Annales Cambriae

 

 

B, C and E in Parallel,

from AD 1190 to AD 1250

 

 

 

Henry W. Gough-Cooper

 

First edition (September 2021)

 

 

 

 

 

Published online by the Welsh Chronicles Research Group:

http://croniclau.bangor.ac.uk

 

Introduction: Annales Cambriae B, C and E in Parallel, from AD 1190 to AD 1250

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Some forty years ago, David Dumville suggested making a series of parallel editions of Annales Cambriae one of which would be of B, C and E for the years 1190 to 1253.[1] The logic for commencing at 1190 is clear: this is the first annal in E. The justification for the suggested terminus at 1253 is less obvious. E has two almost continuous runs of annals over this period, 1190–1216 and 1233–1248, between which are three annals for 1228, 1230 and 1231. After its annal labelled '1248' (in fact, for events of 1249), E jumps to 1254 and then runs almost continuously down to 1266, where it ends. C has an annal for events of 1250 (c572) and then an empty annal (c573), but its next annal after that (c574) is for events of 1254. The argument for 1253 in the case of B is even less obvious. In B, there is a virtual lacuna for the years 1247 to 1250, of which 1247, 1248 and 1250 are empty and 1249 is a brief note of the capture of Damietta by Louis IX, king of France, paralleling an item in the Winchester–Waverley annals,[2] and noted in E's annal for '1248'. B's annal for 1251 is also quite brief, but this is where its Welsh notices revive. So, B has a series of almost empty annals from 1247 to 1250, C's last annotated annal before 1254 is for 1250, and E lapses between '1248'  and 1254. Therefore, the parallel edition presented here runs from 1190 to 1250.

 

Structure

 

B has a continuous AD dating apparatus that gives it the appearance of a regular year-by-year chronicle, but closer examination shows this to be deceptive. B's chronology is cogent from 1190 down to 1213, although the items grouped under b1226 1204[3] are, in fact, for events from April 1203 through to May 1205. Its annal b1236 1214 is for events of 1214 and 1215, its annal b1237 1215 for events of 1216, and its next three annals, b1238 1216 to b1240 1218, are all apparently for 1217. B then has no annals for 1218 and 1219. Its next annal, b1241 1219, is for 1220; it has no annal for 1221; its annal b1242 1220 is for 1222, and its next two annals, b1243 1221 and b1244 1222, are for 1223 and 1224, as are the next two, b1245 1223 and b1246 1224, resynchronising with the actual AD dates. B has no annals for 1225, 1226 or 1227, and then resumes with two triplet sets of annals, b1247 1225 to b1249 1227 and b1250 1228 to b1230 1230, which are both for the years 1228, 1229 and 1230, after which the chronicle again becomes synchronous with the actual AD dates. It has no annal for 1232, but then has a continuous and cogent set of annals down to b1267 1246, after which there appears to have been a lacuna in the source for the next four years, 1247, 1248, 1249, and 1250. As noted above, a parallel of an item in the Winchester–Waverley annals has been inserted into b1270 1249.

 

C has only a single indication of AD dating in this period (1190–1250), when it states the decennovenal year and names it explicitly as AD 1216 in its annal c536. Its annal c511 is certainly for events of 1190, and the chronology appears cogent down to 1203 (c524). The next annal, c525, is a compendium of events from 1204 (the loss of Normandy) to 1208 (the Papal interdict on England), some of which are reprised in its subsequent annals. It is unclear whether there was a separate annal for 1204 or 1205, but C is certainly an annal short between its annals for 1203 (c524) and 1207 (c527). From 1207, C has the correct number of annals down to 1214 (c534), but c534 notes events of 1214 and 1215, and C's next four annals (c535–c538) cover events of the years 1215 to 1217.[4] The next annal, c539, is for two events of 1219 (of the three chronicles, C alone has an annal for 1219), so that there are no separate annals for 1217 or 1218. C then has a full complement of annals down to its annal for 1231 (c551). Between c551 and c555 (1235), C has three annals which should be for the years 1232, 1233 and 1234. The first of these, however, contains a notice of the death of Rhys Gryg, who is otherwise said to have died in 1233 or 1234 (B and E s.a. 1234; P and S s.a. 1233), followed by the notice of a drought, possibly that of 1232.[5] The second annal, c553, is empty, while the third, c554, recounts an incident during Richard Marshal's campaign in Wales. This campaign is noted s.a. 1233 in B, E, P and S. The annals c552 and c554 seem to refer to the years 1232 and 1233, indicating some creative filling-in of a lacuna between 1231 and 1235, with perhaps no annal for 1234. There is only one annal (c558) between the annal for 1237 (c557) and that for 1240 (c559), and then two further annals before the annal for 1241 (c562). From c562 down to the annal for 1249 there are the correct number of annals, but then there is an extra annal, c571, possibly either for 1249 or 1250, before the annal for 1250 (c572).

 

E parallels the Brutiau (P, R and S) from 1190 (e1) down to 1235 (e33). But E has no equivalent of the annals in the Brutiau for 1192 or 1206. Its annal for 1192, e3, is an item found in the annal in the Brutiau for 1191, and e17 1206 is an item in the Brutiau for 1205. E and the Brutiau then have no annal for 1207, but their chronological apparatus goes one year into arrears, so that e18 1207 and the annal in the Brutiau for 1207 are in fact annals for 1208.[6] The Brutiau correct this by having two annals for 1212, 1211–1212 and 1212–1212,[7] but E continues to be in arrears down to its annal for 1217, e27 1216. The next annal in E, e28 1228, resynchronises with the actual AD year, 1228. E has no annal for 1229 or 1232 (B's second annal for 1228, b1250 1228, is empty, and B and C also have no annal for 1232). After this, E has a continuous series of correctly dated annals down to e45 1247, and then an erroneously dated annal, e46 1248, for events of 1249. E then jumps to 1254.

 

 

Content

 

1: Parallels in B and C

 

As noted above, the chronicle segments paralleled here for the period 1190 to 1250 commence at 1190 only because that is where the Exeter chronicle, E, begins. Following the lacuna in the 1180s, the similarity of some of the annals in B and C suggests there was a common source behind both chronicles up to the first decade of the thirteenth century. Of the sixteen annals from 1187 to 1202, only three are very close parallels (b1209/c507, b1213/c508, b1224/c523), but these are for events abroad, namely the crusade and the capture of Arthur of Brittany. Of the remaining annals, nine contain very similar wording for similar events, but four are completely dissimilar (b1211/c509, b1212/c511[8], b1220/c519, b1221/c520). At 1203 some confusion is noticeable: where C has an annal (c524) noting the death of Arthur of Brittany (2 or 3 April 1203) and then the consecration of Geoffrey, bishop of St Davids (6 December 1203), under the same year and in the correct order, B has two annals recording the same events but in the wrong order (b1225 1203 consecration of Bishop Geoffrey; b1226 1204 death of Arthur).[9] After 1203, B and C diverge completely, and none of their content thereafter suggests a common origin. E shows some similarity with the Brutiau (P, R and S) down to e29 1230, after which its annals are very similar to those in B down to 1246 (b1267, e44).

 

The annal in C for 1190 (c511) is similar to the first part of the first annal in E (e1), noting the departure of the kings Richard I of England and Philip II of France to the Holy Land. But the rest of e1 is a parallel of the first two items in P and S 1190. B's annal for 1190 has nothing in common with C, E or the Brutiau. The next annal in B, b1213, however, has some very similar wording to that in C (c512

 

b1213 1191 (first item): Rex francíe philippus cíuítatem accharon obsedít · nam Rícardus rex anglíe ad ciprum ínsulam diuertít.

c512: Philippus rex cíuítatem accaron obsedit . nam Ricardus rex iter ad cyprum diuerterat.

