Cylchgronau Cymru

i-o v THE REGISTRAR. HISTORICAL GLEANINGS. 31 CAMBRIA. Birth-place, refuge, Home of Freedom! Cymry ! Country ! Father-land! Hail the tie that binds me to thee! Ever hail thy hallowed slrand! RHUDDLAN CASTLE (CONTIHUBD *BOM PASS 20.) Llywelyn knowing from experience of how great importance this fortress would be to his interest, in conjunc¬ tion with his brother David, both being awake to a sense of their com¬ mon danger, made a most vigorous attack upon it, which however proved unavailing. On the approach of the English army, our Princes were under the necessity of retreating, judging it more prudent to avail themselves of every opportunity of cutting off the detached parties of the enemy, than with unequal force to fight them in the open field.J A favourable opportunity offered itself not far from this fortress—the Cam¬ brians put to flight a large detach¬ ment of the English army, and four¬ teen Ensigns were taken in the con¬ flict ; the Lords Audley and Clifford, the son of William de Valence, Richard de Argerton, and several other chiefs were slain.§ Edward himself was obliged to retire for protection to Hope castle, a fortress he had lately taken.^[ The result of this battle materially checked the progress of the invader, so much so, that he was not able to perform any action of moment until the following autumn. In order to prevent the success of any future attempts of the Welsh, the King of England adopted every known method to render this fortress impregnable; for this purpose he strengthened the old works, and en¬ larged it much with new ones: this being done the English monarch t Welsh Chronicle, 337. Parry's Essay. t T.Wyke"s Chronicle. 310. 1 Welsh Chronicle, 172. Camden's Brittaaic* .888. Vol. 2, No. 15.] made it his place of residence, and in 1282 issued out orders from this castle to the Sheriffs of the adjacent counties, to raise and send to him according to a fixed ratio, a number of hatchet men, who were to cut down the woods and form roads and passages for his army to advance into the interior ; without which securities his troops could not proceed any further with safety.* During these transactions the crafty Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury, was endeavouring to reconcile matters between the contending parties ; with this view he sent monitory letters in the King's name, to Llywelyn and his brother David, in which he re¬ proved them for their late revolt, urged them to return to their allegi¬ ance, and if they had any grievances to point them out, for all of which, (if just,) he would endeavour to ob¬ tain redress. The domineering prelate at the same time intimated that in case our Princes would not comply with his mandate, they should feel the power of an irritated nation to¬ gether with the severest censures of the Holy Church.f In answer to this Llywelyn thought proper to call a council, which was held at Aber, in Caernarvonshire, and after consult¬ ing together, he sent his memorial, written in a strain of eloquence that would not dishonour a Prince of the nineteenth century. He enumerated the various injuries he and his peo¬ ple had received from Edward's am¬ bition, and from the plundering rav- • Guthrie's History of England, VoL 1,95. t J. Ross's Antiquities of Warwickshire, 165. T. Wyke*s Chron.UO. Welsh Chron. 388. [October, 1849.