Rufus
06-30-2004, 22:03
The following is a translation of a recently discovered medieval Welsh manuscript. It was found in a previously unknown underground stone chamber of Castell Dinas Bran.
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May our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bless these chronicles, written to glorify Him and to record the achievements of His servant, the Prince of Cymru, who through God’s grace fought to unite the Britons and reclaim their rightful sovereignty over this ancient island kingdom.
I, Brother Mattheus ap Iago, of the Abbey of Llangurig, have started this journal on New Years Day, the year of our Lord 794, on my own accord. Having accompanied my Prince, Caradoc ap Philip, on his travels this past year, I realized I was bearing witness to great events of far-reaching consequence. I knew I would do a disservice to future generations, to my Prince, and to our God who guides him if I failed to record this new chapter in the story of our people.
It has been my pleasure to serve Prince Caradoc as teacher, adviser and friend for these twenty years past. His father, Prince Philip ap Caradoc, placed him in the care of the monks of Llangurig when he was a boy. His father cared deeply about his son’s education. And young Caradoc did well enough in his studies that my brother monks and I looked forward to his reign without too much trepidation. (I must say it was also clear, however, that the contemplative life was not for him, so thanks be to God that government is Caradoc’s calling and not the cloth)
I might anticipate there are those who might question the veracity of these writings, given my long relationship with our Prince. I would say this: I did approach Prince Caradoc to request his permission to start this journal. And I admit, I did offer him the opportunity to approve each entry. My friendship with him is too valuable to sacrifice, even for such an endeavour as this. The Prince said, “Mattheaus, do you remember when I was your student, and you taught me of King Arthur?”
“Of course,” I replied.
“We read the old poems and all the ballads the bards sing at court, and I found them all captivating. Arthur was my hero. He still is.” The Prince smiled wistfully and continued, “But when I was a little older, and you taught me the history of our country, you said there is precious little we know for certain of Arthur’s life. You said we know every detail about the lives of the Caesars because they had men to record their stories, but little more than legend and tradition for our own Arthur.”
The Prince placed his hands on my shoulders and looked sternly into my eyes. “I am going to accomplish great things, Mattheaus. I am going to unite our people and take back our lands. And I don’t want my children’s children to wonder what really happened. Write everything down, Mattheaus. Everything. And I don’t want to see a word of it, because I want no one to doubt that you told the truth.”
Prince Caradoc said he had but one request, that I write this in Cymry and not in Latin, so that the story of the Britons’ resurgence is in the Britons’ native tongue.
My story of the origin of this journal gives you, dear reader, an introduction to the personality of Prince Caradoc. He is ambitious, bold and decisive, regrets little and apologizes for nothing. He is aware of what he sees as his place in history. In appearance he resembles his personality. He is taller than most, quite strong from years on the battlefield, and has a full head of brown hair and moustache that has not yet started to gray. He is 30 years old and has just recently become Prince. He is married to Gwendolyn of Clwyd, and he has three children: Conan, age 15, the heir; Mary, age 14; and Caradoc age 3. I have taught the Prince’s children as I taught him, and they are quite astute. Conan has shown tendencies toward hubris, however, and I fear he may be easily manipulated by those who flatter him, unless these traits are corrected.
The Prince is not impious; I believe he fears God but I do wish he would pray more often for God’s guidance. Although the Saxons took our lands, we helped save their souls back when they still worshipped their pagan idols. It would be a terrible mistake for our people – long a beacon of light for the Church in dark times – to forsake God now.
Forgive me, dear reader, for digressing but I cannot disguise my apprehension at what lies ahead. You will understand after reading further about recent events. But first you must understand how things came to be the way they are.
Our people have inhabited this island since time immemorial. Our pagan forefathers fought fiercely against the Roman invaders in the decades following our Savior’s birth, but eventually settled in under Roman rule. Britons adopted Roman ways to varying degrees, far more so in the east and south than in present-day Cymru, but thanks be to God that our Lord’s Church knew no boundaries in Britain. After four centuries of governance here, the Romans withdrew their legions as their empire collapsed, and the Britons had to defend their homes against the pagan Angles and Saxons from Germannia and our barbarian cousins, the Pictish and Irish raiders.
Over many, many years, the Angles and Saxons established kingdoms in the Lloegyr, our lost lands, and our people were pushed into the west and southwest. We started to call ourselves Cymry, and our country Cymru. The Cymry fought continuously amongst themselves and with the Angles and Saxons.