 

b1213 1191 (last item): Resus filíus grifíní castellum de Newer die asumpcionis sancte marie fortí manu francís expulsís cepit.

c512: Resus filius grifut castellum de Kemmer die assumptionis sancte marie cepit .

 

But these annals have very little in common with e2 whose four items are parallels of the first, second, fourth and fifth items in the annal in P and S for 1191.[10] B and C alone give a precise date for the capture of Nevern Castle, the Feast of the Assumption (granting that Kemmer in C is a scribal error for *Neuuer, or similar).[11] E appears to record the capture of the castle (dynneuore, apparently for *de Neuer) in its next annal e3 1192.

 

The next ten annals in C (c513 – c522) are briefer than those in B (b1214 1192 – b1223 1201), but most of C's annals have similar, if not exactly parallel, content to items in B. In the first of these (b1214/c513), both chronicles note Rhys ap Gruffudd's ten-week siege of Swansea and its abandonment after some of Rhys' men drowned, but B gives the place its Welsh name, Abertawe (abertawi), whereas C calls it Swansea (sweynese). B notes the liberation of Maelgwn ap Rhys from the prison of William de Braose, the end of an imprisonment that B had noted in 1189 (b1211), but neither Maelgwn's imprisonment or his release are noted in C. B says Maelgwn was imprisoned and released by his father, Rhys ap Gruffudd, but P and S, while agreeing with Maelgwn's capture and imprisonment by his father in 1189, simply say that he 'escaped' in 1192 'from the prison of the Lord of Brycheiniog' (i.e. William de Braose).[12] As  noted above, E has no equivalent.

 

b1215/c514 contain similar information about Hywel ap Rhys capturing Wiston Town (B, oppidum wiz; C, villa viech) but the wording is quite different, and is at variance with 'Wiston castle' in E (castellum gwis). Neither is it clear if there is not some confusion between the reported destruction of Llandovery (lanamdeuery) in C and the razing of Llawhaden in B and E (B, lanwaden; E, lanhuwadein). In any case, the wording of B and C is not parallel:

 

b1215 1193: Círca festum sancti ciricíí familiares hoeli seís oppidum wiz nocturno dolo et ínsidíís cuiusdam traditorís deintus ceperunt . . . Item hoelus et mailgonus filíí resí oppídum lanwadan diruerunt . . . quam franci lupíno more ínsecutí sunt walenses eorum gladíís íuxta Rutnant numero ·lx· perímuntur .

c514: Hoelus filius Resi castrum de villa viech dolo cepit . et castrum de lanamdeuery destruxit . et plures de suís ibidem occisi sunt .

 

This is not the case with the next two annals in the chronicles, b1216/c515 and b1217/c516, where some of the wording is similar but some of the items appear to be misplaced by a year:

 

b1216 1194: Hoelus seís nobiles flandrenses apud peuluníauc occidít.

c516: Flandrenses nobiles ab hoelo seys occisi sunt.

 

b1216: Mailgonus resi filíus · dauid filium mauricíí et tanchardum congnomento monachum nobilissímos milites occidít.

c516: Mailgun filius Res dauid filium mauricíí et tankardum monachum interfecit.

 

b1216: Resus filíus grífini a filíis suís hoelo et mailgono captus est.

c515: Resus filius grifut a filíís suis captus est.[13]

 

b1217 1195: Rodri filíus owini obiit · Rogerus de mortuo mari castellum cameron firmauít.

c516: Rodri filíus oweyn obiit . Rogerus de mortimer castrum camaron firmauít.

 

b1217: Willelmus de breusa · castellum sancti clarí ualida manu cepít et tenuít et ín eo captís hoeli familiaribus .lx.

c516: Willelmus de breusa castrum de sancto claro vi cepit et . xl . de familia hoeli filii Resi.

 

In the annal for 1196, b1218/c517, only the first item seems to be common to both chronicles, but maysheueyt in C could be the same as Redenor in B (New Radnor?):

 

b1218 1196: Resus filíus grifíní Kermerdín combussít.

c517: Res filius grifut karmardin combussit.

 

Part of the wording in C of its very brief notice for Rhys ap Gruffudd's death in 1197 is comparable to some of the wording at the beginning of the more extensive obituary in B (b1219/c518):

 

b1219 1197: Resus grifíní filíus sudwallie princeps . . . ·iiii· kalendas · maíi moritur · cuius corpus . . .  apud sanctum Dauíd . . . humatum est.

c518: Resus filius grifut sutwallie princeps moritur . iiii°. kalendas maíí . cuius corpus apud sanctum dauid . . . humatum est.

 

But the annals for 1198 and 1199, b1220/c519 and b1221/c520, are wholly dissimilar both in wording and subject matter. The annals for 1200, b1222/c521 have similar subject matter but wholly different wording; but the annals for 1201 not only have similar subject matter but one item is a direct parallel:

 

b1223 1201: Resus paruus cantrefbechan cum oppido tenuít · mailgonus Resi filíus castellum Kilgerran quod ín potestate grifíní fuerat cepit.

c522: Resus paruus cantref bechan cum opido tenuít . Mailgun resi filius castellum Kilkernn quod ín potestate grifíní fuerat cepit.

 

This parallelism is even more evident in the annal for 1202, b1224/c523, the only divergence being B additional note of the capture of Arthur's sister, Eleanor:

 

b1224 1202: Arthurus dux armorícanorum britonum a rege Iohanne in belli conflíctu cum multis baronibus et militibus · philippo Regi francorum fauentibus captus est . et alienor soror eius cum ipso.

c523: Arthurus dux armoricanorum britonum a iohanne rege anglie in belli conflictu cum multis baronibus et militibus philippo regi francorum fauentibus captus est.

 

B and C both note the suspicions surrounding Arthur's death, but C has this correctly placed in its annal for 1203 (where both B and C have items on the consecration of Geoffrey, bishop of Menevia; b1225/c524), whereas B notes this in its annal for 1204 (b1226). Thereafter, apart from noting the death of Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury in 1205 (b1227/c525), B and C become largely independent, and any parallelisms of wording cease. In fact, C does not note any further Welsh events until 1210 (c530) where it has an item on King John and his army going to Ireland via Milford Haven and returning via Fishguard; 1211 (c531) where it notes King John's campaign in North Wales; and 1214 (c534) where it notes the death of Geoffrey, bishop of Menevia, and the consecration of his successor, Gervase, and Llywelyn capturing Carmarthen, Cardigan and Cilgerran. For 1215 and 1216, C has two pairs of annals (c535/c537 and c536/c538), after which the next annal is for 1219 (c539). I have argued elsewhere that this is evidence of a radical revision of the ancestral St Davids chronicle made in or about 1216–17.[14]

 

2. Parallels between E and the Brutiau

 

Kathleen Hughes suggested that the annals in E for 1190 to 1255 "are the nearest we can come to the Latin original of the Brut y Tywysogyon in its earliest known version, before it became conflated with supplementary material".[15] But the relationship between the annals in E and those in the Brutiau is far from straightforward, and the period might be more accurately partitioned into four segments, of which only the first three will be considered here: 1) 1190–1205 (e1 to e16/17); 2) 1208–1217 (e18 1207 to e27 1216); 3) 1228–1247 (e28 to e45). The annals in E from 1190 to 1217 do have distinct similarities to those in the Brutiau, but there are also significant differences almost from the outset. When comparing the Latin annals in E with the Welsh annals in the Brutiau, the annals in E will be described as the same or very similar to those in the Brutiau if the Latin phrases in E could conceivably be the source of the Welsh phrases in the Brutiau. Similarly, the annals in E will be described as  wholly or largely unlike those in the Brutiau if none or only a few phrases in E could be the source of those in the Brutiau. There are also several cases where the chronicles deal with the same events but the annals in the Brutiau do not look much or anything like a Welsh translation of the Latin annals of E.

