Rhaglen 6 Darn Bach o Hanes

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-"In Egypt, two British hostages

-have been released.

-"They were driving

-from Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh..."

-We've grown accustomed to reports...

-..of countries in turmoil

-or in the grips of a civil war...

-..where anarchy

-and lawlessness is rife.

-Only a fool would travel...

-..to Columbia, Somalia

-and Afghanistan nowadays.

-But 500 years ago...

-..parts of Wales were just as bad,

-if not worse.

-People who travelled through Wales

-in the 15th and 16th century...

-..diced with death

-in certain parts of the country.

-Because unsavoury characters

-were lurking in the shadows.

-Not only

-is there documented evidence...

-..but bards like Lewys Glyn Cothi

-and Guto'r Glyn...

-..often referred to the problem.

-OUTLAWS

-They used all sorts

-of names to describe them.

-BANDITS, BRIGANDS,

-RAIDERS, PILLAGERS

-Whatever they were called,

-these men lived outside the law.

-They stole, kidnapped and murdered.

-Why the anarchy?

-A side-effect of

-the English conquest of 1282...

-..worsened an already ineffective

-and complex governing system.

-With no binding legal system...

-..The Marches

-was a treacherous area of Wales.

-There were around 45 dominions...

-..ruled by Norman barons

-and Welsh lords.

-One was the influential

-and powerful Sir William Herbert...

-..Earl of Pembroke.

-Herbert inherited his lands,

-and he, and other lords...

-..would plunder

-each other's lands...

-..to expand and protect

-their own interests.

-Every lord used soldiers...

-..a personal army of brigands

-who were on the run from law.

-They used

-the time-honoured tradition...

-..of crossing borders...

-..allieging themselves to a lord

-to escape the clutches of the law.

-It was the lord's duty to maintain

-law and order in his own lands.

-And Herbert's lands

-were substantial.

-Bards extolled

-his importance and influence.

-The poets travelled

-from sponsor to sponsor...

-..thus traversing problem areas.

-Their work displays consternation

-at the situation in Wales.

-There's evidence that Lewys

-Glyn Cothi went to see Herbert...

-..to beg him

-to restore order in Wales.

-Lewys's poetry,

-and Guto'r Glyn after him...

-..are full of admiration

-of those who punished the outlaws.

-"He tames

-the wild men of the forests

-"There's no escape for thieves."

-"Your long arm seizes bandits

-"You are Edward's leopard."

-The insightful poems portray

-a key period in Welsh history...

-..a period in which a significant

-political shift took place.

-During the Glyndwr Revolt,

-poets praised the outlaws...

-..for pillaging English lands

-to steal food and war supplies.

-But the ensuing anarchy

-prompted a change of heart.

-Guto'r Glyn wrote a poem

-to the King of England.

-"Woe is us,

-living in fear of thieves

-"Devise a law

-"Come, Edward,

-to restrain the dishonest

-"Cut the heads and throats of men

-"Punish outlaws

-"Bring about their downfall

-"And catch the wrongdoers."

-What would

-Owain Glyndwr make of that?

-And come to think of it,

-where was Owain?

-Who knows?

-Perhaps Owain Glyndwr ended his days

-leading a gang of outlaws...

-..living in the forest

-or the hills...

-..the Berwyn Range, perhaps.

-Whatever happened to him...

-..it was a time

-when it was easy to disappear.

-While the lordships

-were dangerous places...

-..there were more dangerous areas.

-The bordering lands were

-beyond the reach of the law.

-No-man's land, to all purposes.

-One of the most dangerous

-and troublesome bordering lands...

-..was Bwlch yr Oerddrws...

-..between Merionethshire

-and the Mawddwy lordship.

-This place and the nearby Berwyn

-Range were notorious for outlaws...

-..and the frequent,

-bloody skirmishes...

-..between the outlaws

-of Meirion and Mawddwy.

-I've come to a local pub...

-..to meet Professor Rhun Emlyn

-from Aberystwyth University.

-Rhun has researched the history

-of these local skirmishes.

-It's warmer here

-than Bwlch yr Oerddrws.

-I know why

-it's called Cold Door Pass!

-It was the stronghold

-of the outlaws.

-They must have been hard men!

-They must have been hard men!

-

-Yes!

-It was an area

-associated with outlaws.

-Wales was seen as an unruly country.

-This place was as bad as it got.

-It stands on the crossroads

-between Dolgellau and Gwynedd...

-..and Powys,

-Welshpool and Shrewsbury

-This important route was

-the highwaymen's hunting ground.

-It bordered

-both the King's land...

-..and the lords' lands.

-Merioneth belonged to the Crown.

-Powys was the land of Lord Powys.

-Wanted men crossed borders

-to escape the law.

-How did the Crown attempt

-to settle the problem?

-There was a Welsh practice

-of meeting up to settle disputes.