Prince Caradoc’s father, Prince Philip ap Caradoc, made the unification of our people possible. He inherited his father’s throne as the Prince of Pouis 34 years ago. At this time Pouis was one of six major Cymry kingdoms, the others being Gwynedd, Clywd, Guent, Defet, and Cerniu (isolated on the southwest peninsula). The Prince of Cerniu, Iorwerth ap Maredudd, was very aged, nearly 80 years old, and both his sons had gone before him in death. He had no male heirs, only granddaughters. Unlike the Saxons the Britons have long respected the right of a woman to inherit property and title. However, the Prince of Cerniu was concerned that his granddaughter would offer a tempting target for the Saxon Earl of Defnas to the east. Cerniu was isolated and needed a strong ally. He sent for the young Prince of Pouis, who was greeted in Cerniu’s palace courtyard by a servant girl. Expecting the Prince to take offense at a greeting from a servant, the girl was shocked to find Philip the picture of grace and courtesy. But the bigger shock was for Philip, when the girl revealed herself to be Gwenllian verch Madog, Iorwerth’s granddaughter. The Princess was testing Philip’s character and he passed the test with ease. Iorwerth had died a few nights before, but Pouis and Cerniu were united in a lavish wedding ceremony. After saying their vows, Gwenllian removed a small chain from her neck. On it hung a gold ring encrusted with rubies. She removed the ring from the chain and placed it on Philip’s finger, telling him it belonged to King Arthur, from whom, according to legend, her royal house descends. Legend also has it that Arthur acted from beyond the grave to ensure a female heir for Iorwerth, as the union of Cerniu and Pouis was the genesis for the resurgence of Arthur's people. But I will leave it to you, dear reader, to judge the validity of that story
Caradoc was born to Philip and Gwenllian within a year. I was privileged to witness the birth of the young prince in Llangurig. But Princess Gwenllian died in childbirth when another boy, Iorwerth, was born a few years later. Although Philip's heart shattered with the death of his bride, he was determined to forge a secure future for his sons. He planned to will Pouis to Caradoc and Cerniu to Iorwerth but rejected advice to have the boys raised entirely in the lands they would eventually inherit. He strove to keep the boys together and have them spend equal time in both provinces, fearing an early separation would doom them to a lifetime of conflict. The boys fought as boys do, but with Iorwerth there always seemed a darker shade to the envy he harboured of his elder brother.
Philip looked to the east and saw ravenous wolves in the Angle and Saxon kingdoms. Philip tried to assemble a unified Cymry force to resist incursions from Mercia and Wessex. The Princes of Clywd and Guent allied with Philip, as they too bordered the Anglo-Saxons and saw the value of a unified front. The Prince of Guent arranged the marriage of his daughter Gwladys to Philip's son Caradoc, with Caradoc to inherit title to one-third of Guent's land as Gwladys' dowry. (The Prince of Clywd had no daughter to offer for Iorwerth.) The Princes of the west coast provinces of Gwynedd and Defet balked at the alliance proposal, claiming they were too busy defending against Irish and Norse raiders. They also suspected Philip harboured greater ambitions.
Having only a few score professional soldiers in his army, Philip personally rode throughout the mountainous countryside of Clywd and Pouis and down to the shores of Guent, urging villagers to take up arms against the Saxon threat. Those villages that refused to send men were told they would not be protected. Most villages had first-hand experience of Saxon treachery, however, and men volunteered in droves. With his recruitment rides throughout Cymru, Philip became as well-known and liked in Clywd and Guent as he was in Pouis.
By 775, Philip and his allies of Clwyd and Guent had assembled an army of more than five-hundred men, but they all required training. The Prince of Clwyd urged training in the Saxon ways of war but Philip said, These men will fight the way their fathers fought. The men were trained not only in swordsmanship, use of a spear and archery, they were also trained to ambush the enemy and take advantage of Cymru's hilly, forested terrain.
On October 12, 778, a minor Saxon lord named Edwig brought five score men into the mountains of Pouis. He had heard about a new copper mine and wished to lay claim to it based on a long-since discredited pact. Philip heard about this impending invasion from a peasant on Edwig's land whose mother was Cymry and who rode through the night to alert him. He assembled his army and awaited Edwig along the main road through the mountains. Philip's army executed a perfect ambush, showering the Saxons with arrows before the Saxons even knew they weren't alone. The Saxons then saw dozens of crazed warriors, woad-painted in the old Celtic way, screaming and emerging from the woods. They turned and fled back to Mercia.
