Jump to content

Battle of Ewloe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mirror Shield (talk | contribs) at 15:15, 30 April 2025 (Removed image of Ewloe castle as (afaik) the Battle of Ewloe had nothing to do with it.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Battle of Ewloe

Edward Frank Gillett: Henry's army trapped in a Welsh defile (c. 1920)
Date1157
Location
Ewloe wood (near Flintshire)
Result Welsh victory[1]
Belligerents
Kingdom of Gwynedd Kingdom of England and Welsh allies
Commanders and leaders
Owain Gwynedd
Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd
Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd		 King Henry II
Strength
Unknown;
3000 (Welsh Tradition)[2]
[3]		 Unknown;
30,000 (Welsh Tradition)[2]
{{|Leader Live|2018}}
(Greatly Exaggerated)
Casualties and losses
Unknown Heavy casualties in the outflanking force

The Battle of Ewloe (also known as the Battle of Coleshill, or Counsylth, or Coleshille, or Cennadlog) took place in July 1157 between the Anglo-Norman forces of King Henry II of England and a army led by the Welsh prince Owain Gwynedd. The battle occurred near Ewloe in modern-day Flintshire, Wales, and although inconclusive in terms of territory, it marked a tactical setback for Henry, whose forces were ambushed and suffered significant losses.[citation needed] The location was marked with a plaque to commemorate 850 years since the battle.[2]

Background

Owain Gwynedd had succeeded his father Gruffudd ap Cynan in 1137 and expanded eastward into the disputed region of Tegeingl (now northeast Wales).[4] Following his coronation in 1154, Henry II sought to reassert royal authority over Wales and reverse Owain’s recent territorial gains.[5] The king assembled a considerable army in Chester, supported by allies including Madog ap Maredudd of Powys, and Owain’s brother Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd (whom Owain had recently stripped of his lands in Ceredigion).[6][7]

According to William Stubbs, Henry's army may have included as much as one third of the knights in England, based on his interpretation of contemporary sources.[8] To bolster the campaign, Henry also deployed a fleet under Henry FitzRoy to secure Anglesey and disrupt Welsh supply lines. [citation needed] The Pipe Rolls indicate that the King's army was supplemented with archers and naval forces, reflecting a significant logistical investment in the campaign.[9]

Owain adopted a forward defensive position near Coleshill in anticipation of Henry’s westward advance. While historians Cathcart King and Davies suggest the site was at Basingwerk,[10][11] Edwards proposes a location further east at Hen Blas.[12] According to the Brut y Tywysogion, Owain appears to have expected a pitched battle and took steps to fortify his position.[13]

Battle

Henry avoided direct confrontation with Owain's entrenched army and instead led a flanking force through the wooded terrain of Hawarden. Anticipating such a manoeuvre, Owain had stationed a defensive force there under his sons Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd and Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd.[14]

In the ensuing ambush, English losses were heavy. Notably, Eustace fitz John was killed, and the royal standard was dropped by the standard-bearer Henry of Essex, leading some to believe the king had fallen.[15][16][17]

Henry only narrowly avoided being killed, having been rescued by Roger, Earl of Hertford.[17]

Accounts vary regarding Henry’s response: Cathcart King argues that he pushed through and outflanked Owain’s main line,[18] whereas Hosler and others suggest he was forced to retreat and regroup.[19] The Brut y Tywysogion suggests Owain feared a double envelopment and withdrew.[20]

Aftermath

Henry continued to Rhuddlan, where he learned that his naval expedition had failed. Rather than securing Anglesey, the fleet diverted to raid the island and was defeated by local defenders; its commander, Henry FitzRoy, was killed.[21][22]

