were turned to swift flight. When our men returned victorious, the above-mentioned Stephen went back to see who the two individuals were whom he had struck down. Upon seeing Llywelyn's face and recognizing him, they cut off his head and brought it with joy to our king. The king then ordered it to be sent to London. A silver crown was placed upon it as a sign of his former princely title, and it was carried on a lance through the middle of Westcheap, London, by a mounted man, accompanied by a large crowd of citizens and much ceremony. Eventually, it was placed on a high turret of the royal tower, where it remained for a long time to be seen by all who passed by.

Circa vero sequens festum beati Nicolai descendit ipse Leulinus cum solo armigero de montibus, ut cautius exploraret si habitatores convallium in fide sua manerent ut prius, reliquitque totum suum exercitum in supercilio montis super aquam quæ vocatur Waye et præoccupaverunt sui pontem Grewyn, manseruntque ibi ex parte sua Wallenses plurimi et ex parte altera regales multi; rex vero eodem die apud Rotheland erat in præsidio. Dumque regales nostri, quorum duces exercitus erant dominus Johannes Giffard et dominus Rogerus de Mortimer juvenis, viderent Wallenses ad pontem et exercitum grandem in supercilio montis, loquerenturque mutuo quid esset faciendum, respondit unus cui nomen Hilias Wallayn, Si manserimus hic nec proficere nec transire poterimus, sed est vadum quoddam non longe distans et a Wallensibus incognitum, ubi transire poterimus, cum difficultate tamen; sequantur ergo me viri fortes, et percutiemus a tergo Wallenses qui modo sunt ad pontem, et sic patebit ingressus per pontem reliquo exercitui nostro, poterimusque extunc plane procedere contra reliquos hostes.

Fecitque sic et transivit vadum aliis incognitum, unde et nomen sortitum est usque in præsentem diem et vocatum est Hiliswath: percussisque Wallensibus qui erant ad pontem, liberum fecit introitum reliquo exercitui nostro. Cumque clamor ascenderet etiam ad aures ipsius Leulini qui ibi prope in grangio Thaulweyr latitabat, ait ipse Leulinus, Nonne Wallenses mei sunt ad pontem Grewyn? dicunt ei, Utique sunt. Et ait, Etiamsi tota Anglia esset in parte altera non timerem eos. Ingravescente tandem clamore et tumultuante ejus exercitu in excelsis dum exercitum Anglorum viderent properantem, festinavit ipse Leulinus cum puero suo latenter ascendere, timuit enim sibi cognito prædicto casu. Cumque videretur a quodam ex nostris, Stephano scilicet de Stephen de Franketone, nec tamen cognosceretur quis esset, secutus est eum idem Stephanus cum paucis et ipsum fugientem et leviter armatum lancea perforavit, et confestim abiit, et reversus est ad exercitum nostrum. Steterunt itaque Wallenses per turmas suas in supercilio montis expectantes principem et dominum suum, sed incassum: et ascendentibus nostris, sagittas et telas multas direxerunt, factaque concertatione aliqua per sagittarios nostros qui inter equestres innixi erant corruerunt multi, eo quod animose steterunt expectantes dominum suum: tandem vero equestres nostri ascenderunt in montem super eos, et cæsis aliquibus reliquos in velocem fugam converterunt. Revertentibus ergo nostris obtenta victoria, prædictus Stephanus perrexit ut videret quinam essent illi duo quos percusserat, et visa facie Leulini et cognita, amputaverunt caput suum, et ad regem nostrum cum gaudio detulerunt. Rex vero illud mitti jussit Londoniis, et sic apposita serta argentea in signum principis per medium Westchepe Londoniis in lancea per equestrem delatum est cum magno comitatu civium et apparatu, et super turrim excelsam turris regiæ tandem cum lancea repositum est ut a transeuntibus universis longo tempore videretur.