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On the Role of Castles in Edward I’s Conquests of Wales and Scotland
Ryan Renfro
The reign of Edward I was one of the longest and most impressive of all the medieval English monarchs. Although he was often preoccupied with matters in France, Edward is perhaps best known for his attempts to extend English lordship over the neighboring realms of Wales and Scotland. As one of the primary features of medieval warfare, castles play an important role for Edward’s conquest of these kingdoms, yet the castle was used by Edward in a very different manner in each region depending upon the circumstances of the campaign, the available funding and Edward’s strategy and goals. Although the earlier conquest of Wales was characterized by the construction of large, expensive castles surrounded by English colonies, Edward chose a deferent approach for Scotland, instead fortifying the borders and placing small garrisons in castles taken by the crown south of the Firth-Clyde line.
Before leaping into a discussion on Edward’s use of the castle in Wales and Scotland around the turn of the 14th century, it may be of some use to discuss the functions of a castle at this time. It comes as no surprise that the castle had a primarily military function. The stone structures erected by Edward were the descendants of the motte and bailey fortifications of the Norman Conquest, allowing a small number of men to defend against a far greater number, often effectively tying up large forces for and extended period of time. Castles constructed by the English kings in the late 13th century were far more advanced, however, owing much to influence from France and the east as seen in Caernarfon castle.[1] Instead of isolated fortresses, castles were best used in conjunction with one another, often guarding a road or river or used in the border marches to protect a kingdom from hostile neighbors. These castles provided a great obstacle for anyone attempting to establish control of a region, since in order to effectively do so they must capture the castles.
The role of the castle, however, did not cease at military domination. In order to control a region, a lord must set up a system of administration for the purposes of taxation and dispensing justice. Castles proved the ideal setting for such management. They provided lodging for traveling kings and were a base for military expeditions to areas beyond the control of the castle. It is for these reasons that lords constructed castles where there lordship was the least established, the castle becoming a glaring symbol of that lordship to break the spirits of their new vassals. Colonists from the lord’s other lands would often establish settlements in and around the castles, turning the castle into an economic center as well. The best and ultimately successful use of the castle in extending lordship into a region from Edward’s reign is in Wales, where the castle played a vital role in subjugating the Welsh to the English crown.
Although the Normans had long ago extended their authority over the southern Welsh Marches, the remainder of Wales had remained largely independent until its initial defeat by Edward in 1277 and then again in the rebellions of 1282, 1287 and 1294. After marching into Wales and forcing Llewelyn to submit in 1277, Edward began the construction of four castles, including Rhuddlan and Flint, to balance those erected by the lords of the Marches and the native Welsh. These two castles were complete enough by the rising of 1282 to withstand attack, thus providing bases for English excursions against the Welsh.[2] When Llewelyn rebelled in 1282, he broke his oath of featly to his lord, allowing Edward to lay claim to all his territories. Having promised many of the lands in Wales to his vassals at the beginning of the conflict, Edward kept Llewelyn’s lands for himself, including Flintshire and Carmarthen.[3] Formalizing his new acquisitions, Edward issued the Statute of Wales declaring Wales to be united with England.
Although there were already castles in Edward’s new territories, they were of little use to him and only Criccieth remained important due to its location on the sea. For one thing the native castles were not up to the standards of castles elsewhere and Edward’s masons were capable of much more. The Welsh castles were also primarily defensive places of refuge, not at all easily accessible. Although ideal as a last resort for the traditional small force of Welsh warriors, these were not suitable for Edward’s aims in Wales. One of Edward’s principle achievements was his strengthening of the recruitment system, allowing him to put together armies of a scale that the Welsh or the Scots could not hope to match. What Edward required were large, easily supplied castles which could provide bases for large forces. A quick glance at Edward’s castles in Wales reveals a clear pattern of fortresses rounding the northern coast of Wales. These castles were all accessible by sea, thus providing the most effective way to supply large quantities of goods to them to support Edward’s forces. Furthermore, by taking control of the coastline, Edward forced any future opponent to either take them or be confined to the mountainous regions of central Wales, sandwiched between hostile English forces where they would be economically strangled. This ring of strongholds around Gwynedd meant that Snowdonia could be quickly isolated and dealt with unlike during the wars of 1277 or 1282.[4]
Beaumaris is a wonderful illustration of Edwardian castle construction in Wales. Built on a marshy plain, the site had no natural advantages, save its short distance from the sea. This lack of natural defensive features accounts for the castle’s geometrical symmetry and much of its beauty. Surrounded by a moat equipped with a dock and consisting of two concentric curtain walls, each with two gatehouses, Beaumaris proves that with enough funding and labour even the worst sites can be effectively fortified. The castle’s size and openness make it ideal as a military base and it was well suited for the type of warfare of Edwardian England. Another example is Caernarfon, a castle intended to be the administrative capital of Wales. It is Caernarfon which, as mentioned previously, is perhaps modeled on Constantinople. Caernarfon and Beaumaris were striking symbols of English lordship, devised to overwhelm the native population with their size and grandeur. Davies is correct is writing: “Militarily and psychologically [the castles] achieved their purpose: they broke the spirit of the Welsh.”[5] Surely such strongholds could not be taken with the primitive siege tactics of the Welsh at this time, and anything but submission to English lordship was no longer a reasonable option.