 

There are references to Rhys ap Gruffudd (Yr Arglwdd Rhys, 'The Lord Rhys') and his descendants in almost every annal in E from 1190 to 1215 (1216) when Llywelyn ab Iorwerth apportioned lands between the sons of Rhys and their nephews.[16] The very first annal, e1, synchronises the departure of Richard and Philip, the kings of England and France, on the Third Crusade with the building of the castle at Cydweli by Rhys ap Gruffudd in 1190. Whereas the Brutiau note Philip, Richard and Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, setting out on crusade, E slightly varies this in noting almost as an afterthought that Richard and Philip took with them 'the archbishop of Canterbury, Baldwin by name'. The corresponding annals in B and C do not mention Cydweli. The second annal in E, e2, is a series of obituaries, including that of Baldwin, identical to that in the Brutiau, but only E notes where Baldwin died, 'in the land of Jerusalem' where he 'sleeps with his fathers'. E then places Rhys' capture of Nevern castle in its next annal, e3, whereas B, C and the Brutiau all include this in their annals for 1191, and B and C give a precise date for the event (15 August). E gives the name of the castle as Dynneuore, perhaps thinking of 'Dinefwr' rather than, as in B, de Newer (P, kastell nyner;[17] R, Niuer). E has no equivalent to the annal for 1192 in the Brutiau, which includes Maelgwn ap Rhys' escape from the prison of 'the lord of Brycheiniog' and Rhys ap Gruffudd's seizure of the castle of Lawhaden.

 

The next annal in E, e4 1193, is very similar to the Brutiau for 1193, albeit with some differences: E does not mention Rhodri ab Owain first taking Anglesey and then being driven out of it, nor the warband of Maelgwn ap Rhys breaching Ystrad Meurig, and it does not have the detail that Philip fitz Wizo and his family were captured during taking of Wizo’s castle by Hywel Sais. By contrast, in e5 1194, E has only one item under this year, the capture of Rhys ap Gruffudd by his sons, equivalent to only one of the six in the Brutiau. In this annal for 1194, B and the Brutiau have their first mention of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, here driving Dafydd ab Owain from Gwynedd. The following annal, e6 1195, is almost exactly equivalent to the annal in the Brutiau for the same year, except the latter name the castle (Cymaron) that Roger Mortimer built in Maelinydd, and E notes the death of Rhodri ab Owain (as do B and C), but the scribe has unaccountably miscopied *rodri as botri. Rhodri's obituary is the first item in b1217 and c516, but the last in e6, suggesting that it was added to E, or the source of E, at a late stage. E has also apparently omitted *filiis before catwallaun.

 

The annal in E for 1196, e7, is again very similar to that in the Brutiau, but E has the abbreviation H. for Hubert, the archbishop of Canterbury, which the Brutiau have all expanded erroneously (P, hu; R and S, Henri). The Brutiau also say that when the archbishop came against Gwenwynwyn his allies were 'the princes of Gwynedd' (tywyssogyon gwyned), where E has 'all the princes of Wales' (tocius wallie principes). The Brutiau (P and R) call Gruffudd the 'abbot of Strata Marcella' (S 'of Welshpool', y Trallwng, which is near Strata Marcella), where E has the probably erroneous Strathflur (i.e. Strata Florida). It seems here that the variations in the Brutiau are amendments to the source they are sharing with E; in the case of archbishop H., an erroneous expansion.

 

The comparison of the annals for 1197 in E and the Brutiau is much more problematic. The notice in e8 of the plague and the death of Rhys ap Gruffudd consists of approximately ten elements: (1) the plague in Britain and France; (2) Atropos destroys Rhys; (3) Fortuna, and Rhys' privileged position on her wheel; (4) the lamentations with which Rhys' death should be greeted; (5) the appeal to the historian of Thebes (Statius) and the historian-poet of Troy (Virgil); (6) the date of Rhys' death, 4 kalends of May; (7) Rhys as the head of all Wales; (8) a statement of Rhys' noble origins and a catalogue of his virtues, and a further comparison of Rhys with ten figures from classical antiquity and one from the Bible; (9) lament at the loss of Rhys' qualities; (10) a concluding motto: heu! heu! iam wallia uiduata dolet, ruitura dolore ('oh! oh! now bereaved Wales laments, overcome with grief'). Almost everything that is in E is also in P and R (S is comparatively brief here, noting only the plague and Rhys' death and its date), but P and R are themselves dissimilar. P parallels E but has the items in the following order: 1, 6, 7, 4, 8, 2, 3, 9 and 10 (P has no equivalent to item 5). P is made considerably longer by its inclusion of an encomium of thirty-six Latin metrical verses written on the death of the Lord Rhys, followed by eleven more which are said to be a eulogy on Rhys ap Gruffudd's sepulchre written after his burial. The last verse is the equivalent of (10): Wallia iam viduata dolet ruitura dolore. R also parallels E, but has  fewer items in the following order: 1, 2, 5, 3, 7, 8.

 

The opening statements of E, P and R are all similar, noting the plague that afflicted the 'whole of Britain and France' (E, tocius brittannie nec etiam et galliam terminos; P, holl ynys brydein afreing; R, ar hyt ynys Prydein oll a theruyneu Freinc), and P and R also reflect the poetic reference in E to Atropos, but both have the erroneous antropos. Of the Brutiau, only R refers to 'the histories of Statius and 'the songs of Virgil' (ystoriaeu Ystas ystoriawr na chath[l]eu Feryll vard), while E has an oblique but more fulsome reference to them as 'that high-minded historian of Thebes' and 'that most noble of poets, the historian of Troy' (ille magnanimus historíographus thebanus . . . ille historiographus troíanus poetarum nobilíssímus . . .), as if the writer expected his audience to recognise the allusion. R is the only one of the chronicles not to supply the date of Rhys' death (4 kalends May). R omits Euryalus (E, eurial(us)) from the catalogue of classical heroes in item 8; P has curialius.[18] B, C and E all call Rhys ap Gruffudd 'prince of South Wales', but only B notes that Rhys was buried at St Davids (apud sanctum Dauid). B also has a homage of some 'little verses' (versiculos), which it modestly describes as being written 'after our custom' (pro modulo nostro) and which alludes to some figures from antiquity, but these verses are wholly unlike any of those in P.

 

The account of Rhys' death is immediately followed in E by additional obituaries of three further Welsh nobles, as if to suggest that they, too, died of the pestilence. This would tie in with the introductory statement about the malady carrying off an uncountable number of common folk as well as nobles, dukes and princes. E then describes the events after Rhys' death, namely the conflict between his heir Gruffudd ap Rhys and Gruffudd's brother Maelgwn, noting Maelgwn and Gwenwynwyn of Powys attacking Aberystwyth, and their capture, imprisonment and subsequent handing over to the English of Gruffudd ap Rhys. The Brutiau have these events reversed: the conflict between Gruffudd and Maelgwn, the sons of Rhys ap Gruffudd, is described first, followed by the additional obituaries, perhaps with the intention of making a clear distinction between the deaths of the other Welsh nobles and that of Rhys ap Gruffudd.