-The Crown would set a date

-for the two sides to meet.

-Love days.

-That's right, and that's why

-it's such an important area.

-Merioneth, the Crown's land,

-on the one side...

-..and the Powys and Mawddwy lords

-on the other.

-They met in the middle

-to settle their differences.

-So these borderlands were places

-where such disputes were settled.

-Merioneth folk were forced to pay

-for property stolen from Mawddwy.

-Yes.

-I heard it took seven years for

-the local Sheriff to collect taxes?

-That demonstrates

-the extent of the thieving.

-The name of one band of outlaws

-survives to this day.

-This was their territory -

-Mawddwy.

-The story of how the Red Bandits

-of Mawddwy murdered Baron Owen...

-..is already well documented.

-But a little known fact is that

-these bandits were simple farmers.

-They were hung for the offence.

-Highwaymen usually sought sanctuary

-in forests or the mountains.

-Perhaps this proves to us...

-..that a social injustice

-turned them into outlaws.

-Merioneth farmers,

-as in every part of Wales...

-..sent their animals to markets

-over the border in England.

-Many routes existed -

-and these were the busiest.

-They all led to places

-like Smithfield in London.

-These drovers' roads

-were targeted by the outlaws.

-Livestock, especially cattle,

-were precious commodities...

-..and provided easy pickings!

-Many of the drovers' roads

-led to the market town of Ludlow.

-It was a bustling market town

-during the Middle Ages...

-..and not only because of livestock.

-Ludlow was a major centre

-for the wool and cloth industry.

-The 200 or so medieval buildings

-that still stand...

-..are testament to the town's

-prosperity at the time.

-They include the Feathers Hotel.

-A Welshman built it -

-a successful one at that.

-Rhys Jones or Rees Jones

-as he was known in Ludlow.

-He wasn't a merchant, but a lawyer.

-Look at the lock.

-It was made for him.

-We clearly see his initials...

-..as well as his wife's.

-This lock shows he was a man

-of considerable wealth and status.

-Later, I'll show you

-where Rhys Jones worked.

-I'll travel to the Conwy Valley

-to learn about an outlaw and poet.

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-I'm on the trail

-of medieval outlaws.

-My travels through the lawless

-hotspots of medieval Wales...

-..has brought me to Ludlow.

-The prosperous market town

-traded with Wales.

-The relationship between Wales

-and Ludlow involved more than trade.

-To all purposes, Ludlow was

-the capital of medieval Wales...

-..responsible for its administration

-and for upholding law and order.

-In 1473, Edward IV set up the

-Council of Wales and the Marches.

-Its powers were significantly

-increased in 1542 by Henry VIII.

-The Council met in Ludlow Castle...

-..under the uncompromising

-leadership of Bishop Rowland Lee.

-How are you?

-Historian Arfon Rees has written

-a book about Welsh outlaws.

-It's regarded

-as a bible on the subject.

-Ludlow Castle

-is a tourist attraction nowadays.

-But you wouldn't have found

-tourists here 500 years ago!

-No.

-Early civil servants more likely!

-Early civil servants more likely!

-

-Officials, judges, lawyers met here.

-It was an important place.

-This is where Wales

-was rearranged...

-..by Henry VIII's prime minister,

-Thomas Cromwell.

-We associate Ludlow

-with Rowland Lee.

-But what happened here was part

-of a more ambitious project...

-..to rearrange

-how Wales was governed.

-It was part of a plan

-to drag Wales...

-..from the Middle Ages

-into the modern age.

-We see the birth of the idea

-of a centralized state...

-..and an uniform law developing.

-Yes.

-It's too easy to romanticize about

-Welsh History in the Middle Ages.

-There's an aspect that's very dark.

-It was a lawless society.

-There was strong objection

-within Wales itself.

-Powerful Ludlow lawyers,

-like our friend Rhys Jones...

-..were often here

-as part of their job...

-..to plead the English cause

-against the unruly Welsh.

-They met in this room.

-What would they discuss?

-The key issue...

-..was the problem between Wales

-and the English border counties...

-..the looting

-by the Welsh into these counties.

-They rustled cattle, especially

-during the autumn and winter.

-This is when

-the problem intensified.

-The English farmers herded their

-cattle to safety at the day's end.

-The Sheriff

-of the English counties...

-..had the right to summon

-a Posse Comitatus...

-..to apprehend The Marches looters.

-Very interesting.

-Let's go to the tower to see

-where the cattle was heading.

-We can't visit Ludlow Castle...

-..without referring

-to Bishop Rowland Lee.

-He was a very painful thorn

-in the outlaws' side.

-Bishop Rowland Lee

-liked to hang people.

-Lee despised the Welsh

-with a racist hatred.

-But we need to look at the events

-of this period.

-There was a shift

-in the Welsh mindset.

-If we consider what

-Sir John Wynn of Gwydir said...