It must be noted, however, that the price of Welsh submission was high. It is estimated that Edward spent 23,000 pounds on castles in northern Wales between 1283 and 1291, and an astronomical 80,000 pounds by 1301 on Welsh castles.[6] This grand expenditure is explained by Prestwich, who writes:
“The ever increasing ambitiousness of the castles is best explained not by military or political need, but by the determination of Master James to make each creation more splendid than the last, and to build everlasting symbols of his master’s success.”[7]
The Master James referred to in this passage is James of St. George in Savoy, Edward’s chief architect of Welsh castles and a man knowledgeable of the latest developments in France. Although Edward’s castle building projects in Wales played no small part in his subjecting that country to English rule, scholars such as Prestwich have come to criticize Edward’s policy. As alluded to in the lines above, Edward’s castles were far larger and more expensive than they needed to be. Unfortunately, Prestwich misses an opportunity to buttress his own assessment of Edward’s policy in pointing out that it was normally the smaller, more mobile English forces which defeated the Welsh ones, since the Welsh were not only highly mobile but normally avoided open battle against such overwhelming odds as well. It was the larger forces that required bases the size of Beaumaris, decreasing their military usefulness yet still providing impressive symbols of English dominance. Therefore, when looking at Edward’s castle building policy in Wales, one sees a productive yet overly expensive construction of castles leading to a victory “effected by patience and resolution.”[8]
Perhaps Edward himself came to a similar conclusion, or perhaps he ran out of money. Either way, Edward took a much different approach in his conquest of Scotland. Beginning in 1296, Edward marched north, taking lands in Berwick and Dunbar for himself. An important Scottish city and stronghold, Berwick was turned into the northern equivalent of a bastides, one of the border fortresses constructed in Gascony. Although fortifications at Berwick fell short of operations in Wales (the town was initially going to be surrounded with merely a earth and timber wall before limited stone curtain wall was added)[9], the English occupation of Scotland consisted mainly of a reasonable border defense from Berwick to Roxburgh and down to Carlisle, with isolated garrisons in castles south of the Fourth-Clyde line.
The main difference between Wales and Scotland is that in Scotland Edward did not begin any major castles. Although three new ones where planned at Inverkeithing, Tullibody and Polmaise, Scotland already possessed its share of usable castles in strategic locations and there was little justification for repeating such a building program there.[10] The English had taken Bothwell and Linlithgow in 1301, and by 1304 had Edinburgh and Stirling, the most strategically located of all Scottish castles, in their fold. The English found preexisting Scottish castles so useful that when Robert the Bruce fought them several years later, he razed all the castles he took back from them to the ground in the fear that the English might once again fortify them. Edwardian policy in Scotland was not to construct gigantic structures ex nihilo, but to make due with and garrison as much of the existing superstructure as possible.
Another difference between Wales and Scotland that would impact the use of castles was the distribution of conquered lands. Many of the seized lands in Wales were maintained by the king, who would naturally wish to secure them by constructing his own castles. He brought in foreign officials, many Savoyards such as Otto de Grandson at Caernarfon, appointing them constables but refusing to give them direct control over the estates, which were financially handled by the exchequers.[11] The case was much different in Scotland, where Edward was forced to promise his nobles lands in Scotland, often not yet conquered, in return for their service. Not only was this practice problematic when Scottish nobles came to Edward’s side, but it also meant that the construction of castles in many parts of Scotland would be the responsibility of the nobles.
Edward’s policy in Scotland also differed from that in Wales in that in Wales the new castles provided centers for colonies of English settlers, whereas very few English ever moved to Scotland save to Roxburgh.[12] The settlers in Wales created isolated English-speaking communities huddled in and around the castles where markets could be built and the economy of Wales could be dominated by the English, since the majority of castles lay not only within the quality agricultural lands around the coast but also dominated that coastline and thus controlled the shipments of goods. Edward’s position in Scotland was not as strong as it was in Wales to attract such mass settlement, and there is no evidence of a royal policy to bring in settlers as in Wales. Even the number of men garrisoning castle decrease sharply by 1304, at which time only 34 men-at-arms and 131 foot soldiers inhabited Berick, Roxburgh, Jedburgh and Edinburgh.[13]
Edward’s differences in policy concerning castles in Wales and Scotland were caused not only by the availability of castles and their usefulness, but the amount of English resources as well. Not only would the construction of a string of castles in Scotland similar to those in Wales have been extremely expensive, it would be of questionable usefulness as well considering the Scots willingness to fight in open battle and their surprising ability to defeat Edward’s large forces.
Bibliography
Cleator, P.E. Castles and Kings. London: Robert Hale Limited, 1963.
Davies, R.R. The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1987.
Prestwich, Michael. “Colonial Scotland: The English in Scotland under Edward I.”
Scotland and England 1286-1815. Ed. Roger A. Mason. Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers LTD, 1987, pp. 6-17.
Prestwich, Michael. Edward I. London: Methuen London Ltd., 1988.
Watson, Fiona. Under the Hammer:
Edward I and Scotland 1286-1307.
Guildford:Tuckwell Press, 1998
[1] The walls of Caernarfon Castle are multi-coloured, and it is suggested that they are based on the imperial walls of Constantinople. R.R. Davis. The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063- 1415. p. 360.
[2] Ibid, p. 358.
[3] Prestwich, Michael. Edward I. pp. 204-5.
[4] Ibid, p. 230.
[5] Davies, p. 360.
[6] Ibid, p. 359.
[7] Prestwich, Edward I. p. 231.
[8]Quote by J.E. Morris. Ibid, p. 227.
[9] Prestwich, “Colonial Scotland: The English in Scotland under Edward I.” Scotland and England 1286-1815. Ed. Roger A. Mason, p. 13.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Prestwich, Edward I. p. 215.
[12] Prestwich, “Colonial Scotland: The English in Scotland under Edward I.”, p. 13.
[13] Ibid, p. 12.