Battle of Crogen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Crogen
Interpretation boards close to a possible site of the battlefield
Date August 1165 Location Ceiriog Valley, north-east Wales 52°56′20″N 3°06′14″W / 52.939°N 3.104°W / 52.939; -3.104 Result Unknown
Belligerents
Deheubarth Gwynedd Powys Wenwynwyn Mochnant	England
Commanders and leaders
Owain Gwynedd Rhys ap Gruffydd	Henry II
Strength
Unknown	Unknown, but said to be a large army
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Crogen was a clash said to have happened in Wales during the summer of 1165. It was part of a campaign by Henry II of England against an alliance of Welsh kingdoms. This alliance was led by Owain Gwynedd, the King of Gwynedd.

Some old Welsh writings say that a group of Welsh soldiers attacked the English army in the Ceiriog Valley. They caused some damage. After this, Henry II gave up his campaign. He tried to cross the Berwyn Mountains, but bad weather stopped him.

It's not totally clear if the events in the Ceiriog Valley were a big battle, a series of small fights, or just a tiny skirmish. Some historians even think no fighting happened at all during this campaign. Some people believe the idea of a "battle" is more like a folk story than a real historical event. There are not many records from that time about it. Later stories often rely on a book from 1584, which isn't always accurate.

What Happened Before?

For a long time, English lords, called Marcher Lords, had control over parts of Wales. These lords had a lot of power. They could even have their own courts. The English King wanted to make these lords stronger against the Welsh kings.

In 1163, several Welsh kings had to promise loyalty to King Henry II at Woodstock. They promised to keep the peace.

Why Did Henry II Attack?

King Henry II started planning a big attack on Wales in 1164. He wanted to punish some Welsh kings. Especially Rhys ap Gruffudd of Deheubarth. Rhys had caused trouble along the border. This broke the peace agreement from 1163.

Welsh records from that time said that Henry's Marcher Lords had also broken the agreement. Rhys used this as an excuse to keep fighting the Normans. He attacked castles and took over land. By late 1164, Owain ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd was openly rebelling. He even wrote to Henry's enemy, Louis VII of France, asking for help. Welsh stories said that the Welsh kingdoms, who usually fought each other, worked together. They wanted to "throw off the rule of the French," meaning the English.

In early 1165, Owain Gwynedd's son, Dafydd, attacked an area called Tegeingl. He threatened English castles there. Henry II came back from France in May. During the summer of 1165, he gathered a huge army at Shrewsbury. This army included soldiers from England and hired fighters from other countries. Many old writings say Henry's army was very large.

Henry's exact goals are not fully known. Welsh stories claimed he wanted to conquer all of Wales. But it's more likely he just wanted Rhys and Owain to surrender. He wanted a stronger peace deal than the one in 1163.

Henry's choice of route into Wales is also unclear. He first went into northern Powys, which hadn't been fighting him. Shrewsbury wasn't the easiest place to start a campaign against Rhys or Owain. Maybe he chose it so he could go north or south as needed. His move towards Oswestry and the Ceiriog Valley might mean he decided to attack Owain Gwynedd first.

Who Fought Together?

In response, Owain gathered an army at Corwen. This army had soldiers from several Welsh kingdoms. It included his own forces, led by him and his brother Cadwaladr. There were also men from Deheubarth led by Rhys ap Gruffydd. Troops from Mochnant in northern Powys were there, led by Iorwerth Goch ap Maredudd. And soldiers from southern Powys were led by Owain Cyfeiliog. Owain Cyfeiliog had been friendly with Henry until then.

The lords of Powys might not have been very excited about joining the alliance. Gwynedd had recently taken over some of Powys's land. Henry might have hoped that showing his strength would make the Powys lords come back to his side.

The Fight in the Valley

Records from that time are confusing and don't always agree. Some historians, like Austin Lane Poole, believe no fighting actually happened in 1165.

Red plaque of the Battle of Crogen, unveiled in 2009. Some say the fight was more like "a series of small attacks" than one big battle.