This skirmish ignited a border war with Mercia that lasted a decade. Baffled by the Cymry ability to hide and strike in the mountains, the Mercians made no successful incursions into Cymry lands. But the Cymry force was too small to assault the fortifications of the Mercian lands. In 789, Philip and his allies of Clwyd and Guent agreed to meet with King Offa of Mercia to negotiate a settlement. A firm border was established, marked by a long canal built at Mercian expense. No Cymry suffered Mercian raids for the remainder of Philip's reign.
The Princes of Clywd and Guent recognized Philip's power. The army he had raised for the Mercian war took most of its men from Pouis, and even most of those from Clywd and Guent felt a stronger alleigance to Philip than to their own country's prince. Realizing that peace with Mercia would last only as long as the border Cymry remained united, Philip in 790 asked the Princes of Clywd and Guent to swear fealty to him and recognize him as Prince of all Cymru. They did so, but most Cymry nobles assumed the two princes' loyalties to Philip would only last as long as the peace and prosperity of the realm. Again, Gwynedd and Defet refused to submit to Philip's authority.
At the public ceremony of fealty, after he was anointed by Bishop Rhys of Llangurig, Philip shocked the assembled nobles, and his sons, by announcing he was disregarding the ancient Cymry custom of Gavelkind - distribution of a father's lands among all his sons. Philip said he regarded himself not only as Prince of Cymru but also the eventual High King of Britain, God willing, who would restore the sovereignty of Arthur's people over the whole island realm. Now that the Cymry - the Britons - had a strong army that had stopped Anglo-Saxon incursions, it would be disastrous to divide the realm and waste this opportunity to reclaim Britain's glory. Philip granted the title of Prince of Cerniu to Iorwerth, and had Bishop Rhys anoint him. And he announced that Caradoc would be High King-in-waiting, heir to the throne of the whole realm, rather than Prince of Pouis. Philip designated a nephew, Deheuwarch ap William, as Pouis' new lord. This man, along with Iorwerth and the Princes of Clwyd and Guent, pledged fealty to Philip and to Caradoc as his chosen heir.
Cymry nobles were astonished at Philip's boldness. Some thought the aging ruler had let the cult of Arthur addle his mind. But none felt strong enough to challenge him - save the lords of Gwynedd and Defet on the western coast. They had been counting on Philip's minor empire dissolving after being divided between his two sons, but now they were alarmed at Philip's assertion of authority and disregard for ancient inheritance law. They both attacked Pouis starting in April 791, torching homes, churches and stockades on their way to Llangurig. Philip divided his army in two, taking two hundred men north with him to face the men of Gwynedd, and sending Caradoc south with two hundred to confront the Defet rebels (He had already sent Iorwerth to Cerniu). Philip and Caradoc repelled the rebels' invasion and secured Pouis. But when they pursued the rebels back into Gwynedd and Defet - largely unknown territory for them - they often fell victim to the same mountain ambush tactics they had used to great effect against the Mercians. Moreover, Philip's army had been depleted of veterans during the Mercian war, and many of his men were new and hastily trained.
On December 1, 793, Philip landed a force of 105 men on the Gwynedd coast to launch a surprise sea attack. In the dead of night they crept inland toward some thick woods where they knew a large Gwynedd encampment lay. Philip had been betrayed, though, by one of his lieutenants, who warned the Prince of Gwynedd of the invasion in exchange for a bribe. The Gwynedd camp was ready for Philip's army and far outnumbered them. Philip called for retreat back to the beach where he hoped to reload his men onto the ships and escape, but he found the boats in flames. His men fought the pursuing Gwynedd troops valiantly on the beach, but by noon all of Philip's men were lying dead in the icy waters. Prince Philip was put in chains and brought to the court of Gwynedd.
Behold, the new King Arthur laughed Davydd ap Goronwy, Prince of Gwynedd. Now, let us see where we might find him a round table and a crown ... Arggh Davydd's tone of mocking satisfaction turned to outrage after Philip spat on him.
I swear to you, traitorous scum, that my son will avenge me and you will know naught but pain and humiliation, Philip said. You had your chance to be part of the new glory for Britain, and you spat on it. Today I return the favor.
Davydd's round face turned bright red and he demanded his sword. Although diminutive he was quite strong, and he severed Philip's head with a single, swift stroke. He pulled the ruby ring of Arthur off of Philip's finger and hurled it out the window of the tower.
