Rhaglen 5 Darn Bach o Hanes

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-When Edward I commissioned

-the great architect...

-..Master James of St George, to

-design the castle in Caernarfon...

-..his motives weren't

-merely practical ones.

-He was also making a statement.

-He built Caernarfon Castle...

-..in the wake of his devastating

-and fateful victory over the Welsh.

-The building was part

-of a wider process...

-..the subjugation

-of Llywelyn's Welsh principality...

-..the annihilation

-of Welsh independence...

-..to remind his new vassals...

-..that now, they were part of

-England's empire once and for all.

-In other words,

-to rub our noses in the defeat.

-In summer, Caernarfon

-throngs with tourists...

-..who come to see the castle's

-superb architecture...

-..and its striking site

-on the Menai Strait.

-But the car parks

-of Welsh castles...

-..such as Dolbadarn, Dolwyddelan

-and Dolforwyn, are often empty...

-..even in midsummer.

-It's as if the Welsh

-castles' history...

-..has totally fallen off

-the touristic radar.

-It's not really surprising.

-Apart from the fact they're maybe

-less striking architecturally...

-..history is always

-written by the conqueror.

-But let's forget castles for now.

-I want to draw your attention

-to other indigenous centres...

-..that are even more obscure

-and hidden than the Welsh castles.

-These institutions

-had a central role...

-..in the government and society

-of medieval Wales.

-These were the Llysoedd, the courts.

-To understand

-the significance of the Llys...

-..it's important to explain

-how society was administered.

-The Welsh princedoms were divided

-into administrative areas...

-..the Cantrefi, which were

-divided into Cymydau, commotes.

-There was a Llys, a court,

-in every commote...

-..with buildings like barns,

-stables, a smithy...

-..and the great hall at the centre.

-The royal residence

-was also important.

-The prince stayed there

-when he visited to hold court.

-The Welsh court in the Middle

-Ages moved constantly...

-..from commote to commote.

-It was quite a hands-on

-form of government.

-There isn't much archaeological

-evidence of these courts.

-But in 1992, the remains

-of Llys Rhosyr were found.

-This court was the heart

-of the Menai Commote in Anglesey.

-It's the only site of its kind that

-has been excavated to this extent.

-Neil Johnstone,

-Heritage Manager of Menter Mon...

-..is the archaeologist

-who discovered the remains.

-Were they royal courts...

-..or courts of a local leader

-that the prince used?

-There was a court

-for the prince in every commote.

-They collected taxes and also ate

-their way through the kingdom!

-Every court had land.

-It was called Tir Bwrdd here.

-It produced food for the court.

-People looked after

-the land and farmed it...

-..and looked after the buildings,

-ready for the prince's visit.

-We're in a hall.

-Is it the main hall?

-We can't tell. We've only dug

-a quarter of the site thoroughly.

-There are still remains

-under that field.

-At one end of the building,

-there would be a bench...

-..where the prince and VIPs sat,

-looking down the hall...

-..as they do in Oxford colleges now.

-Is this the chamber?

-This design is often

-found in other places.

-There is a hall,

-then another chamber block...

-..the private quarters.

-As well as the court's

-main buildings...

-..at Rhosyr, there are

-remains of an external wall...

-..that Neil says is significant.

-It's status, and a statement.

-"I'm important. I have walls around

-the site. This is no ordinary farm."

-Does that mean that many

-coins have been found here?

-Yes, quite a few pennies

-have been found in the dig.

-Other finds help us

-to interpret the site too.

-Door locks and latches

-made of iron, and pottery too.

-I wonder if there's more here.

-I'd love it if we could

-open more of the site.

-There are more treasures here that

-would help us understand the Llys.

-The courts varied in importance.

-Documentary evidence strongly

-suggests that Aberffraw's court...

-..on Anglesey's western coast...

-..was the main court of the

-princes of Gwynedd for centuries.

-But there is debate about another

-site that claims this title.

-There is a fierce divide

-in opinion amongst the cognoscenti.

-Abergwyngregyn's historical

-name was Aber Garth Celyn.

-Its court was vitally important...

-..in the last years of Llywelyn

-ap Gruffudd, Llywelyn the Last.

-The difference in opinion...

-..is about the exact site

-of the court's main building.

-This is Pen y Bryn.

-The present owners are convinced

-the main building was here...

-..the great hall of the court

-of Arllechwedd Uchaf.

-Hoping to close the debate...

-..the owners commissioned

-an archaeologist last year...

-..to make a detailed report.

-They've given me permission

-to see what the report discovered.

-I have a torch to help me!

-Pen y Bryn is

-an Elizabethan building.

-But it is claimed that there

-are older remains underground.

-I'm in the cellar.

-Spooky.

-These, made of carved sandstone,

-were found in the gardens.

-They date back to the Middle Ages.

-This window,

-according to the report...

-..has some medieval

-elements in its design.

-The pattern above some windows,

-called voussoir...

-..has medieval features,

-according to the report.

-That's one side of the debate.

-To hear the other side,

-we'll go down to the village.

-I'll leave the van. It's not far.