 

The next annal, e9, is a close equivalent of the annal for 1198 in the Brutiau, and could well be a faithful representation of their original Latin source. E does not, however, have three brief notices that are in the Brutiau: the monks from Cwm-hir going to Cymer in Nannau, and the sons of Rhys taking Dinefwr (both notices appear at the beginning of the annal in the Brutiau after the notice of Maelgwn taking Cardigan and the castle of Ystrad Meurig); and the death of Peter, bishop of St Davids (which appears at the end of the annal in the Brutiau and which is also noted in C). E does provide, however, the cognomen Rascop for Owain ap Cadwallon, not found in the Brutiau. The annal for 1199, e10, is virtually identical to that in the Brutiau, but wholly different to the annal in B; while C has a note of the death of Richard, king of the English, also noted in the third item in E and the Brutiau. There is one slightly odd variation in E, where it specifies that Maelgwn invaded the domum (house) which Gruffudd had built at Dineirth, while the Welsh texts call it a castle (kastell). In the following annal, e11, E notes Maelgwn selling the castle of Cardigan to the English, as do all the chronicles; C even says he gave it (donauit) to the 'king's men' (hominibus regi). [19] B is particularly condemnatory about this action, saying that for this Maelgwn received the malediction of the clergy and the whole population of Wales (pro malediccione cleri et populi tocius Wallie). In the Brutiau, this notice comes between an obituary of Gruffudd ap Cynan ab Owain who died at Aberconwy Abbey, and a note on the founding of the monastery of Llynegwestl in Iâl which S alone attributes to Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor. Similarly, the Brutiau's annal for 1201 is a close parallel of e12 1201, commencing with an account of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth driving out Maredudd ap Cynan from Llŷn and Eifionydd, which is the first mention of Llywelyn in E. There are two brief notices that appear in the Brutiau but not in E: the first, following immediately the note on Llywelyn, a note of the community of Strata Florida going to the new church on Whit Sunday Eve; the second, at the end of the annal, about an earthquake in Jerusalem.

 

E's annal for 1202 (e13) is only equivalent to the first two items of the annals in the Brutiau; E does not have the Brutiau's account of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth's attack on Powys, or of Rhys Ieuanc ap Gruffudd ap Rhys taking the castle of Llandovery. E unaccountably calls Hywel ap Gruffudd the brother (fratris sui) of Maredudd ap Cynan (the Brutiau all identify Hywel as Maredudd's nephew). Neither E nor the Brutiau mention the capture of Arthur, duke of Brittany which is the sole subject of the annals in B and C, b1224 and c523, for this year. The annal in E for 1203 (e14) is even slighter, noting only Rhys ap Gruffudd taking the castle of Llanegwad. The Brutiau have three more items for 1203: the first, about Llywelyn ab Iorwerth driving Dafydd ab Owain out of Gwynedd; the second, concerning Maelgwn and Gwenwynwyn taking the castles of Llandovery and Llangadog; P and R note Maelgwn ap Rhys completing the castle of Dineirth. Again, the annals in E and the Brutiau bear no resemblance to those in B and C.

 

The content of the annals for 1204 in E (e15) and the Brutiau are almost identical, but E's expression of admiration for Hywel Sais, iuuenis egregius, spes suorum horror hostium ('a worthy youth, hope of his people, terror of the enemy') has no equivalent in the Brutiau, and E states an approximate season for William Marshal's taking of the castle of Cilgerran, circa aduentum domini ('about Advent', i.e. the end of November or the beginning of December).

 

The notices in the following two annals in E, e16 1205 and e17 1206, are both found under the annal for 1205 in the Brutiau. The Brutiau have a short genealogical statement, not in E, at the end of the account of the slaying of Cedifor ap Gruffudd and his four sons which may have been added as a gloss. E then has no equivalent to the annal in the Brutiau for 1206, leaving its chronology a year in arrears, so that e18 1207 is in fact the annal for 1208. In this, E gives a precise date for Llywelyn ab Iorwerth's assault on Maelgwn ap Rhys, circa festum sancti michelis (' about the Feast of St Michael', i.e. about 29 September), but its account of Llywelyn seizing Gwenwynwyn's territory, of Maegwn ap Rhys'  destruction of four of the castles he possessed at that time, and Llywelyn's subsequent actions, is similar but less detailed than that in the Brutiau. But the rest of e18 – the greater half – is taken up with a detailed account, unparalleled in the Brutiau, of the assault by the sheriff of Gloucester, Gerald Athee, on Buelth and his encampment at Strata Florida's grange of Aberduhonw, from whence he was driven out by the Welsh. In its next annal, e19, E provides information not in the Brutiau, dating the attack by Rhys and Owain, the sons of Gruffudd, on the castle of Llangadog precisely as Sabbato post octauus pentecostes, 'on the Sunday after the octave of Pentecost'.[20] E additionally notes that the castle belonged to their uncle, Rhys Fychan (Res(us) paru(us) auunculi sui, also known as Rhys Gryg). In e20 1209 (= 1210), after noting King John's departure for Ireland, the rest of the account is markedly different to that in the Brutiau, although E does include a note about the subsequent deaths of William the Younger, lord of Brycheiniog, and his mother, wife, and sons, in prison in England, but does not say how or where (C and the Brutiau specify it was the wife of William Braose and her son, William the Younger, who were starved to death at Windsor Castle). Similarly, E's account of the Earl of Chester building Degannwy is quite different to that in the Brutiau and does not mention Llywelyn ab Iorwerth's involvement at all. E also relates how Falkes, sheriff of Pembroke, led by Maelgwn ap Rhys, attacked the castle of the sons of Gruffudd at Dineirth, an account wholly unparalleled in the Brutiau, which do not introduce Falkes until their next annal. The Brutiau have a quite different item on how, after Gwenwynwyn recovered his land, Maelgwn ap Rhys launched an attack on the cantref of Penweddig only to be driven off by the sons of Gruffudd, an account which seems to have nothing at all to do with the attack on the castle of Dineirth described in E. This is followed in both E and the Brutiau by a note about Ingelard, sheriff of Gloucester, fortifying the castle of Buelth, but the account in E is much fuller and more precise about the number of English soldiers killed by the Welsh before the English prevailed and 'occupied the whole of the aforesaid land' (totam predictum terram optinuere).

 

The Brutiau note that Llywelyn made attacks against the English, but are unspecific about where this took place, whereas E states that he devastated Cynlaith and Nanheudwy, e21 1210 (=1211). E then notes the death of Gruffudd ap Ifor Glamorgan (gulathmorgan) at the abbey of Caerleon, which the Brutiau have at the end of their annal for this year, but without Ifor's cognomen or stating where Gruffudd died, and with which they couple an obituary of Maredudd ap Caradog. The account in E of John's expeditions against Llywelyn have some striking similarities with those in the Brutiau, particularly on the scarcity and cost of food suffered by the English troops at Degannwy in the first campaign, but E is more specific about when the first campaign started, circa pentecosten, 'around Pentecost', as it is about when Falkes (to whom E does not refer by name but simply as balli(us) regis, the king's bailiff) began to build the castle at Aberystwyth, circa exaltacionem sancte crucis, 'around the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross', i.e. about 14 September.

