When we finally arrived, Pembroke was well worth the drive.
It's not cool to love the Normans too much in this part of the world, but my favourite Norman - William Marshall - was Earl of Pembroke, and built much of the castle that still stands on a massive promontory overlooking the town. His father-in-law was Earl before him - an infamous fellow named Richard de Clare, better known as Richard Strongbow - the fella who claimed Ireland on behalf of the English, lies buried in Dublin and gave his name to an international brand of cider.
Loads has been written about William Marshall, who served King Stephen, Henry II, Richard the Lionheart and King John in succession and after more than 50 years in the saddle, was never unseated in a joust. He's often thought of as one of the first men to embody the ideals of courtly behaviour, and his marriage to Isabel de Clare, daughter of Strongbow and a Princess of Leinster (whose father invited Strongbow to invade), is thought to have been a happy one, even though they were cursed and their bloodline had all but died out within a generation. You can read more about them here, here and here, so I won't bore you with further details.
As for the castle... wow.
It's not cool to love the Normans too much in this part of the world, but my favourite Norman - William Marshall - was Earl of Pembroke, and built much of the castle that still stands on a massive promontory overlooking the town. His father-in-law was Earl before him - an infamous fellow named Richard de Clare, better known as Richard Strongbow - the fella who claimed Ireland on behalf of the English, lies buried in Dublin and gave his name to an international brand of cider.
Loads has been written about William Marshall, who served King Stephen, Henry II, Richard the Lionheart and King John in succession and after more than 50 years in the saddle, was never unseated in a joust. He's often thought of as one of the first men to embody the ideals of courtly behaviour, and his marriage to Isabel de Clare, daughter of Strongbow and a Princess of Leinster (whose father invited Strongbow to invade), is thought to have been a happy one, even though they were cursed and their bloodline had all but died out within a generation. You can read more about them here, here and here, so I won't bore you with further details.
As for the castle... wow.
Two things strike me about the castles of Wales I've seen. First, Wales was weeks of travel away from the Norman strongholds in places such as London, so they tended to be fortresses in their own right - the two we saw this weekend (more about Caerphilly later!) both had massive moats - made from flooded rivers and dozens of metres wide - even bigger than in the movies! Second, their very remoteness (and the tendency for English lords to hold several titles and therefore have multiple residences) meant that many of the Welsh castle/fortresses weren't much used after the 13th century - so apart from maybe being blown up by Cromwell and put back together again in the 1800s (as this one was), they haven't changed much. Anyway, William Marshal built the most fantastic fat round tower, four tall storeys high, right next to the great hall and living quarters completed a generation before by Richard Strongbow. Much of it still stands - rising above the massive cavern that once served as a water entrance and before that was home to neolithic people for some 12,000 years.
We thundered back to the present with pints at 'The Cromwell' before winding our way back to dingy Cardiff, certain that we would have to see more of the 'real' Wales on Sunday.
We thundered back to the present with pints at 'The Cromwell' before winding our way back to dingy Cardiff, certain that we would have to see more of the 'real' Wales on Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment