Abergavenny Castle Massacre

In the savage and barbarous history of the Welsh nation, one act of treachery stands out as a monument to mans' inhumanity to man. Little can be found in the history books to attest to the gruesome events which took place at Abergavenny Castle during the Winter of 1176. This article attempts to put that right and to lay bare the facts surrounding that Christmas time atrocity and its subsequent bloody aftermath.

Events unfolded against the background of Norman rule. Although most of Wales had been subjugated, one of the last remaining Welsh Kings refused to acknowledge Norman authority in his district. Sitsyllt ap Dyfnwal was descended from a long line of Princes or Petty Kings. He strongly opposed the Norman invasion and led numerous skirmishes against them. One of his more spectacular successes came towards the end of 1173. Assisted by another nobleman Ieuan ap Sitsyllt, he captured the castle at Abergavenny making the garrison prisoners and slaying the Lord Henry Fitz-Milo. This was to lead to full-scale war with King Henry 11.
After several years of vicious fighting a truce was finally called in 1176. As part of this truce Sitsyllt surrendered Abergavenny Castle to William de Braose - the nephew of Henry Fitz-Milo. In return Sitsyllt was granted a full Kings' pardon. To seal the truce Sitsyllt and his followers -who included all the leading men of the district- were invited to a Christmas Day banquet at the Castle.

They arrived unarmed and took their places at the banqueting table. William de Braose then rose and issued a Royal Proclamation. This stated that henceforth all men of the district were to be denied the right to carry weapons of any kind. In these lawless times this was tantamount to a death sentence and the Noblemen around the table began to protest.
Immediately, William de Braose gave a signal and the doors to the banqueting hall burst open. A group of heavily armed men entered and without mercy slaughtered Sitsyllt, his son Geoffrey and all the guests at the table. Not content with this, de Braose's men mounted their swiftest horses and rode to Castle Arnallt - the home of Sitsyllt. They stormed the castle and found Sitsyllts' wife Gwladys hiding in the cellar with her son Cadwallader. The men killed the seven year old boy and took his mother away as a prisoner. The castle was razed to the ground never to be re-built.

News of this savage act spread quickly through the territory and it was said that a curse was laid upon the Lord of Abergavenny. It took a further six years for this curse to be fulfilled. By then the remaining children of Sitsyllt had grown to manhood and had sworn to take revenge against Abergavenny Castle. Allied with the townsfolk they hid themselves in the overgrown bushwood and ditches surrounding the castle. There they remained until dawn when the castle guard stood down. The castle was then scaled and captured before being burnt to the ground. The perpetrators of the original massacre were put to the sword with one notable exception. William de Braose had been away from the castle and so avoided capture. For a while he continued to prosper but eventually King John became alarmed at his growing power. The King demanded a payment of five thousand marks and when this was not forthcoming ordered the seizure of all lands around Abergavenny Castle.  De Braose's wife Matilda and eldest son were captured and imprisoned at Windsor Castle. They never emerged alive and in all probability were starved to death in the dungeons.  De Braose himself fled to France where he died in exile in 1211. He is buried in the Abbey of St Victor in Paris. 
 
Today little remains to mark the events of so long ago. Castle Arnallt has long since disappeared although a mound of earth can be seen where once it stood. Abergavenny Castle's ruined shell is still open to the public with a small museum alongside. It is often overlooked when it comes to stories of the great Welsh castles but its bloody history demonstrates that it was as important as its more illustrious counterparts in the brutal business of Medieval Welsh politics.