NThe ormans

Jack-inessex | 18:15 Tue 15th Nov 2005 | History

6 Answers

How did the Normans gain control over the Welsh?

burial statues

peru

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Chessman

This is the short version, if you want more detail, come back, but i'm sure someone else will provide it. Willian the Conquerer set up citadels on the Welsh border, mainly the north, and made gradual inroads into the country.

jno

Here is a short history of Wales under the Normans. The Welsh weren't really finally subdued until much later, under Edward I.

Octavius

The Francophone Normans conquered Wales by a process of raids and colonisation over two centuries. It was their English-speaking followers who brought their language to everyday Welsh life.

The Battle of Hastings in 1066 was the decisive event in the conquest of Saxon England. Within a year, the Normans were building a castle at Chepstow and had begun their piecemeal conquest of Wales, a process which took well over 200 years.

The conquest started with a series of devastating raids which by the end of the 11th century had affected almost every part of the country. Native rulers were either killed or sought refuge in Ireland. In December 1282, the last native Prince of Wales, Llewellyn the Last, died at the hands of Edward I's forces.

The Welsh had not experienced anything like it since the Roman invasion. This time the invaders brought with them two languages, French and English. The Norman leaders spoke French - the Welsh chroniclers of the period write not of fighting the English but of fighting the French. French words absorbed by Welsh at the time are evidence of the new powers - barwn (baron) and gwarant (warrant).