Warfare in Wales Articles
John Nash
The nature of war within a country is Warfare in Wales
often determined by the country itself.
Wales was, as we have seen, a rural by Madoc
culture with a relatively small
population spread in family groups. Page 1
Most of the country was forested and
had few roads, making fast internal
communication difficult.
Page 2
This, as you would expect, made
Guerrilla warfare, the ambush and raid, Conclusions
the usual form of war. The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle mentions attacks by the Welsh Bibliography
on border villages ( Portskewett in
1065 and Westbury in 1053) in a manner
that would indicate raids.
Amongst themselves, the fosterage and
inheritance customs positively
encouraged violence and it was these
problems that consistently hindered
them from uniting together to face
common enemies. Gruffydd who managed to
unite country by force was killed,
allegedly, by his own men. Or, more
likely, by Cynan ap Iago, who according
to the Ulster Chronicle , was simply
taking revenge for his father who
Gruffydd had killed in 1039. Most of
Gruffydd's internal victories were won
by subterfuge and by a readiness to
kill his opponents before they became a
threat (Walter Map of Hereford reports
that Gruffydd had commented ' Talk not
of killing, I only blunt the horns of
the progeny of Wales lest they should
wound their dam'), for instance
Gruffydd ap Rhydderch of Deheubarth was
slain at a parley in 1055. The English
campaigns against Gruffydd were
painfully unsuccessful as the Welsh
refused to be drawn into open battle
and simply ambushed their slow-moving
enemy and melted back into the forests.
Harold even ordered his men to remove
their mail in a vain effort to catch
their elusive foe.
This method of warfare was to serve the
Welsh well until they were finally
subdued by the English some 300 years
later. Gerald of Wales, in his
Description of Wales, goes into some
detail about the Welsh style of warfare
in his lifetime (1145-1223). In
particular, he goes to some length as
to how the English (Anglo-Normans ??)
should give up their heavy armour and
pretty formations in order to bring the
Welsh to battle.
Each Brenin would have his own warband,
maintained and led by his Penteulu. The
exact size of this force is open to
debate but would probably not exceed 50
men. In addition, the Brenin would have
access to his own extended family and
other Bonheddwr (free nobles) in his
Cantrefs. Gerald of Wales notes that
the whole of the Welsh nation, from
King to peasant, is madly fond of war
and spends their free time practising
and preparing for battle.
Both the King and his warband would be
mounted, but appear to have dismounted
to fight.
Military equipment was pretty
standardised across northern Europe at
this time; spear, shield, sword and
axe. The Welsh seem to have a fondness
for the long-spear and bow. The
Gododdin mentions spears when
describing battle ('battle of spears',
'forest of spears', 'reaping of spears'
etc) far more than swords. Gerald is
impressed by the spear-men of North
Wales and the ability of Welsh archers
to fire over their shoulders when in
retreat. The bow, at this time, appears
to be a powerful short bow suitable for
close range work (we all know of the
stories of Welsh arrows pinning Norman
cavalry to their horses, i.e. through
two layers of armour, the leg and into
the horse !!!). Along with the bow went
the javelin, mentioned in many stories
and by Gerald, two earlier examples
have been recovered from Landysilo
which have a similarity to the Roman
pilum.
Swords appear to have been highly
prized items, examples being exchanged
for 25 head of cattle and one swapped
for the whole of Roath !!!! (although
how valuable Roath was is open to
question). The Saxon sword thought to
have been found at Builth Wells is of
the Saxon Trewhiddle style, the other
Viking sword, found off the
Pembrokeshire coast, has the typical
trilobe pommel. It would be unlikely
that the Welsh did not forge and fit
their own swords, and whether there
were differences is unknown. Culhwch
and Olwen (considered to be the
earliest, c mid 11th century, of the
Mabinogi) describes gold-hilted swords
and the Gododdin uses the term
'blue-bladed'. The stone at Eglwysilan
has a simple carving of a warrior with
a small shield and a straight sword
with a round pommel and straight
crossguard (8-10th Century), whereas
the stone at Llandyfaelog shows a
bearded man with a club/mace and a
pommeled short sword (10thc.).
There are no finds of earlier swords in Warfare in Wales
Wales, but it would be likely that they
would have retained the late-Roman by Madoc
Spatha's and semi-Spatha's (which are
similar to Irish examples) given that Page 2
they considered themselves to be the
natural inheritors of Roman Britain
(see Armes Prydain). With the advent of
the heavier, better made,
continental-style swords the Welsh
would probably have adopted them as Conclusions
quickly as the Irish did.
Bibliography
The Welsh seemed to have stayed with
the round shield, even after the advent
of the kite, and Gerald says that they
still preferred Target shields (meaning
a round shield) in his period. The
warriors of the Gododdin all have round
shields but their size is not
indicated. The Mabinogi uses the term
'buckler' (a later term for a small
shield), and the Eglwysilan stone
warrior (see above) has a small round
shield. The Margam stone also shows
hunters with small round shields.
Finally, let's bear in mind the
unpracticality of moving through forest
and undergrowth with a huge Viking 36"
shield.
The subject of armour is difficult.
Gerald says that the Welsh are lightly
armoured using small leather corselets
(although we must remember that
'armoured' in his day meant large
amounts, however nearly all the
warriors that went to Cattreath (the
Gododdin) had mail-shirts. In
literature, such as the Mabinogi, very
few warriors are described in armour.
Finally, we must bear in mind Harold's
order to his men to remove their
armour.
How exactly did they fight ???. Gerald
degrades the Welsh of his period for
'leaping about all over the place' and
failing to fight in the 'continental
style'. He also describes their charges
and the amount of noise that they make:
'....when battle is first joined. They
shout, glower fiercely at the enemy,
and fill the air with fearsome clamour,
making a high-pitched screech with
their long trumpets'
' ...from their first fierce and
headlong onslaught, and the shower of
javelins which they hurl, they seem
most formidable opponents. If the enemy
resists manfully and they are repulsed,
they are immediately thrown into
confusion..'
He also likens them to the earlier
period Germans (Livy) in that 'In the
first onslaught they are more than men,
in the second they are less than
women'.
He is also kind enough to mention that:
'Although beaten today and shamefully
put to flight with much slaughter,
tomorrow they march out again, no whit
dejected by their defeat or loss'' They
may not shine in open combat and in
fixed formation, but they harass the
enemy by their ambushes and their
night-attacks'
It would be reasonable to assume that a by Madoc
Bonheddwr would own a long spear and
round shield (that may be smaller than Conclusions
it' s Saxon/Viking counterpart) and
knife. He was likely to have had a bow
and a couple of javelins. A few may
have owned swords, which could well
have been handed down through the
family (and be old by the standards of
other cultures). The only mention of
axes is in the Mabinogi, but it would
be difficult not to assume that such a
useful common item would not have been
taken to war and there are always the
Viking traders and settlements if you
want a 'proper' one.
Members of a king's warband would be
equipped in a similar way, and mounted
in addition (although they don't appear
to fight from horseback) . It is likely
that the majority would have swords and
some would wear light mail-shirts and
possibly helmets. They are very much a
warrior-elite and would be equipped
better than the average Welshman ,
although poorer compared to their
Saxon/Viking counterparts. Given the
covert nature of warfare in Wales, only
an idiot would wear shiny mail and
helmet......
How they would fight
I could not find an example of the
Welsh using a shield wall, although
that is not to assume that they didn't.
There are examples of English Earls
utilising Welsh allies (Edwin/Morcar in
1065) but I would imagine that they
would be used to perform things that
they were best at, ambush or moving in
rough terrain for example.
It is easy to imagine a skirmish
between two Welsh sides. Initially
there would be the clashes between
scouts; arrows from bushes. The main
forces, of probably not more than
hundred men, moving silently through
the trees. Running battle, javelins and
arrows, followed by bloody hand to hand
combat in small groups. In such
encounters leadership means little,
each man fights with his chosen kin,
seeking advantage wherever it may be
gained; striking from surprise or from
the rear. Finally, the pursuit of the
beaten force for some time (Gerald says
that the Welsh excel in pursuit).
Pitched battles between the Welsh and
other cultures is more problematical. .
However, using Gerald, the Goddodin and
heroic literature let's examine the
likely result:
First of all it is likely that men from
many kin-groups would be present and it
is possible that there will be distrust
and even hostility between no few of
them. They would gather in groups, each
man standing with his kin or his
warband, behind their leader. Gerald
describes the shouting (singing,
perhaps ??) and blowing of horns that
would take place as the enemy comes
into view.
The overall leader of the Welsh would
no doubt try and cajole his men into
some kind of order and try to restrain
the more impetuous from charging
straight-away. As the enemy moves
forward, some of the Welsh 'champions'
would no doubt step forward and taunt
them to the amusement of their fellows
(maybe, this would result in
'competitions' and insults from amongst
other the other kin-groups). The enemy
is closer now and the archers loose
arrows ...suddenly one groups breaks
ranks and charges and the rest would no
doubt follow, javelins being launched
on the way in.... With luck, the enemy
will be overcome. However, it is easy
to imagine that groups of men fighting
unsupported by the rest of their army
could easily be driven back, become
confused by the battle around them,
making their enemies job easier ... I
would say that a disciplined force, and
a modicum of luck, could overcome such
tactics. Which is exactly the way
Gerald sees it. The moral, for the
Welsh anyway, is to stick to what they
know best.