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To be continued ...
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May our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bless these chronicles, written to glorify Him and to record the achievements of His servant, the Prince of Cymru, who through God’s grace fought to unite the Britons and reclaim their rightful sovereignty over this ancient island kingdom.
I, Brother Mattheus ap Iago, of the Abbey of Llangurig, have started this journal on New Years Day, the year of our Lord 794, on my own accord. Having accompanied my Prince, Caradoc ap Philip, on his travels this past year, I realized I was bearing witness to great events of far-reaching consequence. I knew I would do a disservice to future generations, to my Prince, and to our God who guides him if I failed to record this new chapter in the story of our people.
It has been my pleasure to serve Prince Caradoc as teacher, adviser and friend for these twenty years past. His father, Prince Philip ap Caradoc, placed him in the care of the monks of Llangurig when he was a boy. His father cared deeply about his son’s education. And young Caradoc did well enough in his studies that my brother monks and I looked forward to his reign without too much trepidation. (I must say it was also clear, however, that the contemplative life was not for him, so thanks be to God that government is Caradoc’s calling and not the cloth)
I might anticipate there are those who might question the veracity of these writings, given my long relationship with our Prince. I would say this: I did approach Prince Caradoc to request his permission to start this journal. And I admit, I did offer him the opportunity to approve each entry. My friendship with him is too valuable to sacrifice, even for such an endeavour as this. The Prince said, “Mattheaus, do you remember when I was your student, and you taught me of King Arthur?”
“Of course,” I replied.
“We read the old poems and all the ballads the bards sing at court, and I found them all captivating. Arthur was my hero. He still is.” The Prince smiled wistfully and continued, “But when I was a little older, and you taught me the history of our country, you said there is precious little we know for certain of Arthur’s life. You said we know every detail about the lives of the Caesars because they had men to record their stories, but little more than legend and tradition for our own Arthur.”
The Prince placed his hands on my shoulders and looked sternly into my eyes. “I am going to accomplish great things, Mattheaus. I am going to unite our people and take back our lands. And I don’t want my children’s children to wonder what really happened. Write everything down, Mattheaus. Everything. And I don’t want to see a word of it, because I want no one to doubt that you told the truth.”
Prince Caradoc said he had but one request, that I write this in Cymry and not in Latin, so that the story of the Britons’ resurgence is in the Britons’ native tongue.
My story of the origin of this journal gives you, dear reader, an introduction to the personality of Prince Caradoc. He is ambitious, bold and decisive, regrets little and apologizes for nothing. He is aware of what he sees as his place in history. In appearance he resembles his personality. He is taller than most, quite strong from years on the battlefield, and has a full head of brown hair and moustache that has not yet started to gray. He is 30 years old and has just recently become Prince. He is married to Gwendolyn of Clwyd, and he has three children: Conan, age 15, the heir; Mary, age 14; and Caradoc age 3. I have taught the Prince’s children as I taught him, and they are quite astute. Conan has shown tendencies toward hubris, however, and I fear he may be easily manipulated by those who flatter him, unless these traits are corrected.
The Prince is not impious; I believe he fears God but I do wish he would pray more often for God’s guidance. Although the Saxons took our lands, we helped save their souls back when they still worshipped their pagan idols. It would be a terrible mistake for our people – long a beacon of light for the Church in dark times – to forsake God now.
Forgive me, dear reader, for digressing but I cannot disguise my apprehension at what lies ahead. You will understand after reading further about recent events. But first you must understand how things came to be the way they are.
Our people have inhabited this island since time immemorial. Our pagan forefathers fought fiercely against the Roman invaders in the decades following our Savior’s birth, but eventually settled in under Roman rule. Britons adopted Roman ways to varying degrees, far more so in the east and south than in present-day Cymru, but thanks be to God that our Lord’s Church knew no boundaries in Britain. After four centuries of governance here, the Romans withdrew their legions as their empire collapsed, and the Britons had to defend their homes against the pagan Angles and Saxons from Germannia and our barbarian cousins, the Pictish and Irish raiders.
Over many, many years, the Angles and Saxons established kingdoms in the Lloegyr, our lost lands, and our people were pushed into the west and southwest. We started to call ourselves Cymry, and our country Cymru. The Cymry fought continuously amongst themselves and with the Angles and Saxons.
Prince Caradoc’s father, Prince Philip ap Caradoc, made the unification of our people possible. He inherited his father’s throne as the Prince of Pouis 34 years ago. At this time Pouis was one of six major Cymry kingdoms, the others being Gwynedd, Clywd, Guent, Defet, and Cerniu (isolated on the southwest peninsula). The Prince of Cerniu, Iorwerth ap Maredudd, was very aged, nearly 80 years old, and both his sons had gone before him in death. He had no male heirs, only granddaughters. Unlike the Saxons the Britons have long respected the right of a woman to inherit property and title. However, the Prince of Cerniu was concerned that his granddaughter would offer a tempting target for the Saxon Earl of Defnas to the east. Cerniu was isolated and needed a strong ally. He sent for the young Prince of Pouis, who was greeted in Cerniu’s palace courtyard by a servant girl. Expecting the Prince to take offense at a greeting from a servant, the girl was shocked to find Philip the picture of grace and courtesy. But the bigger shock was for Philip, when the girl revealed herself to be Gwenllian verch Madog, Iorwerth’s granddaughter. The Princess was testing Philip’s character and he passed the test with ease. Iorwerth had died a few nights before, but Pouis and Cerniu were united in a lavish wedding ceremony. After saying their vows, Gwenllian removed a small chain from her neck. On it hung a gold ring encrusted with rubies. She removed the ring from the chain and placed it on Philip’s finger, telling him it belonged to King Arthur, from whom, according to legend, her royal house descends. Legend also has it that Arthur acted from beyond the grave to ensure a female heir for Iorwerth, as the union of Cerniu and Pouis was the genesis for the resurgence of Arthur's people. But I will leave it to you, dear reader, to judge the validity of that story
Caradoc was born to Philip and Gwenllian within a year. I was privileged to witness the birth of the young prince in Llangurig. But Princess Gwenllian died in childbirth when another boy, Iorwerth, was born a few years later. Although Philip's heart shattered with the death of his bride, he was determined to forge a secure future for his sons. He planned to will Pouis to Caradoc and Cerniu to Iorwerth but rejected advice to have the boys raised entirely in the lands they would eventually inherit. He strove to keep the boys together and have them spend equal time in both provinces, fearing an early separation would doom them to a lifetime of conflict. The boys fought as boys do, but with Iorwerth there always seemed a darker shade to the envy he harboured of his elder brother.
Philip looked to the east and saw ravenous wolves in the Angle and Saxon kingdoms. Philip tried to assemble a unified Cymry force to resist incursions from Mercia and Wessex. The Princes of Clywd and Guent allied with Philip, as they too bordered the Anglo-Saxons and saw the value of a unified front. The Prince of Guent arranged the marriage of his daughter Gwladys to Philip's son Caradoc, with Caradoc to inherit title to one-third of Guent's land as Gwladys' dowry. (The Prince of Clywd had no daughter to offer for Iorwerth.) The Princes of the west coast provinces of Gwynedd and Defet balked at the alliance proposal, claiming they were too busy defending against Irish and Norse raiders. They also suspected Philip harboured greater ambitions.
Having only a few score professional soldiers in his army, Philip personally rode throughout the mountainous countryside of Clywd and Pouis and down to the shores of Guent, urging villagers to take up arms against the Saxon threat. Those villages that refused to send men were told they would not be protected. Most villages had first-hand experience of Saxon treachery, however, and men volunteered in droves. With his recruitment rides throughout Cymru, Philip became as well-known and liked in Clywd and Guent as he was in Pouis.
By 775, Philip and his allies of Clwyd and Guent had assembled an army of more than five-hundred men, but they all required training. The Prince of Clwyd urged training in the Saxon ways of war but Philip said, These men will fight the way their fathers fought. The men were trained not only in swordsmanship, use of a spear and archery, they were also trained to ambush the enemy and take advantage of Cymru's hilly, forested terrain.
On October 12, 778, a minor Saxon lord named Edwig brought five score men into the mountains of Pouis. He had heard about a new copper mine and wished to lay claim to it based on a long-since discredited pact. Philip heard about this impending invasion from a peasant on Edwig's land whose mother was Cymry and who rode through the night to alert him. He assembled his army and awaited Edwig along the main road through the mountains. Philip's army executed a perfect ambush, showering the Saxons with arrows before the Saxons even knew they weren't alone. The Saxons then saw dozens of crazed warriors, woad-painted in the old Celtic way, screaming and emerging from the woods. They turned and fled back to Mercia.