 

At the start of its next annal, e22 1211 (= 1212), E notes that the castle of Carreg Hofa was rebuilt by the English, and then notes the hanging of Maelgwn ap Rhys, not yet ten years old, at amoythic (Shrewsbury). The Brutiau do not have the item on Carreg Hofa (see also e23 1212, below). They do have the note on Maelgwn ap Rhys, but say that he was not yet seven years old, and add that he was hung by Robert Vieuxpont. E also adds an epitaph deploring this - Mortuus mundo: vivus deo. Raptus est enim ne malicia mutaret intellectum illius ('Dead to the world: alive in God. He was taken away, lest wickedness should alter his understanding'),which has no equivalent in the Brutiau.[21] E follows this with a brief note of Llywelyn 'prince of North Wales' leading an alliance of the Welsh against the English king but gives no details: this is perhaps the equivalent of a detailed account found in the Brutiau under its annal for 1212 (in Jones' editions 1211–1212). E continues with a note of the hanging of three Welsh worthies (uenerabiles), a battle between the Christians and the Saracens, and the absolution of Llywelyn, Maelgwn and Gwenwynwyn by the Pope, granting remission of their sins if they would counter the iniquity of the king of England, and removing the Interdict on England and Wales in their lands; following which, the Welsh princes united and took back possession of the Perfeddwlad (the territories lying between the River Conwy and the River Dee). Apart from the order of the items on the hangings of the Welshmen and the battle between the Christians and the Saracens being reversed, these are almost exactly paralleled in the next annal in the Brutiau (1212–1212), but with the additional detail that the battle was in Spain, and stating that the Papal Interdict had been in effect for five years rather than (as E would have it) four. The annal in E ends with a brief statement, not in the Brutiau, noting that all except three of the castles that the king had built were completely destroyed, with their garrisons being killed or captured without the king sending anyone to their aid. As noted above, at this point (their two annals for events of 1212) the Brutiau resynchronise their chronology, whereas E continues to be one year in arrears. In effect, of the annals that they have in common, E includes in one year the events the Brutiau spread over two.

 

The following annal in E, e23 1212 (=1213), notes the two sons of Gruffudd, Rhys and Owain, with the help of the French taking Rhys Gryg's (Resus filius resi) castle of Dinefwr, and the French subsequently taking the castle of Llandovery, after which Rhys was captured at Carmarthen and imprisoned. The note in E is fairly brief, whereas the Brutiau have a much more detailed account, making Rhys ap Gruffudd the protagonist (his brother Owain joining in later) and describing the involvement in the campaign of the sheriffs of Hereford and Cardiff (P erroneously calls both these men 'Falkes', but R and S do not name the former, just calling him the seneschal of Hereford, synysgal Henford). E notes Llywelyn 'prince of North Wales' with 'certain other Welsh princes' (perhaps the same allies as in the previous annal) taking the three remaining castles in North Wales, Degannwy, Rhuddlan and Holywell (trewphennaun); the Brutiau only say that Llywelyn took Degannwy and Rhuddlan. After this, according to E, they also besieged, took and destroyed the castle of Tafolwern in Caereinion, and Gwenwynwyn took the castle of Carreg Hofa, none of which appears in the Brutiau. Similarly, e24 1213 (=1214) is almost wholly different from the annal for 1214 in the Brutiau, even though it touches on some of the same subjects: King John gathering a great army through fear of the king of the French; the war between the Emperor Otto and the king of the French, and the death of Geoffrey, bishop of St Davids. But the accounts of the campaign in Poitou and Flanders is given in much more detail in the Brutiau. Between the notices of John's gathering of the army and the rout of the Emperor by the king of the French, E has two further items, the first concerning King John placing his kingdom under tribute to the Pope; the second, an erroneous statement of England being placed under the Papal Interdict. This item about the Interdict is a curious error, as E has already noted that the Interdict was imposed in 1208 (e18) and was still in force in 1212 (e22). The Interdict was in fact lifted in 1214 (b1236, c534), which is probably the date given in E’s source.

 

The annal in E for 1215, e25 1214 (=1215), has many items in common with the second, greater part of b1236 (following ubi postmodum crucis signaculo se insigniuit, 'there a little later he marked himself with the sign of the cross', i.e. he took the cross, he became a crusader), and with the annals for 1215 in the Brutiau. The Brutiau, however, provide much more detail on these common items than B or E. B, E, and the Brutiau all note that the king took the cross, but the Brutiau only do this after a long preamble about the grievances of the nobility and the clergy, and the king's refusal to do anything about it. E then notes the rising of the nobles and their taking London, which the Brutiau also note, but E says, 'with many other castles' (cum aliis pluribus castellis). B remarks that the discord between the northern barons and the king was prophesied by Merlin, and that the Welsh were the confederates of the northern barons. The Brutiau say Llywelyn took Shrewsbury; E adds that he also took the castles of Montgomery and Cymaron. B, E and the Brutiau all note Maelgwn ap Rhys' conquest of Dyfed, but all have a slightly different account. B says it was Maelgwn with the two sons of Gruffudd and gives a specific date, the eve of the feast of the Ascension (in 1215, 27 May); E says it was the princes of South Wales with Maelgwn; while the Brutiau say it was Rhys Ieuanc ap Gruffudd and Maelgwn, his uncle, adding, rather vaguely, that Maelgwn ap Gruffudd and his brother, Owain, then went to Llywelyn in Gwynedd. E does not record Rhys Ieuanc's further operations in South Wales, which the Brutiau narrate in some detail, and on which B has a short note, but adds that the bailiffs and burgesses of Carmarthen burned their own town. B and the Brutiau also note the release of Rhys Fychan from the king's prison, and the death of Giles, bishop of Hereford, on both of which E is silent. B has a bare notice of Giles' death, where the Brutiau say that, having been reconciled with the king of England, on his way back from the meeting he died of a severe illness at Gloucester, and that Reginald de Braose, his brother, inherited his patrimony and then took to wife the daughter of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth. B notes that Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, and 'G.' (more probably Gervase, rather than his recently deceased predecessor, Geoffrey), bishop of Menevia, along with many other bishops, went to Rome, but it does not say for what purpose. The Brutiau note Pope Innocent the Third assembling a council from all Christendom in Rome, on the feast of Simon and Jude (the Third Lateran Council). Finally, all three chronicles, B, E and the Brutiau, record Llywelyn ab Iorwerth's campaign in South Wales, in similar terms but with slightly varying details. E places this at 'the end of this year', which accords with B, when the combined Welsh forces arrived at Carmarthen 'on the feast of the Conception' (8 December), and before Christmas the French were expelled from Carmarthen Castle, and with it the castles of Cydweli, Sancti Stephani (Llanstephan), St Clears and Trefdraeth; and on 24 December the Welsh leaders crossed the River Teifi, taking Aberteifi (Cardigan) and Cilgerran on St Stephen's Day (26 December). E agrees with B that Llywelyn entered South Wales with a grand army not long before Christmas, and within three weeks had captured the castles of Carmarthen, St Clears, Llanstephan, Abercorran (Laugharne), Trefdraeth, Aberteifi and Cilgerran, all of which the Welsh destroyed except Aberteifi and Cilgerran. The Brutiau give not only a calendar account of the campaign but also a list of castles taken, as in E. They do not say exactly when the campaign occurred (just 'in that year'), but they say Carmarthen was surrendered to the Welsh after four days ('on the fifth day'), and thereupon Llanstephan, St Clears and Talycharn (Laugharne) were thrown down. On the eve of the feast of Thomas the Apostle (21 December), they say, the Welsh forces came to Ceredigion and took Emlyn, subjected Cemaes and took Trefdraeth, which castle they also razed. The garrison at Aberteifi surrendered on the feast day of Stephen Martyr (26 December); and that of Cilgerran on the feast day of John the Evangelist (27 December). Following this, the Brutiau give a roll of honour of the Welsh princes involved in the campaign (of whom B gives a precis at the beginning of its note on the campaign), and then a checklist of the castles taken: Seinhenydd, Cydweli, Carmarthen, Llanstephan, St Clears, Talycharn (Laugharne), Trefdraeth, Aberteifi and Cilgerran. Only the Brutiau list Seinhynydd as one of the castles taken (it isn't mentioned in their foregoing account of the campaign and seems to recall a detail of Rhys Ieuanc's campaign narrated earlier), and only B and the Brutiau mention Cydweli, and the latter only in their supplementary checklist. It may be significant that E calls Laugharne by its older Welsh name, Abercorran, while the Brutiau call it by its later Welsh name, Talycharn. At the end of its annal for 1214–15, B has a rather awkward reference to the lifting of the Papal Interdict (July 1214) 'and the arising of the quarrel between the kings (reges) and the barons that was aforementioned' (ut predictum est; possibly 'as was foretold', i.e. by Merlin). C also has an annal that covers events of both 1214 and 1215 (c534), noting the lifting of the Interdict (July 1214), the death of Geoffrey, bishop of Menevia (1214), King John crossing to Poitou (February 1214), the consecration of Gervase, Geoffrey's successor at St Davids (June 1215), Llywelyn's capture of Carmarthen, Cardigan (sic) and Cilgerran (which, as we have seen, the other chronicles place in December 1215), and finally a note on the battle of Bouvines (27 July 1214; none of the chronicles give the name of this battle). This reversion to an event of 1214 may indicate a retrospective addition to the other items C has for 1214–15.

 

There is a closer correspondence between the annal in E for 1216 (e26 1215) and the annal in the Brutiau for that year in giving an account of the allotment of lands by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth to his Welsh allies, so that E could be quite similar to the Latin original from which the Brutiau were translated. However, even here some minor variations should be noted. E says this took place at Aberteifi whereas the Brutiau state it was at Aberdyfi, and E notes that it was an admittedly unequal division (Diuisa est terra in tribus partibus licet inequalibus). In King John's final onslaught on Wales, after the Welsh refused to help him against Prince Louis, E says he burned and destroyed Clun (Coluin) and Oswestry, whereas the Brutiau note only that he burned the latter. E describes the events surrounding King John's death and burial in considerably less detail than the Brutiau, but calls Wulfstan, next to whose sepulchre at Worcester the king was buried, gloriosus confessor, 'glorious confessor'. E and the Brutiau describe in similar terms Llywelyn ab Iorwerth driving Gwenwynwyn ab Owain out of Powys after the latter had gone over to King John, but B alone notes Gwenwynwyn's death later that same year.[22] In its item on the death of Hywel ap Gruffud ap Cynan (also noted in B and the Brutiau), E truncates his name to Hywel ap Cynan.

 

In its annal for 1217 (e27 1216), E has an account of Llywelyn's campaign against Reginald de Braose, and Prince Louis receiving absolution from the papal legate and leaving England. These two items correspond to two of the items in the Brutiau for 1217, the item on Llywelyn's campaign being about the fifth item and that on Louis' departure being the sixth of eight items in all, the Brutiau additionally noting William Marshal's siege of Caerleon (item seven) and Rhys Gryg overthrowing Seinhenydd and driving away the English from that area (item eight). The first three items in the Brutiau all concern the final moves in the barons' war, the fourth notes Rhys ap Gruffudd and his brother, Owain, rising up in Builth against Reginald de Braose, who had made peace with the king. But the account of Llywelyn's campaign in E is substantially different to that in the Brutiau: E makes no mention of Rhys Ieuanc's part in brokering the peace between Llywelyn and the burgesses of Brecon (Aberodny); nor of Llywelyn coming towards Gower over the Black Mountain and taking the castle of 'Seinhenydd', instead noting Llywelyn's destruction of the castle at Aberthauoe (i.e. Abertawe, Swansea) and his burning of the town.[23] The description of the events at Haverford is also somewhat different in E from that in the Brutiau. E does not mention Rhys ap Gruffudd's part in laying siege to the town, and does not name the bishop of Menevia (Iorwerth, a.k.a. Gervase), and is not as detailed in its description of the terms of the truce as the Brutiau. B notes Llywelyn leading a large army into Gower (b1238 1216 (= 1217)), and, having taken the castle of Abertaui at the first assault, proceeding to attack Rhos with his confederates, Maelgwn and Rhys paruo, and the sons of Gruffudd 'and others'. B says that, on the advice of the community and of Bishop Gervase, twenty-four English (anglici) hostages were given and soon after exchanged for a thousand marks; but it adds that this exchange harmed (nocuit) rather than helped (profuit) the Welsh. Comparing the various accounts in B, E and the Brutiau, it seems that the agreement was that if the Flemings (or 'English') of Rhos were unable to redeem the hostages for a thousand marks (E adds if they didn't receive help from the king or the earl), they would acknowledge Llywelyn ab Iorwerth as their overlord, and surrender the land and castle to him. But it appears that the ransom was paid and the Flemings therefore escaped being subject to Llywelyn, which perhaps explains B’s comment that the hostage deal  'harmed rather than helped'. The terse statement in C (c538) Lewelinus fuit Woluedale in Ros ('Llywelyn was at Wolfsdale in Rhos') may refer to these events.

 

In commencing its account of the departure of Prince Louis from England E states that this was 'in the following autumn', whereas the Brutiau simply say 'in the meantime'. E, here, could possibly be a severely abbreviated version of the Latin source of the Brutiau. E does not mention the peace negotiations, the exchange of prisoners, or the large sum of money promised to Louis specified in the Brutiau; and in saying Louis was 'absolved' by the papal legate it does not say from what he was absolved (the sentence of excommunication according to the Brutiau).

 

At this point, E jumps from 1217 to 1228. The reason for omitting these years is unclear, as the Brutiau have substantial annals for 1218 to 1227, full of incidents involving Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, Rhys Ieuanc (who broke with Llywelyn over Carmarthen castle in 1221, and who died in 1222 at Strata Florida), John de Braose (who married a daughter of Llywelyn in 1219, and who was permitted by his father-in-law to repair Swansea castle in 1221), Owain ap Gruffudd and Maelgwn ap Rhys (who shared Rhys Ieuanc's lands on his death), William Marshal (who brought a fleet from Ireland and took Cardigan and Carmarthen castles in 1223, and rebuilt the castle at Cilgerran),[24] Rhys Gryg (who burned Cydweli in 1223, and who was captured by his son, Rhys Fychen, in 1227 but released by him in return for Landovery castle), and Maredudd ap Rhys (archdeacon of Ceredigion, who died at Lampeter in the church of St Mary and was buried next to his father, the Lord Rhys, at St Davids; also noted in c547). B and C have a few corresponding annals, but neither have annals for 1218, and B has no annals for 1219, 1221, or the years 1225 to 1227. When E resumes with an annal for 1228–9 (e28), its annal still looks similar, although not identical, to the annals in the Brutiau for 1228 and 1229. Their annal for 1229 is simply a note on the death of Iorwerth, that is Gervase, bishop of Menevia, who died in January 1229, and which E has included as the last item in its annal for 1228, perhaps reckoning on an Annunciation year, March to March. The following annal for 1230, e29, is very similar to the first item in the Brutiau for that year.[25]

 

As the above survey shows, the relationship between E and the Brutiau up to 1230 is complex. To summarize:

 

