Criccieth Castle - The Castle of My DIRECT ANCESTOR Hywyl ap Gryfydd 'Bloodaxe'

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• published: 07 Jun 2012
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FULL LINK http://www.harlechknights.com/resources.php?resID=11 More about Hywyl Bloodaxe http://www.historytoday.com/d-huw-owen/welsh-and-english-princes-wales Much reference is made during the 13th century to a Hywel at Bron-y-Foel, and no doubt some of the stories have become rather Sir Hywel Y Fmixed up and confused in time, but the most famous of them all was Sir Hywel y Fwyall. Not much is really known about him except that he was an excellent and brave warrior and his exploits are often mentioned by the bards of the 14th century. The most famous of these bards was Iolo Goch, who also sang the praises Owain Glyndwyr and other noblemen of the time. Iolo wrote his poem at about 1380 when Sir Hywel lived at Criccieth Castle. The poem was written in a special strict metre and bore the lengthy title: " A cywydd to Sir Hywel y Fwyall when he was made a knight in France by Prince Edward, the son of Edward III, when the King of France was captured. It was a popular belief among the Welsh that the King was indeed captured by Sir Hywel, resulting in a gift of a joint of meat by the King for himself and another for his famous axe, plus the revenues from the Caerleon mils and Criccieth Caslte and it's associates." Iolo described him fighting in France "like a wild boar". What made him an outstanding warrior on the field of battle or in a tournament was his ability to master the weapons of war. During the tme of Hywel Dda, the Welsh warriors had three main weapons - the sword, the lance or spear, and the bow (with twelve arrows in a quiver). Both the axe and the dagger are also mentioned. It was quite likely that the lance was the most important weapon in the first part of the middle ages in Wales, but Sir Hywel ap Gryffydd made a name for himself with the axe. Toward the middle of the 14th century an war began between England and France which lasted for a hundred years. Regiments of Welsh soldiers were sent regularly to the continent to help the English armies. One of the most famous battles was the one at Crecy in 1346. 5,000 welsh soldiers joined Edward III at this battle when his son Edward, the Prince of Wales,gained supremacy over the French. The next major battle was at Poitiers in 1356, and it was at this battle that Sir Hywel ap Gryffydd, made a name for himself. One of the heroes of this battle was Edward the Black Prince, and Hywel ap Gryffydd fought in his army. Some have cast doubt on the traditional story that Hywel captured the French King at this battle. The story states that Hywel severed the head of the King's horse with one mighty blow of his axe and that he took the King prisoner. He was certainly skilful enough in handling an axe as a weapon and it was for his bravery in this particular he gained a knighthood.