History - Roger de Soterley of Soterley, Knight

The Welsh War

The Welsh War referred to in the historical account was most likely the uprising of 1294-1295.  An earlier and more famous Welsh War ended in 1277 with the signing of Treaty of Aberconwy.  Later uprisings were easily put down and the Welsh did not mount a major challenge to the English until the time of Edward III.  Sir Roger was likely too young or too old to have been called upon to render service in these battles.

In 1294, King Edward I needed an army to fight in France.  He called upon his subjects, including the Welsh and the Scots.  The Welsh Princes and the Scotch Lords were not particularly interested in fighting in France and took the opportunity to revolt.  It was for this reason that Sir Roger and his force were sent towards Wales. 

If Sir Roger heeded the call immediately, he would have left for Wales in October of 1294.  The journey itself would have been no small undertaking at the time -- both in terms of the time of the year and the state of transportation in the late 13th century.  He may have made the trip over land, or quite possibly by sea.  Regardless of the manner of travel, it was more likely for a knight and his soldiers to fall ill or die from sickness during the journey as it was to be wounded or killed in battle. 

If they did indeed make it to Wales, they could have been involved in any number of military actions, or none at all.  It is possible that they joined in putting down the rebellion along the border with England or in laying siege to one of the Welsh castles where the fighting was fiercest in the North and South.

It is also possible that Sir Roger was directly supporting his King, in which case he would have spent Christmas of 1294 at Conway castle.  Edward's attempts at defeating the Welsh were hampered by the weather and by his losses of supplies to the Welsh.  Edward and his men endured the siege of Conway castle by the rebels until the weather improved and supplies arrived by sea in March/April of 1295.  At this time, Edward was able to march on Isle of Anglesey and occupy it.  By May, Edward was marching on the South of Wales.  By July he had overcome the rebellion and left Wales.

Perhaps Sir Roger and his men met Prince Madog ap Llywelyn, the last Welsh Prince, and his men on the field of battle.  In late January, William Beauchamp, the Earl of Warwick, who was leading squadrons of knights, archers, and crossbowmen, found the Welsh established in a strong position in a plain between two woods.  The Welsh had fortified their position by placing their lances in the ground to thwart a charge.  Warwick used his archers and crossbowmen to rain down arrows upon the Welsh, inflicted such large losses that it was safe for the knights to charge.  This battle, the battle of Mae's Madog (Madog's Field)  saw the Welsh take the largest losses in a single day of the entire insurrection.  While their sound defeat was important for this effort, students of military action place a high importance on this battle because of the development of the infantry tactics where the English began to learn their famous battle array that would overwhelm the Scots and French on later engagements.

By July, Madog was imprisoned in the Tower of London and the rebellion was ended.  The victory of the English over the Welsh in this war placed Wales solidly under English domination.  It was in 1301 that Edward named his son, Lord Edward, Prince of Wales.  This was the beginning of the tradition of naming an heir to the throne as Prince of Wales. Sir Roger and his men were able to return home and resume his duties as a knight of the manor.