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'{{Infobox Military Conflict| image=Interpretation boards on the Battle of Crogen (1165).jpg| caption=Interpretation boards close to a possible site of the battlefield| conflict=Battle of Crogen| partof=| date=August 1165 | place=[[Ceiriog Valley]], north-east [[Wales]]| coordinates={{coord|52.939|-3.104|type:event_region:GB|display=inline,title}}| result=| combatant1=[[File:Coat of arms of Deheubarth.svg|10px]] [[Deheubarth]]<br>[[File:Flag of Gwynedd.png|10px]] [[Kingdom of Gwynedd|Gwynedd]]<br> [[File:Coat of arms of Powys.svg|10px]] [[Powys Wenwynwyn]]<br>[[File:Coat of arms of Powys.svg|10px]] [[Mochnant]]| combatant2=[[File:Royal Arms of England (1198-1340).svg|10px]] [[Angevin Empire]]| commander1=[[Owain Gwynedd]]<br>[[Rhys ap Gruffydd]]| commander2=[[Henry II of England]]| strength1=Unknown| strength2=Unknown, but said to be a large army| casualties1=Unknown| casualties2=Unknown|}} The '''Battle of Crogen''' is the name given to an engagement said to have taken place in the [[Ceiriog Valley]], [[Wales]], during [[Henry II of England]]'s summer 1165 campaign against an alliance of a number of [[Wales|Welsh]] princedoms led by [[Owain Gwynedd]]. Although outnumbered, the [[guerrilla]] tactics of a detachment from the Welsh forces aided them in inflicting an unknown number of casualties on the Anglo-Norman army. Henry subsequently abandoned the campaign after an attempt to cross the [[Berwyn Mountains]] was thwarted by severe weather. It is unclear whether events in the Ceiriog Valley represented a pitched battle, a series of smaller engagements or a minor skirmish: all three have been argued, as well as the possibility no fighting took place during the 1165 campaign. It has been suggested that the idea of a "battle" should be considered as [[folklore]] rather than as a genuine historical event.<ref name=pratt>Pratt, D. "Crogen: Myth and Reality", ''The Clwyd Historian'', 8 (1981), 18</ref> There are few contemporary accounts: 19th century and later accounts of the "battle" rely heavily on [[David Powel]]'s 1584 ''Historie of Cambria'', an unreliable historical source. ==Background== Anglo-Norman involvement in Wales was centred on a number of [[Marcher Lords]]hips set up by [[William the Conqueror|William I]]. These had considerable legal independence: Marcher barons could hold their own courts and had a [[licence to crenellate]]. The Crown sought to strengthen the position of the Marcher Lords against the native Welsh princes, and in July 1163 several of the princes were compelled to do [[Homage (feudal)|homage]] to Henry II at [[Woodstock, Oxfordshire|Woodstock]], giving guarantees for their peaceful conduct. Henry II began planning a punitive campaign into [[Wales]] in 1164, ostensibly to take action against several Welsh princes, particularly [[Rhys ap Gruffudd]] of [[Deheubarth]], who had been responsible for disturbances along the border in breach of the 1163 settlement.<ref name=latimer>Latimer, P. "[http://www.deremilitari.org/RESOURCES/SOURCES/latimer.htm Henry II's Campaign Against the Welsh in 1165]" in ''The Welsh Historical Review'', 14:4 (1989), 523-552</ref> Welsh chronicles of the time argued that Henry's Marcher Lords, particularly [[Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford]], had themselves failed to keep to the terms of the agreement.<ref name=latimer/> Rhys had used Roger's actions as a pretext to continue his conflict with the Normans, attacking the castles of Mabwynion and [[Aberystwyth Castle|Aberrheidol]] and overrunning much of Ceredigion. Owain ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd was in open rebellion by autumn 1164 and sent several letters to Henry's main rival, [[Louis VII of France]], asking to be considered amongst Louis' "faithful and devoted friends".<ref name=duffy135>Duffy, S. (2007) "Henry II and England's Insular Neighbours" in Harper-Bill (ed.) ''Henry II: New Interpretations'', Woodbridge, p.135</ref> The Welsh annals spoke of a concerted effort by the Welsh princedoms, which were more usually in competition with each other, to "throw off the rule of the French [i.e. the Angevins]".<ref name=duffy135/> In early 1165 Owain Gwynedd's son Dafydd ravaged the ''[[cantref]]'' of [[Tegeingl]], threatening the Norman castles at [[Rhuddlan]], [[Basingwerk]] and [[Prestatyn]]. Henry returned from [[Normandy]] in May. During the summer of 1165 he assembled a substantial force at [[Shrewsbury]], including troops from England and mercenaries from the Continent: several contemporary chronicles emphasised the large size of the Angevin army. Henry's overall objectives in the campaign are uncertain; Welsh annals alleged that he planned a complete conquest of the Welsh princedoms, but a more likely interpretation is that he sought the submission of Rhys and Owain and a settlement with more effective guarantees than in 1163.