Was the true author, and Ranulf Poer, sheriff of Hereford, the
instrument, of the enormous cruelties and slaughter perpetrated
Here
in our days, which I thought better to omit, lest bad men should be
induced to follow the example; for although temporary advantage may
seem to arise from a base cause, yet, by the balance of a righteous
judge, the punishment of wickedness may be deferred, though not
totally avoided, according to the words of the poet, -
"Non habet eventus sordida praeda bonos."
For after seven years of peace and tranquillity, the sons and
grandsons of the deceased, having attained the age of manhood, took
advantage of the absence of the lord of the castle (Abergevenni),
and, burning with revenge, concealed themselves, with no
inconsiderable force during the night, within the woody foss of the
castle. One of them, name Sisillus (Sitsylt) son of Eudaf, on the
preceding day said rather jocularly to the constable, "Here will we
enter this night," pointing out to him a certain angle in the wall
where it seemed the lowest; but since
" - Ridendo dicere verum
Quis vetat?"
and
" - fas est et ab hoste doceri,"
the constable and his household watched all night under arms, till
at length, worn out by fatigue, they all retired to rest on the
appearance of daylight, upon which the enemy attacked the walls with
scaling-ladders, at the very place that had been pointed out. The
constable and his wife were taken prisoners, with many others, a few
persons only escaping, who had sheltered themselves in the principal
tower. With the exception of this stronghold, the enemy violently
seized and burned everything; and thus, by the righteous judgment of
God, the crime was punished in the very place where it had been
committed. A short time after the taking of this fortress, when the
aforesaid sheriff was building a castle at Landinegat, {68} near
Monmouth, with the assistance of the army he had brought from
Hereford, he was attacked at break of day, when
"Tythoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile"
was only beginning to divest herself of the shades of night, by the
young men from Gwent and the adjacent parts, with the descendants of
those who had been slain. Through aware of this premeditated
attack, and prepared and drawn up in battle array, they were
nevertheless repulsed within their intrenchments, and the sheriff,
together with nine of the chief men of Hereford, and many others,
were pierced to death with lances. It is remarkable that, although
Ranulf, besides many other mortal wounds, had the veins and arteries
of his neck and his windpipe separated with a sword, he made signs
for a priest, and from the merit of his past life, and the honour
and veneration he had shewn to those chosen into the sacred order of
Christ, he was confessed, and received extreme unction before he
died. And, indeed, many events concur to prove that, as those who
respect the priesthood, in their latter days enjoy the satisfaction
of friendly intercourse, so do their revilers and accusers often die
without that consolation. William de Braose, who was not the author
of the crime we have preferred passing over in silence, but the
executioner, or, rather, not the preventer of its execution, while
the murderous bands were fulfilling the orders they had received,
was precipitated into a deep foss, and being taken by the enemy, was
drawn forth, and only by a sudden effort of his own troops, and by
divine mercy, escaped uninjured. Hence it is evident that he who
offends in a less degree, and unwillingly permits a thing to be
done, is more mildly punished than he who adds counsel and authority
to his act. Thus, in the sufferings of Christ, Judas was punished
with hanging, the Jews with destruction and banishment, and Pilate
with exile. But the end of the king, who assented to and ordered
this treachery, sufficiently manifested in what manner, on account
of this and many other enormities he had committed (as in the book
"De Instructione Principis," by God's guidance, we shall set forth),
he began with accumulated ignominy, sorrow, and confusion, to suffer
punishment in this world. {69}
It seems worthy of remark, that the people of what is called Venta
{70} are more accustomed to war, more famous for valour, and more
expert in archery, than those of any other part of Wales. The
following examples prove the truth of this assertion. In the last
capture of the aforesaid castle, which happened in our days, two
soldiers passing over a bridge to take refuge in a tower built on a
mound of earth, the Welsh, taking them in the rear, penetrated with
their arrows the oaken portal of the tower, which was four fingers
thick; in memory of which circumstance, the arrows were preserved in
the gate. William de Braose also testifies that one of his
soldiers, in a conflict with the Welsh, was wounded by an arrow,
which passed through his thigh and the armour with which it was
cased on both sides, and, through that part of the saddle which is
called the alva, mortally wounded the horse. Another soldier had
his hip, equally sheathed in armour, penetrated by an arrow quite to
the saddle, and on turning his horse round, received a similar wound
on the opposite hip, which fixed him on both sides of his seat.
What more could be expected from a balista? Yet the bows used by
this people are not made of horn, ivory, or yew, but of wild elm;
unpolished, rude, and uncouth, but stout; not calculated to shoot an
arrow to a great distance, but to inflict very severe wounds in
close fight.
But let us again return to our Itinerary.
CHAPTER V
Of the progress by the castle of Usk and the town of Caerleon
At the castle of Usk, a multitude of persons influenced by the
archbishop's sermon, and by the exhortations of the good and worthy
William bishop of Landaf, {71} who faithfully accompanied us through
his diocese, were signed with the cross; Alexander archdeacon of
Bangor {72} acting as interpreter to the Welsh.
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