Annals in E parallel or very similar to those in the Brutiau:

e1 1190 (except P, R, S note the death of Gwenllian ap Rhys);

e2 1191 (except P, R, S note the solar eclipse, and death of Owain ap Rhys at Strata Florida);

e4 1193 (except P, R, S note Rhodri ab Owain taking and losing Anglesey, and Maelgwn ap Rhys breaching Ystrad Meurig castle);

e6 1195 (P, R, S almost verbatim, but name Cymaron castle);

e7 1196 (except P, R, S note the death of the bishop of Bangor);

e8 1197 (but the relationship between E and P, R and S is complex);

e9 1198 (except P, R, S note the community of Cwm-hir going to Cymer, and the youngest sons of the Lord Rhys taking Dinefwr; and P, R note the death of Peter, bishop of Menevia);[26]

e10 1199 (P, R, S almost verbatim, except domum / kastell);

e11 1200 (except P, R, S note the death of Gruffudd ap Cynan ab Owain at Aberconwy, and the building of Llynegwestl in Iâl);

e12 1201 (except P, R, S note the community of Strata Florida going to the new church, and an earthquake in Jerusalem);

e13 1202 (except P, R, S note Llywelyn's campaigns in Powys against 'hostile' Gwenwynwyn, and Llandovery taken by Rhys Ieuanc);

e14 1203 (exept P, R, S note that Llywelyn expelled Dafydd ab Owain from Gwynedd, Llandovery and Llangadog taken by Gwenwynwyn and Maelgwn, and Maelgwn completes Dineirth);

e15 1204 (P, R, S almost verbatim, but see analysis above);

e16/17 1205/1206 (=1205 P, R, S, except noting the genealogy of Susana ferch Hywel);

e19 1208 (1208–1209 P, R, S; but E gives precise date, and references Rhys Gryg);

e22 1211 (1211–1212, 1212–1212 P, R verbatim, but items in different order);

e26 1215 (=1216 P, R, S close parallel);

e29 1230 (P, R, S almost verbatim, except noting the deaths of William Canton of Cemaes and Llywelyn ap Maelgwn Ieuanc in Gwynedd, buried at Aberconwy).

 

Annals in the Brutiau wholly or largely without close parallels in E:

1192 (E has no equivalent);

1194 (except noting Rhys being seized by his sons, e5);

1206 (E has no equivalent);

1207–1208 (except noting the Interdict, William de Braose, Gwenwynwyn seized, and Llywelyn in Powys, e18);

1209–1210 (E is almost wholly dissimilar, e20);

1210–1211 (E has some similar details, e21);

1211–1212 (except for noting the hanging of Rhys ap Maelgwn, e22);

1213 (E has a very few similar details, e23);

1214 (E is almost wholly dissimilar, except for noting the death of Geoffrey, bishop of Menevia, e24);

1217 (E is almost wholly dissimilar, e27);

1228 (E is almost wholly dissimilar, except for noting the death of Gervase, bishop of Menevia, e28).

 

From their annal for 1231 (b1253/e30), the annals in E are close parallels of those in B, except where B has appended items copied from the Winchester–Waverley chronicles.  In contrast to the first segment of E (1190–1216 (= 1217)) where Rhys ap Gruffudd and his descendants are prominent, the primary focus of the second segement (1228–1249) is on Llywelyn ab Iorwerth and his sons, Gruffudd and Dafydd, while the descendants of the Lord Rhys are mostly noted in obituaries.[27] The obituaries for Gruffudd ap Llywelyn and his brother, Dafydd, require special notice as, in both instances (c564, c566), C records these in the annal before those in B and E (b1265/e42, b1267/e44). This is probably the consequence of C working to an Annunciation year (25 March to 24 March), while B and E are working to a Nativity calendar (25 December to 24 December). Gruffudd ap Llywelyn fell to his death on 1 March 1244, so C records this in its year corresponding to 1243; similarly, Dafydd ap Llywelyn died in February 1246, so C records this in its annal corresponding to 1245.

 

Although B and E are close parallels, they both have errors and/or variations in wording:

 

1231: b1253, e30. B has de causis where E has the improbable decanis; B has omitted hominibus.

 

(B, C and E have no annals for 1232).

 

1233: b1254, e31. B has castellum de Radenor where E has castrum de radennouer; E has omitted est vnde after orta, and B has multis ex suis viris where E has multis de suis; B has vocabatur against E vocatur; B has castellhithoet (or read castellhichoet?) where E has castelhychoet.

 

E frequently inserts eodem anno ('in the same year') as a formula for subsidiary items in the same annal, and the first instance of this is in e31; found infrequently in B (b1257 1236; b1263 1242; b1267 1246).[28]

 

1234: b1255, e32. B has vir probus et potens in armis where E has simply vir potens in armis; B has traderent illum in bello linquentes where E has tradiderent illum in bello relinquentes; B has nil de factis, E has nichil de factis; B has the erroneous episcopus meneviam where E has apud meneviam; B omits dominus before lewelinus, and has terre quod vocatur llyen while E has terre sue quod uocatur thleyn.

 

1235: b1256, e33. B has fama where E has famaque; B has Rex anglie where E has eodem anno henricus rex anglie; B has comitibus baronibus where E has comitibus et baronibus.

 

1236: b1257, e34. B has Gwenllian and edneveth vechan ( or read ednevech?) where E has Gwenthlian and ednech vachan; B has fecit maredut where E has fecit cogi mareduch. B has an additional obituary notice for owinus filius maredut filii Roberti de kedeweighc.

 

1237: b1258, e35. E has eodem anno obiit Iohannes comes cestrie gener suus while B adds et kewericus domini Resi magni filius. E notes the arrival in England of the papal legate, Otto; also noted in C, but not in B.

 

1238: b1259, e36. B has the specific date In crastino sancti luce ewangeliste not given in E.

 

1239: b1260, e37. (Almost identical).

 

1240: b1261, e38. B adds terminos suos bellico funiculo dilatabat; E omits Iohannis from Iohanna filia Iohannis regis anglie; B has castellum de Kardigan where E has castrum de kardigan.

 

1241: b1262, e39. B has magna multitudine where E has maxima multitudine. E has uocando apud londoniam where B has necando usque londoniam. B has gwennunwen where E has gwennainun.

 

1242: b1263, e40. B has omitted obiit either before or after Grifinus filius maredut.

 

1243: b1264, e41. (Almost identical; except E does not have the additional note of the name of the daughter born to Eleanor, and B is erroneous in calling her Margaret).

 

1244: b1265, e42. B has exceptis qui in municionibus et castellis where E has exceptis hiis qui erant in municionibus et castellis. B has wennunwen where E has wenainun.

 

1245: b1266, e43. B has henricus rex omnes walenses subiugare volens where E has henricus rex anglie omnes walenses sibi subiugare uolens; B has its customary excercitu where E has the normal exercitu; B has de ganiuye (i.e. Degannwy) where E has ganneu; B has et firmato ibi castello in angliam rediit where E has et firmato ibidem castello in angliam uenit.[29]

 

1246: b1267, e44. B has sepulture traditur apud aberconuy where E has sepulture traditur iuxta patrem suum apud aberconu; B has disponente deo where E has dissponente domino; B has Geneurglin et hyscoid where E has Geneuerglyn et Hischoeth.

 

Analysis shows that B has 30 errors, omissions or variations while E has 20. Of these B has three outright errors against one in E, while B has eleven omissions against four in E. B has one specific date (b1259) and three additional items (b1257, b1258, b1261) not in E. Although E contains some scribal errors, the general impression is that it is a more accurate reflection of the source of these annals than B.

 

Throughout this period (1231 to 1247), the Brutiau contain close parallels to B and E under the years 1235, 1237, 1238, 1241, 1242, 1244, 1245, 1246 (first half of b1267/e44), 1247 (E only).[30]

 

B has an empty annal for 1247 (b1268), but E has an annal concerning the same events as in the Brutiau: the death of Hywel ab Ednyfed, bishop of St Asaph, at Oxford; an earthquake; and the death of Anselm, bishop of Menevia. The Brutiau have these in a different order: the death of Hywel, the death of Anselm, and then the earthquake. E is more specific than the Brutiau about Hywel's end, saying he died amongst the Dominicans in Oxford (apud Oxoniam inter fratres predicatores) and that he was buried in their church with due veneration. But the Brutiau say Anselm died in March (and supply his by-name, vras, 'the Fat'), and give a very precise date and time of day of the earthquake ('about vesper-time on the 20th day of February'); C, c568, also gives the date, but in a different form: .xi. kl. martii.