<ref name=latimer/> The reason for Henry's choice of route into Wales is similarly unclear, as it led initially into the minor princedoms of [[Powys Fadog|northern Powys]], which had not been in conflict with him.<ref name=latimer/> Shrewsbury was not the most convenient base for a campaign against either Rhys or Owain: it may have been selected in order to be able to advance northward or southward as the campaign required.<ref name=latimer/><ref name="Nelson">{{cite book | last = Nelson | first = Lynn H. | authorlink = Lynn H. Nelson | title = The Normans in South Wales, 1070–1171 | publisher = Austin & London: University of Texas Press | year = 1966 | page = 128 | url = http://historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=68}}</ref> Henry's subsequent advance towards [[Oswestry]] and the Ceiriog Valley may indicate that a decision had been made to attack Owain Gwynedd first.<ref name=latimer/> In response Owain raised an army at [[Corwen]] in the ''cantref'' of [[Penllyn (cantref)|Penllyn]], comprising forces from several princedoms. Including his own forces, led by himself and his brother [[Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd|Cadwaladr]], the alliance was made up of men from [[Deheubarth]] under the leadership of Rhys ap Gruffydd, troops from [[Mochnant]] in northern Powys under [[Iowerth Goch ap Maredudd]] and from [[Powys Wenwynwyn|southern Powys]] under [[Owain Cyfeiliog]], although the latter had been on good terms with Henry until that point.<ref name=lewis>{{cite book | last = Lewis | first = Samuel | authorlink = Samuel Lewis (publisher) | title = A Topographical Dictionary of Wales | publisher = Samuel Lewis | edition = Fourth | year = 1849 | location = London | pages = 253–262 | url = http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=47815#s5}}</ref><ref name=latimer/> Powysian involvement in the alliance may have been less than enthusiastic, particularly as Gwynedd had recently overrun Powysian lands in Penllyn, and it is possible that Henry hoped a show of Angevin strength would encourage the lords of Powys back under his protection.<ref name=stevenson64>Stevenson (2016) ''Medieval Powys: Kingdom, Principality and Lordships, 1132-1293'', Boydell and Brewer, pp.64-65 </ref> ==Aftermath== Estimates of the losses suffered at Crogen vary; most modern historians consider them to have been relatively light. The place where the skirmishes occurred is called Adwy'r Beddau, "the Gap of the Graves": the dead were said to have been buried in the fosse of Offa's Dyke, at a spot where an account of 1697 claimed that graves were still visible.<ref name=simpson20>Simpson, T. (1837) ''Some Account of Llangollen and its Vicinity, etc'' London: Whittaker and Company, p.20</ref><ref name=iam192>''An Inventory of Ancient Monuments in the County of Denbighshire'' (1914), Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, p.192</ref> His attempt to deal with Owain and Rhys a failure, Henry returned to [[Shrewsbury]] and there ordered the blinding of twenty-two hostages held since the 1163 treaty, two of whom were Owain's sons.<ref name=latimer/> He then moved his army to [[Chester]]: the Welsh annals claimed that this was in order to wait for a fleet from [[Dublin]], with whose rulers Henry had recently entered into a treaty,<ref name=duffy136>Duffy, p.136</ref> but rather than continuing his campaign he abandoned the plan completely and returned to his court at Anjou.<ref name="Lloyd"/> The collapse of such a well-financed and planned campaign was a considerable humiliation to Henry and an encouragement to his political opponents.<ref name=latimer/> Despite this, he was back on good terms with the princes of Powys within a year; both Owain Cyfeiliog and Iorwerth Goch were in friendly contact with Henry's court within months.<ref name=stevenson64/> By the following year, both Rhys ap Gruffydd and Owain Gwynedd had resumed attacks on the lands of the Norman marcher barons; Henry withdrew much of his support from the latter by the end of the decade, turning to diplomacy to deal with Gwynedd and Deheubarth.<ref name=latimer/> Rhys later met personally with Henry, and was within a few years confirmed in his possession of lands previously occupied by the Normans: he even later sent troops to aid Henry in Normandy, in effect becoming "one of the great feudatories of the Angevin empire".<ref name=carr45>Carr, A. D. (1995) ''Medieval Wales'' Macmillan, p.45</ref> It has been suggested that Henry's lack of support for the marcher barons after 1165 ultimately encouraged them to seek lands and opportunities elsewhere, contributing substantially to the subsequent [[Norman invasion of Ireland]].<ref name=duffy137>Duffy, p.137</ref> ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=47813 History of Chirk] {{DEFAULTSORT:Crogen, Battle of}} [[Category:Battles involving England]] [[Category:Battles involving Wales]] [[Category:Conflicts in 1165]] [[Category:Henry II of England]] [[Category:1165 in Wales]] [[Category:England–Wales relations]]'