-..a mere 50 years after

-these changes were enforced...

-.."If our forefathers

-returned to Wales today...

-"..they wouldn't recognize

-the country nor its people."

-That's how much had changed.

-Let's travel back from the

-Elizabethan Age to the 15th century.

-A century where the outlaws

-were at their most lethal.

-A large part of Wales

-was a lawless cesspit.

-We may as well admit it...

-..it's more interesting

-than a period of servile peace.

-The Order of the Knights

-of St John...

-..established Ysbyty Ifan

-during the 12th century...

-..as a sanctuary

-for Bardsey Island pilgrims.

-By the 15th century,

-and for years after that...

-..the village was a safe haven

-for outlaws and thieves on the run.

-They took advantage of the religious

-site to protect them from the law.

-They found safety in this church,

-that has since been renovated.

-This is Conwy River.

-But over there,

-there's another river, Caletwr.

-Apparently, if you were being

-pursued by the authorities...

-..a jump across and you were safe!

-Whilst Guto'r Glyn and

-Lewys Glyn Cothi switched sides...

-..many of the poets praised

-the thieves for their deeds.

-The poet Llywelyn ab y Moel and

-his father fought alongside Glyndwr.

-After the war, he chose an outlaw's

-life rather than receive a pardon.

-He referred to stealing

-from the English in many poems.

-"We'll go to a place

-where we won't be traced

-"To the south

-"And there

-we'll revel in our spoils."

-Llywelyn was in Welshpool

-or Oswestry when he wrote that poem.

-Another outlaw poet lived nearby.

-Dafydd ap Siencyn

-was raised in Aberconwy.

-His stronghold was Carreg y Gwalch,

-a steep hill south of Llanrwst.

-A familiar face is an expert

-on the man, Lyn Ebenezer.

-Carreg y Gwalch

-was a formidable stronghold.

-If it wasn't associated

-with Dafydd ap Siencyn...

-..someone would

-have weaved a legend around it.

-Tell me about him, Lyn.

-He had about 160 close followers...

-..and around 800 supporters.

-His father

-was a descendant of Prince Marchydd.

-His mother

-was Rhys Gethin's daughter.

-Rhys was Owain Glyndwr's

-right hand man.

-Of course.

-Of course.

-

-He had pedigree!

-Did the civil war

-turn him into an outlaw?

-They had been soldiers,

-and now they had nothing to do.

-Then the War of the Roses broke out

-and they had to choose sides.

-Most around this area supported

-York, but not Dafydd ap Siencyn.

-It showed his rebellious side,

-wanting to be different.

-People say Robin Hood

-was based on him.

-They lived

-in the forest and wore green.

-There's an uncanny similarity

-between the two stories.

-Less than a mile from Carreg

-y Gwalch, in St Grwst Church...

-..there's a relic that's associated

-with Dafydd's history.

-There's something

-quite special in here.

-In the safe?

-Yes.

-What have we got here?

-It's priceless.

-It's priceless.

-

-Spur.

-Dafydd ap Siencyn's spur.

-There were two originally.

-They were found in the rafters

-of Capel Gwydir next door.

-This has spurred on many a horse.

-This has spurred on many a horse.

-

-And several stories.

-I wouldn't be surprised!

-I wouldn't be surprised!

-

-We'd better put it back.

-Safe in the safe!

-Here we are.

-It's the Wynns of Gwydir's

-private chapel.

-This is Llywelyn the Great's coffin.

-He was one of Dafydd ap Siencyn's

-forefathers.

-Hywel Coetmor was his uncle,

-Rhys Gethin's brother.

-It's his descendants' chapel.

-It's his descendants' chapel.

-

-The spurs were found in the rafters.

-High, wasn't it?!

-High, wasn't it?!

-

-Very high!

-What happened to Dafydd?

-He was pardoned in 1468.

-He became

-the Constable of Conwy Castle.

-He climbed quite high up the ladder!

-But he didn't inherit the office.

-He killed his predecessor!

-A drastic but simple solution!

-Little is known about his death.

-The story insists

-that he died after a fight.

-On his deathbed,

-he composed two verses.

-According to historians...

-..he only ever composed

-three verses!

-Two on his deathbed!

-A hero to the end.

-Good luck to him.

-It's hard to imagine Wales

-as a cesspit of lawlessness.

-But we have to remember...

-..this is a period when

-the idea of a centralized state...

-..and an uniform legal system

-was only just beginning.

-We must also remember

-this is after the Glyndwr Revolt.

-Many of his followers

-had no choice but to be outlaws.

-The Welsh suffered

-a series of laws...

-..apartheid laws to all purposes...

-..which were forced on them

-by a series of kings.

-After all, what would you do

-if your family was torn apart...

-..by racist and oppressive laws?

-I know what I would do.

-S4C Subtitles by Gwead