-In 1994, the Gwynedd Archaeological

-Trust found the remains...

-..of a medieval building

-in the village, which was excavated.

-The Trust claimed that this, not

-Pen y Bryn, was the probable site...

-..of the main building

-of the court of Arllechwedd Uchaf.

-This was because

-they found the remains...

-..of a sizeable winged hall...

-..very similar to a great hall.

-The site has now been refilled.

-But one counterargument is that

-it's lower than Pen y Bryn....

-..and unlikely to have been chosen

-for the court's main buildings.

-In any case, it's a very fiery

-debate. I mustn't take sides.

-I'll put up links on the weekly

-blog so you can read more...

-..and make up your own minds.

-Whatever the truth is, Aber

-Garth Celyn played a vital role...

-..in the final, tragic, years

-of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.

-To further explain is Professor

-Huw Pryce of Bangor University...

-..an expert on this period.

-There is great debate about the

-site of Aber Garth Celyn's Court.

-But Garth Celyn is mentioned in one

-of the most important documents...

-..in medieval Wales.

-Garth Celyn was the place where a

-very important letter was written...

-..from Llywelyn and his council

-to Archbishop Peckham...

-..a month before Llywelyn

-was eventually killed.

-Can you tell us about the letter?

-It's a comparatively short letter

-from Llywelyn to the Archbishop...

-..thanking him for his peace offers.

-He noted their inadequacy,

-and that he couldn't accept them.

-They were dishonourable and

-would destroy him and his people.

-He says he prefers to make

-suggestions for further discussion.

-It shows how Llywelyn used

-the concept of the Welsh nation...

-..as a way to justify his position.

-He also says the people of Gwynedd

-in particular identified with him.

-They certainly would refuse

-to be governed by a foreign king.

-This is the last letter

-Llywelyn wrote to Peckham.

-He died a few weeks later.

-I think that intensifies

-the significance...

-..of this defiant declaration.

-In a way, it's very surprising...

-..considering the military

-pressure on him at the time.

-Edward I and his forces were

-on his doorstep when he wrote this.

-He knew that things were bad, but

-he was ready to stand to the end.

-Whatever you say about the man...

-..he could be very stubborn.

-Yes.

-Some might have said, "I'll retire

-to England and take 1,000 a year."

-As a constitutional expression...

-..of nationalism

-and national identity...

-..isn't this document

-of vital importance...

-..to our identity as a nation?

-It's certainly important and helps

-us to understand Llywelyn's Wales.

-And yes, it might also

-interest people today too.

-Later, I look for the traces

-of more of the courts of Gwynedd...

-..one near my childhood home.

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-I'm looking for the lost courts

-of the princes of Gwynedd.

-The journey has taken me

-to some very interesting places.

-The remains of Llys Dinorwig

-are in Brynrefail, near Llanberis.

-Keen archaeologist

-Rhys Mwyn has come to meet me.

-How are you?

-How are you?

-

-Fine. How are you?

-I've heard that some of

-the courts' remains aren't obvious.

-But this one is almost invisible!

-But this one is almost invisible!

-

-It is.

-I suggest we look

-at the map to see what we have.

-There are probably

-two distinct periods here.

-There's a defensive enclosure,

-like a small hill fort...

-..dating back

-to Celtic or Roman times.

-Within the enclosure,

-about 1,000 years later...

-..there are medieval remains.

-I suggest, if you're game,

-that we go to look at these remains.

-What, into those brambles?

-What, into those brambles?

-

-Yes.

-OK. Away we go!

-Are we on top of the wall?

-Are we on top of the wall?

-

-Yes.

-We go down to the ditch.

-It's like a bank and ditch.

-It's like a bank and ditch.

-

-Exactly.

-When we come up here...

-..we see the internal wall.

-It's like a small hill fort,

-or an old fortified farm.

-That's what it probably was

-originally. The site was reused.

-And rebuilt as a defence.

-And rebuilt as a defence.

-

-Yes, that's possible.

-You'd have to dig here to find out.

-In the field next door,

-there are much clearer remains.

-The visitors to the caravan park

-weren't the first to come here.

-This is a rather interesting book.

-Thomas Pennant says, "I visited

-the remains of Llys Dinorwig.

-"A house, said to have

-been one of the palaces...

-"..of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd."

-That's Llywelyn the Last.

-The first record of this site

-is in the 16th century, by Leland.

-He mentions the link

-with Sir Gruffydd Llwyd...

-..of Tregarnedd, Anglesey.

-He was the man

-who gave Edward I the news...

-..that his son had been born

-in Caernarfon Castle, in 1284.

-One can imagine that Edward

-was happy to hear the good news.

-This land was for Gruffydd Llwyd.

-That's what he did, apparently.

-Didn't he give him the land?

-Didn't he give him the land?

-

-That's the story.

-These are the holes

-where the floor cross-beams went.

-Those are original.

-So it's an ancient wall.

-But looking up at those slates,

-they're definitely not original.

-It's a problem to date this.

-It was rebuilt, using old stones.

-It's possible that this wall

-was in Gruffydd Llwyd's hall.