Owain ultimately surrendered Tegeingl to Henry and restored Cadwaladr’s lands in Ceredigion. However, the extent to which Owain submitted to the English king remains debated. Non-Welsh sources describe him paying homage,[23] but the Brut y Tywysogion only records a peace agreement between the two.[24] Owain continued to use royal titles after the battle, which historian Huw Pryce interpreted as a sign that Owain “implicitly rejected [Henry's] royal overlordship”.[25] In 1160, Owain wrote to King Louis VII of France asserting he had inflicted greater losses on Henry's army, suggesting that he viewed himself as the victor.[26]

Notes

  1. ^ Hosler 2007, p. 53.
  2. ^ a b c BBC 2008.
  3. ^ Leader Live 2018.
  4. ^ Lloyd 1912, p. 497.
  5. ^ Davies 2014, p. 129.
  6. ^ Brut y Tywysogion 2012, p. 160.
  7. ^ Lloyd & DWB.
  8. ^ Stubbs 1891, p. 492.
  9. ^ Exchequer 1844, pp. 88–89.
  10. ^ Cathcart King 1964, p. 368.
  11. ^ Davies 2014, p. 130.
  12. ^ Edwards 1967, p. 255.
  13. ^ Brut y Tywysogion 2012, p. 184.
  14. ^ Edwards 1967, p. 259.
  15. ^ Newburgh 1856, Vol. IV, Part II, Book 2, Ch. 5, Par. 3.
  16. ^ Gervase 1879, p. 165.
  17. ^ a b Brakelond 1949, p. 70.
  18. ^ Cathcart King 1964, pp. 372–373.
  19. ^ Hosler 2004, pp. 64–65.
  20. ^ Brut y Tywysogion 2012, p. 187.
  21. ^ Barbier 1908, p. 85.
  22. ^ Davies 2014, p. 131.
  23. ^ Newburgh 1856, Book 2, Chapter 5, Paragraph 4.
  24. ^ Brut y Tywysogion 2012, p. 189.
  25. ^ Pryce 1998, pp. 4–6.
  26. ^ Pryce 2005, pp. 324–329.

References

  • Barbier, Paul (1908). The Age of Owain Gwynedd. London: Longmans.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • "Plaque marks Welsh king's triumph". BBC News. 26 January 2008.
  • "Battle Coleshill 1157 - Flintshire's historic encounter". Leader Live. 2008.
  • Williams, John [Ab Ithel], ed. (2012). Brut y Tywysogion. Cambridge: University Press.
  • Cathcart King, D.J. (1964). "Henry II and the Fight at Coleshill". Welsh History Review. 2: 367–373.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Davies, Sean (2014). War and Society in Medieval Wales, 633–1283: Welsh Military Institutions. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Edwards, John (1967). "Henry II and the Fight at Coleshill: Some Further Reflections". Welsh History Review. 3: 251–263.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Gervase, of Canterbury (1879). Stubbs, William (ed.). Historical Works. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Hosler, John D. (2007). Henry II: A Medieval Soldier at War, 1147–1189. Koninklijke Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15724-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Hosler, John (2004). "Henry II's Military Campaigns in Wales". Journal of Medieval Military History. 2: 62–78.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Exchequer (England) (1844). Hunter, Joseph (ed.). The Great Rolls of the Pipe for the Second, Third, and Fourth Years of the Reign of King Henry the Second. London: Record Commission.
  • Lloyd, John Edward (1912). A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest, Vol. II. London: Longmans, Green and Co.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Lloyd, John Edward. "Cadwaladr (died 1172), prince". Dictionary of Welsh Biography.
  • Newburgh, William of (1856). The Church Historians of England. London: Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Pryce, Huw (2005). The Acts of Welsh Rulers: 1120–1283. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 324–329.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Pryce, Huw (1998). "Owain Gwynedd and Louis VII: The Franco-Welsh Diplomacy of the First Prince of Wales". Welsh History Review. 19 (1): 1–28.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Stubbs, William (1891). The Constitutional History of England, Vol. I. Oxford: Clarendon Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Brakelond, Jocelin de (1949). Butler, H.E. (ed.). The Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond. Oxford: Clarendon Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Ewloe&oldid=1288116844"