This skirmish ignited a border war with Mercia that lasted a decade. Baffled by the Cymry ability to hide and strike in the mountains, the Mercians made no successful incursions into Cymry lands. But the Cymry force was too small to assault the fortifications of the Mercian lands. In 789, Philip and his allies of Clwyd and Guent agreed to meet with King Offa of Mercia to negotiate a settlement. A firm border was established, marked by a long canal built at Mercian expense. No Cymry suffered Mercian raids for the remainder of Philip's reign.
The Princes of Clywd and Guent recognized Philip's power. The army he had raised for the Mercian war took most of its men from Pouis, and even most of those from Clywd and Guent felt a stronger alleigance to Philip than to their own country's prince. Realizing that peace with Mercia would last only as long as the border Cymry remained united, Philip in 790 asked the Princes of Clywd and Guent to swear fealty to him and recognize him as Prince of all Cymru. They did so, but most Cymry nobles assumed the two princes' loyalties to Philip would only last as long as the peace and prosperity of the realm. Again, Gwynedd and Defet refused to submit to Philip's authority.
At the public ceremony of fealty, after he was anointed by Bishop Rhys of Llangurig, Philip shocked the assembled nobles, and his sons, by announcing he was disregarding the ancient Cymry custom of Gavelkind - distribution of a father's lands among all his sons. Philip said he regarded himself not only as Prince of Cymru but also the eventual High King of Britain, God willing, who would restore the sovereignty of Arthur's people over the whole island realm. Now that the Cymry - the Britons - had a strong army that had stopped Anglo-Saxon incursions, it would be disastrous to divide the realm and waste this opportunity to reclaim Britain's glory. Philip granted the title of Prince of Cerniu to Iorwerth, and had Bishop Rhys anoint him. And he announced that Caradoc would be High King-in-waiting, heir to the throne of the whole realm, rather than Prince of Pouis. Philip designated a nephew, Deheuwarch ap William, as Pouis' new lord. This man, along with Iorwerth and the Princes of Clwyd and Guent, pledged fealty to Philip and to Caradoc as his chosen heir.
Cymry nobles were astonished at Philip's boldness. Some thought the aging ruler had let the cult of Arthur addle his mind. But none felt strong enough to challenge him - save the lords of Gwynedd and Defet on the western coast. They had been counting on Philip's minor empire dissolving after being divided between his two sons, but now they were alarmed at Philip's assertion of authority and disregard for ancient inheritance law. They both attacked Pouis starting in April 791, torching homes, churches and stockades on their way to Llangurig. Philip divided his army in two, taking two hundred men north with him to face the men of Gwynedd, and sending Caradoc south with two hundred to confront the Defet rebels (He had already sent Iorwerth to Cerniu). Philip and Caradoc repelled the rebels' invasion and secured Pouis. But when they pursued the rebels back into Gwynedd and Defet - largely unknown territory for them - they often fell victim to the same mountain ambush tactics they had used to great effect against the Mercians. Moreover, Philip's army had been depleted of veterans during the Mercian war, and many of his men were new and hastily trained.
On December 1, 793, Philip landed a force of 105 men on the Gwynedd coast to launch a surprise sea attack. In the dead of night they crept inland toward some thick woods where they knew a large Gwynedd encampment lay. Philip had been betrayed, though, by one of his lieutenants, who warned the Prince of Gwynedd of the invasion in exchange for a bribe. The Gwynedd camp was ready for Philip's army and far outnumbered them. Philip called for retreat back to the beach where he hoped to reload his men onto the ships and escape, but he found the boats in flames. His men fought the pursuing Gwynedd troops valiantly on the beach, but by noon all of Philip's men were lying dead in the icy waters. Prince Philip was put in chains and brought to the court of Gwynedd.
Behold, the new King Arthur laughed Davydd ap Goronwy, Prince of Gwynedd. Now, let us see where we might find him a round table and a crown ... Arggh Davydd's tone of mocking satisfaction turned to outrage after Philip spat on him.
I swear to you, traitorous scum, that my son will avenge me and you will know naught but pain and humiliation, Philip said. You had your chance to be part of the new glory for Britain, and you spat on it. Today I return the favor.
Davydd's round face turned bright red and he demanded his sword. Although diminutive he was quite strong, and he severed Philip's head with a single, swift stroke. He pulled the ruby ring of Arthur off of Philip's finger and hurled it out the window of the tower.
*********************************************************
To be continued ...