-That is an accepted fact,

-or at least the site.

-Maybe we have

-to be content with that.

-There are many

-uncertainties about this site.

-It's become a very common

-theme on this journey.

-This is the centre.

-The wall is here.

-So part of the court

-must be under the caravan park.

-I wonder if the visitors know this

-was the site of a royal Welsh court.

-There's a good chance that 100%

-of the people here don't know.

-It's sad that we in Wales

-don't know about these sites either.

-We should look

-at folk literature...

-..and the names of fields and farms.

-They offer many clues. For

-example, this farm is called Llys.

-Wouldn't this place be ideal for the

-Lord of Snowdon to build his court?

-We're in the right

-place, definitely.

-You can't compare this

-with Llys Rhosyr.

-The sites are totally different.

-But they're part of the same story.

-Despite Edward I's attempts...

-..to wipe the courts of the princes

-of Gwynedd off the map...

-..it seems that the traces

-of many of them have survived.

-One of the courts is only a stone's

-throw from my family home.

-This is the site of Castell Prysor.

-North Wales was divided between

-the sons of Owain Gwynedd...

-..grandfather of Llywelyn the Great.

-Cynan received

-Ardudwy and Meirionnydd.

-It's possible that

-Gruffudd, Cynan's son...

-..saw the need to build

-a castle here in Cwm Prysor.

-It's difficult to date, but it

-incorporates landscape features...

-..reminding historians

-of late 12th century castles...

-..like Deudraeth and Carn Fadryn...

-..allegedly built

-by the sons of Owain Gwynedd.

-It was a motte and bailey castle,

-using the rock as the motte.

-There are traces of stone walls...

-..or stone steps,

-winding to its summit...

-..where there are remains

-of a wooden or stone building.

-In 1998, the renowned archaeologist

-Martin de Lewandowicz came here...

-..to make a geophysical survey

-of the site's main features.

-He wasn't disappointed.

-There are traces of a great hall

-here and other buildings...

-..corresponding to those found

-in Rhosyr and Abergwyngregyn.

-De Lewandowicz strongly suggests...

-..that this was one

-of Llywelyn the Great's courts.

-The traces of the great hall's

-foundations are clear.

-The small building nearby

-was probably the prince's chamber.

-There are traces of other buildings,

-perhaps the barn and smithy.

-Martin de Lewandowicz only made

-a geophys survey of the main site.

-There's so much more he wants to do.

-There are certainly traces of a road

-and bridge over the River Prysor...

-..and a road going towards

-Trawsfynydd and then on to Harlech.

-One fact attesting

-to the status of Castell Prysor...

-..is a letter,

-written here in 1284...

-..by no less

-a personage than Edward I.

-So what was Edward Longshanks

-doing here in my valley?

-Maybe the answer can be found in

-that direction, in Harlech Castle.

-Like Caernarfon Castle,

-Harlech Castle was much larger...

-..than was needed

-to sustain a military presence.

-It had a similar purpose...

-..to complete the iron ring

-of castles around Gwynedd...

-..and to remind

-the Welsh of their place.

-When building began in May 1283...

-..35 stonemasons worked here.

-By 1286, when building

-was at its most intense...

-..there were 227 stonemasons.

-When building a castle...

-..stones were usually

-taken from local quarries...

-..to be worked

-on site by the stonemasons.

-But imagine this scenario.

-One of the stonemasons

-goes to the clerk of works...

-..maybe Master James of St George...

-..saying, "Why don't we steal stones

-from the Welsh castles and courts?

-"After all, they won't

-be using them again."!

-We know this, because

-archaeological evidence has shown...

-..that stones from Welsh courts were

-used to build some English castles.

-Archaeologists know this...

-..because traces of the mortar

-used in Welsh courts and castles...

-..was found in the walls

-of the English castles.

-But what about Harlech?

-There are two claims,

-neither of which has been proven.

-First, that stones from

-Llys Prysor are in these walls.

-The symbolism of destroying

-the court of his greatest enemy...

-..to build his own castle...

-..would certainly appeal

-to a man like Edward Longshanks.

-Secondly, some claim

-that Harlech Castle...

-..was built on the foundations

-of an earlier building...

-..and a Welsh castle to boot.

-If you look up there...

-..you can see two

-different types of stones...

-..or two different

-types of construction.

-Of course, that doesn't show

-where the stones come from.

-Whatever the truth is,

-it's possible we'll never know.

-I'll never know if Edward was

-in Cwm Prysor, stealing stones.

-Names like Caer Collwyn, Prysor,

-Dinorwig, Garth Celyn and Rhosyr...

-..tell us that we have lost

-something very important.

-It's easy to blame

-Edward's imperialist policy.

-We have a right to do so,

-because it happened.

-But should we also

-look a little closer to home?

-We as a nation have allowed

-these places to slip into obscurity.

-What Rhosyr shows us is that

-the Welsh courts and castles...

-..can be resurrected...

-..to claim their rightful place

-in our national consciousness...

-..and ensure that future generations

-won't forget this vital period...

-..in our history.

-S4C Subtitles by Gwead

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