 

B again has an empty annal for 1248 (b1269), and E has no annal for this year. The final annal in E, before it jumps to 1254, is marked as '1248' (e46) but is in fact for an event of 1249, the capture of Damietta by Louis IX of France, where E again uses the formula dissponente domino (see also e44) but is otherwise identical to b1270. The Brutiau have a lengthier corresponding annal that first notes the capture of Damietta (June 1249) and then the capture of Louis by the Saracens (March 1250) and the consequential loss of Damietta (May 1250). The Brutiau's annal stated as 1250 is in fact for an event of 1249, the death of 'the king of Scotland' (Alexander II, who died in July 1249).

 

After the lacuna at 1217–18, C has an annal which starts with an account of the capture of Damietta by the crusaders in November of 1219 (c539; also noted in the Brutiau, with the same number of reported casualties amongst the inhabitants) with which is synchronised the death of William Marshal the Elder (14 May 1219; in b1241 1219 (= 1220); not noted in the Brutiau). This is the first of a series of annals recording events connected with the Marshal earls of Pembroke. William's son, William the Younger, is noted as arriving at St Davids from Ireland in 1223 when he captured Cardigan and Carmarthen (c543); his further exploits in Ireland (c544) and his service in France (c550), and his death in 1231 (c551). His successor, his brother, Richard Marshal, is recorded besieging Carmarthen castle in 1233 (c554); and Richard's successor, a third brother, Gilbert's marriage to the sister of the King of Scots (Marjorie, daughter of William the Lion) in 1235 (c555). A fourth brother, Walter, is recorded taking the honours of Carmarthen for Gilbert in 1240, but Gilbert died in July 1241 (c562) and Walter succeeded to the earldom that October ('about the feast of SS Simon and Jude' i.e. 28 October; c562). Walter is recorded in Haverford in 1244 (c565), and his death on 24 November 1245 is noted (c566). The fifth and last son of William Marshal the Elder, Anselm, died within a month of Walter, before he could be invested with the earldom, and is not noted in C. The five Marshal brothers died without legitimate male heirs, so the line came to an end (b1266 1245 says conquieruerunt heredes willielmi marescalli in pace, 'the heirs of William Marshal came peacefully to an end'). C alone notes the Marshal patrimony being divided between the earl's three daughters in 1248 (c569).[31] The Pembrokeshire interest is very strong in C. St Davids is the focus of the chronicle, which continues to record the succession of bishops of Menevia from the death of Gervase in 1229 (c549) to the consecration of Thomas in 1248 (not recorded in B or E). As we have seen, William Marshal the Younger's visit to St Davids is noted (c543), and his taking of Cardigan and Carmarthen. The death of Maredudd ap Rhys, archdeacon of Cardigan, is recorded (c547), and that of Rhys Gryg at Carmarthen (c552). Carmarthen is noted as under siege by Richard Marshal (c554), and the honours of Carmarthen are taken by Walter Marshal for his brother, Gilbert (c561). Carmarthen is burnt by Dafydd ap Llywelyn in 1243 (c564). Haverford is mentioned in connection with Walter Marshal in 1244 (c565). Carmarthen is looted by Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg in 1245 (c566); and, after an earthquake which damages part of the church on 19 February 1247, there is a robbery at St Davids described in some dramatic detail (c568). C also notes that the bridge at Carmarthen was destroyed by Richard Marshal and the Welsh in 1233 (c554) and, again, by build-up of ice, probably in 1250 (c571). Interest in the descendants of Rhys ap Gruffudd is not as strong as in B and E. The death of the archdeacon of Cardigan, Maredudd ap Rhys, is noted (c547), as are the deaths of Maelgwn ap Rhys (c550) and Rhys Gryg (c552). Cynan ap Hywel Sais is noted in confederation with William Marshal the Younger, who gives all the land of Cardigan up to Afon Aeron into Cynan's custody; and Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg is noted looting Carmarthen in 1245 (c566).[32] Still slighter is the interest in Llywelyn ab Iorwerth and his sons. Llywelyn, who first appears in C in 1211 (c531), is noted taking Carmarthen, Cardigan and Cilgerran in 1215 (c534), and being at Wolfsdale in Rhos, probably in 1217 (c538). Thereafter, there are only notes of Llywelyn burning Haverford (c540), his war with Henry III in 1228 (c548), and his death in 1240 (559). Llywelyn's sons, Gruffudd and Dafydd, and their deaths, are noted in c563 (1242), c564 (1243–4) and 1245–6 (c566).

 

C does not wholly ignore events further afield, but these are confined to notices of events in the Holy Land involving Louis VIII of France (c539, c541) Louis IX (c570, c572), and the Emperor Frederick II (c563); of the loss of Picardy (c544), and of Henry III of England's visits to the Continent (c550, c563, c564); and of the papal legate, Otto, coming to England (c557). But it is the very parochialism of C that is a stamp of its authenticity as an active chronicle: the collapse of the new church tower at St Davids (c540), precisely dated to the Monday before the feast of St Martin (9 November 1220); the establishment of the first precentor at Menevia, and the start of building the new church of St Thomas at Haverford (c545); and Brother Anianus preaching the crusade in West Wales (c556).

 

 

Henry Gough-Cooper, September 2021

 

 

Abbreviations and references

 

Abbreviations:

 

B: The Welsh-Latin Breviate chronicle, London, National Archives MS E164/1, pp. 2–26 (see Gough-Cooper 2015a).

 

C: The Welsh-Latin Cottonian chronicle, London, British Library Cotton MS Domition A.1 folios 138r–155r (see Gough-Cooper 2015b).

 

D: The Cronica ante aduentum domini, Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3514, pp. 523–528 (see Gough-Cooper 2015c).

 

E: The Cronicon de Wallia, Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3514, pp. 507–519 (see Gough-Cooper 2016).

 

HBC: see Fryde, Greenway et al. 2003.

 

HD: see Cheney & Jones 2004.

 

ODNB: The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

 

OHE (Poole): see Poole 1954.

 

OHE (Powicke): see Powicke 1962.

 

P: The Welsh vernacular chronicle, Peniarth 20 version (see Jones 1941, 1952).

 

R: The Welsh vernacular chronicle, Red Book of Hergest version (see Jones 1954).

 

Runciman HC3: see Runciman 1954.

 

S: The Welsh vernacular chronicle, Brenhinedd y Saesson version (see Jones 1971)

 

Brutiau: see P, R & S.

 

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Fryde, E. B., Greenway, D. E., Porter S., and Roy, I. (eds.) (2003) Handbook of British Chronology, Cambridge: Royal Historical Society.

 

Gough-Cooper, H. W. (ed.) (2015a) Annales Cambriae: The B Text, from London, National Archives MS E164.1, pp. 2–26, <http://croniclau.bangor.ac.uk/documents/AC%20B%20first%20edition.pdf>

 

Gough-Cooper, H. W. (ed.) (2015b) Annales Cambriae: The C Text, from British Library Cotton MS Domitian A. i. ff. 138r–155r, <http://croniclau.bangor.ac.uk/documents/AC%20C%20first%20edition.pdf>

 

Gough-Cooper, H. W. (ed.) (2015c) Annales Cambriae: The D Text, from Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3514, pp. 523–528,

<http://croniclau.bangor.ac.uk/documents/AC%20D%20first%20edition.pdf>

 

Gough-Cooper, H. W. (ed.) (2016) Annales Cambriae: The E Text, from Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3514, pp. 507–19, <http://croniclau.bangor.ac.uk/documents/AC_E_First_Edition%20%20.pdf>

 

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