OF THE JOURNEY BY THE WHITE MONASTERY, OSWALDESTREE, POWYS, AND
SHREWSBURY
THE feast of Easter having been observed with due solemnity, and many
persons, by the exhortations of the archbishop, signed with the cross, we
directed our way from Chester to the White Monastery, {133a} and from
thence towards Oswaldestree; where, on the very borders of Powys, we were
met by Gruffydd son of Madoc, and Elissa, princes of that country, and
many others; some few of whom having been persuaded to take the cross
(for several of the multitude had been previously signed by Reiner,
{133b} the bishop of that place), Gruffydd, prince of the district,
publicly adjured, in the presence of the archbishop, his cousin-german,
Angharad, daughter of prince Owen, whom, according to the vicious custom
of the country, he had long considered as his wife. We slept at
Oswaldestree, or the tree of St. Oswald, and were most sumptuously
entertained after the English manner, by William Fitz-Alan, {133c} a
noble and liberal young man. A short time before, whilst Reiner was
preaching, a robust youth being earnestly exhorted to follow the example
of his companions in taking the cross, answered, “I will not follow your
advice until, with this lance which I bear in my hand, I shall have
avenged the death of my lord,” alluding to Owen, son of Madoc, a
distinguished warrior, who had been maliciously and treacherously slain
by Owen Cyfeilioc, his cousin-german; and while he was thus venting his
anger and revenge, and violently brandishing his lance, it suddenly
snapped asunder, and fell disjointed in several pieces to the ground, the
handle only remaining in his hand. Alarmed and astonished at this omen,
which he considered as a certain signal for his taking the cross, he
voluntarily offered his services.
In this third district of Wales, called Powys, there are most excellent
studs put apart for breeding, and deriving their origin from some fine
Spanish horses, which Robert de Belesme, {134a} earl of Shrewsbury,
brought into this country: on which account the horses sent from hence
are remarkable for their majestic proportion and astonishing fleetness.
Here king Henry II. entered Powys, in our days, upon an expensive, though
fruitless, expedition. {134b} Having dismembered the hostages whom he
had previously received, he was compelled, by a sudden and violent fall
of rain, to retreat with his army. On the preceding day, the chiefs of
the English army had burned some of the Welsh churches, with the villages
and churchyards; upon which the sons of Owen the Great, with their
light-armed troops, stirred up the resentment of their father and the
other princes of the country, declaring that they would never in future
spare any churches of the English. When nearly the whole army was on the
point of assenting to this determination, Owen, a man of distinguished
wisdom and moderation—the tumult being in some degree subsided—thus
spake: “My opinion, indeed, by no means agrees with yours, for we ought
to rejoice at this conduct of our adversary; for, unless supported by
divine assistance, we are far inferior to the English; and they, by their
behaviour, have made God their enemy, who is able most powerfully to
avenge both himself and us. We therefore most devoutly promise God that
we will henceforth pay greater reverence than ever to churches and holy
places.” After which, the English army, on the following night,
experienced (as has before been related) the divine vengeance.
From Oswaldestree, we directed our course towards Shrewsbury
(_Salopesburia_), which is nearly surrounded by the river Severn, where
we remained a few days to rest and refresh ourselves; and where many
people were induced to take the cross, through the elegant sermons of the
archbishop and archdeacon. We also excommunicated Owen de Cevelioc,
because he alone, amongst the Welsh princes, did not come to meet the
archbishop with his people. Owen was a man of more fluent speech than
his contemporary princes, and was conspicuous for the good management of
his territory. Having generally favoured the royal cause, and opposed
the measures of his own chieftains, he had contracted a great familiarity
with king Henry II. Being with the king at table at Shrewsbury, Henry,
as a mark of peculiar honour and regard, sent him one of his own loaves;
he immediately brake it into small pieces, like alms-bread, and having,
like an almoner, placed them at a distance from him, he took them up one
by one and ate them. The king requiring an explanation of this
proceeding, Owen, with a smile, replied, “I thus follow the example of my
lord;” keenly alluding to the avaricious disposition of the king, who was
accustomed to retain for a long time in his own hands the vacant
ecclesiastical benefices.
It is to be remarked that three princes, {136} distinguished for their
justice, wisdom, and princely moderation, ruled, in our time, over the
three provinces of Wales: Owen, son of Gruffydd, in Venedotia, or North
Wales; Meredyth, his grandson, son of Gruffydd, who died early in life,
in South Wales; and Owen de Cevelioc, in Powys. But two other princes
were highly celebrated for their generosity; Cadwalader, son of Gruffydd,
in North Wales, and Gruffydd of Maelor, son of Madoc, in Powys; and Rhys,
son of Gruffydd, in South Wales, deserved commendation for his
enterprising and independent spirit. In North Wales, David, son of Owen,
and on the borders of Morgannoc, in South Wales, Howel, son of Iorwerth
of Caerleon, maintained their good faith and credit, by observing a
strict neutrality between the Welsh and English.