The main old source for events in the Ceiriog Valley is the Brut y Tywysogion. This book was based on other writings from the time. It describes Henry arriving at Oswestry and Owain at Corwen. Then it says:

after staying long in their tents there without the one daring to attack the other, [the king] moved his host into the wood of Dyffryn Ceiriog, and had the wood cut down and felled to the ground. And there a few picked Welshmen, who knew not how to suffer defeat, manfully encountered him in the absence of their leaders. And many of the doughtiest fell on both sides. And then the king, and the advanced forces along with him, encamped on the Berwyn Mountains.

Henry II had ordered workers to cut down trees in the area. This would help his army move through the pass. Or maybe he wanted to force the Welsh into an open battle. The Welsh stories suggest Henry's army was ambushed. This might have happened near a gap in Offa's Dyke. Welsh fighters attacked them and caused some losses.

A more detailed story from 1584 claimed the fight happened while Henry and his main army were "at Oswestry." It said only a small group was "sent to try the passages." We don't know where the author got this information. He might have heard old stories or seen lost writings.

What the Old Stories Say

An old Gwynedd story called O Oes Gwrtheyrn Gwrtheneu said this fight happened at a place called "Coed Ceiriog." Much later, in 1584, an author first said it happened at a narrow gap near "Offa's ditch, at the castle of Crogen." The name "Battle of Crogen" first appeared in 1778. It was in a book by Thomas Pennant. He wrote: "This conflict is sometimes called the battle of Corwen; but with more propriety that of Crogen: for it happened beneath Castell Crogen, the present Chirk Castle". But recent studies show that the old "Castell Crogen" was actually near Llandderfel. Pennant might have mixed up the name with other places called Crogen in the Ceiriog Valley.

A Famous Mistake

Some modern stories repeat a tale about Hubert de St Clare. He was a castle commander. The story says he saved Henry's life by jumping in front of an arrow meant for the king. But this event actually happened at a siege in 1155. The confusion comes from the same 1584 book. It accidentally put a passage from another history book into its story about Crogen.

Even after their losses in the Ceiriog Valley, Henry's army kept going into the Berwyn Mountains. They might have been heading for Corwen. There's a pass there still called the "English Road" (Ffordd y Saeson). The mountains look easy to cross in summer. But a period of strong winds and heavy rain hit them. It became impossible to get supplies. Soldiers started dying from the cold. Henry had to retreat within a few days. He never even fought the main Welsh army.

The Brut y Tywysogion said the army retreated after being "oppressed by a mighty tempest of wind and exceeding great torrents of rain." Gerald of Wales, who supported Henry, told the same story. He added that Henry made a mistake by not listening to his local guides.

What Happened Next?

No one knows for sure how many people died at Crogen. Most modern historians think the losses were quite small. The place where the fights happened is called Adwy'r Beddau, which means "the Gap of the Graves." People said the dead were buried in the ditch of Offa's Dyke. In 1697, someone claimed graves were still visible there.

Henry's Retreat

Henry's attempt to deal with Owain and Rhys failed. He went back to Shrewsbury. There, he ordered that twenty-two hostages be blinded. These hostages had been held since the 1163 treaty. Two of them were Owain's sons.

Henry then moved his army to Chester. Welsh records claimed he was waiting for ships from Dublin. Henry had recently made a deal with the rulers of Dublin. But instead of continuing his fight, he gave up completely. He went back to his court in France. This failure of such a big, well-planned campaign was very embarrassing for Henry. It encouraged his enemies.

Peace Returns

Despite this, Henry was back on good terms with the kings of Powys within a year. Both Owain Cyfeiliog and Iorwerth Goch were in friendly contact with Henry's court within months.

By the next year, both Rhys ap Gruffydd and Owain Gwynedd had started attacking the lands of the English lords again. Henry stopped supporting these lords much by the end of the decade. He chose to use talking instead to deal with Gwynedd and Deheubarth. Rhys later met Henry in person. Within a few years, Rhys was confirmed as the owner of lands the Normans had taken. He even sent soldiers to help Henry in France later. He became like a powerful lord in Henry's empire.