BATTLE 9
BATTLE No 9 c AD 516
at Cair Lion.
It was recognised for Battle No 8 that the battle-site at Castell Guinion of the 6th Century was one and the same as the Castle Guinion of today.
Battle No 9 at Cair Lion or or the 'fort of the legion' is only a minor distortion in name to that of its correct placement at Caerleon. Yet that batlle has been attributed to York, Chester, and even Exeter, with Caerleon hitherto getting only a passing consideration.
Apart from the rather concise mention in Nennius' record of the battle the only other apparent reference is in the Welsh records where it is stated that this battle was against the Saxon (Angles) in league with other enemies of the Britons.
Such a combination of adversaries was hardly likely to fit either York or Exeter so the only two true contenders would seem to be Chester or Caerleon with Caerleon being the more likely when considering the name alone.
The task ahead is to fit that Battle No 9 into a sequence of all else that had taken place prior to the battle and to that which was about to take place when we look at Battle No 10.
The date of AD 516, as concluded by this study ,was 4 years after Ossa had succeeded to the over-rule of all the Angles in Angeln (Anglia = much, of the borderlands of Wales).
From cross-references and date corrections to the 'Life of St Kentigern' by Jocelyne ,we have Ossa placed in West Goucestershire (Keynt) in AD 522, and by other reference points this study, has concluded that his base was at Lyndesi (Dinas Powys-Cosmeston) before that retreat to Keynt.
Caerleon was therefore a most likely near target to Ossa's known positioning. That which must also be taken into account is that when Ossa had come south from his earlier command in North Cambria, he had brought with him his trusted aide and cousin 'Cerdic'.
The same Cerdic who had attacked Arthur at Ystymllymarch (Oystermouth) on Gower and at Battle No 7 in the Tywi Valley.. Cerdic own band of mercenaries consisted of Angles and the tribal Gewissei/Gyw-wysi a combination of Goedels and Picts. Such a grouping would accord with the description attributed in the records.
In retrospect we can today see the pattern that had evolved as the strategy of the Angles from the time of their first arrival under Hengist and Horsa in AD 446. That had been to take over the Borderlands of Wales that were mostly occupied by tribal Goedels and Picts with only the major conurbations and highways controlled by the Romano-Britons.
To achieve the planned conquest of that region the plan had been to work northwards and southwards to meet in the middle when the whole of the Borderlands would become their Angeln/Anglia.
Retrospectively we can now see that the Angles always attempted to exploit an advantage when any particular area In that region was in a weak defensive position i.e. the death or illness of a leader, local squabbles, or any other form of suffering.
Capturin Caerleon would have been a great achievement towards the Angles ultimate goal. Fortunately they did not succeed in taking Caerleon.
Having thus failed Ossa undertook his next attack using a strategy that had Cerdic's hallmark stamped all over it, albeit that Cerdic does not appear in the credits for that next encounter at Battle No 10.
at Cair Lion.
It was recognised for Battle No 8 that the battle-site at Castell Guinion of the 6th Century was one and the same as the Castle Guinion of today.
Battle No 9 at Cair Lion or or the 'fort of the legion' is only a minor distortion in name to that of its correct placement at Caerleon. Yet that batlle has been attributed to York, Chester, and even Exeter, with Caerleon hitherto getting only a passing consideration.
Apart from the rather concise mention in Nennius' record of the battle the only other apparent reference is in the Welsh records where it is stated that this battle was against the Saxon (Angles) in league with other enemies of the Britons.
Such a combination of adversaries was hardly likely to fit either York or Exeter so the only two true contenders would seem to be Chester or Caerleon with Caerleon being the more likely when considering the name alone.
The task ahead is to fit that Battle No 9 into a sequence of all else that had taken place prior to the battle and to that which was about to take place when we look at Battle No 10.
The date of AD 516, as concluded by this study ,was 4 years after Ossa had succeeded to the over-rule of all the Angles in Angeln (Anglia = much, of the borderlands of Wales).
From cross-references and date corrections to the 'Life of St Kentigern' by Jocelyne ,we have Ossa placed in West Goucestershire (Keynt) in AD 522, and by other reference points this study, has concluded that his base was at Lyndesi (Dinas Powys-Cosmeston) before that retreat to Keynt.
Caerleon was therefore a most likely near target to Ossa's known positioning. That which must also be taken into account is that when Ossa had come south from his earlier command in North Cambria, he had brought with him his trusted aide and cousin 'Cerdic'.
The same Cerdic who had attacked Arthur at Ystymllymarch (Oystermouth) on Gower and at Battle No 7 in the Tywi Valley.. Cerdic own band of mercenaries consisted of Angles and the tribal Gewissei/Gyw-wysi a combination of Goedels and Picts. Such a grouping would accord with the description attributed in the records.
In retrospect we can today see the pattern that had evolved as the strategy of the Angles from the time of their first arrival under Hengist and Horsa in AD 446. That had been to take over the Borderlands of Wales that were mostly occupied by tribal Goedels and Picts with only the major conurbations and highways controlled by the Romano-Britons.
To achieve the planned conquest of that region the plan had been to work northwards and southwards to meet in the middle when the whole of the Borderlands would become their Angeln/Anglia.
Retrospectively we can now see that the Angles always attempted to exploit an advantage when any particular area In that region was in a weak defensive position i.e. the death or illness of a leader, local squabbles, or any other form of suffering.
Capturin Caerleon would have been a great achievement towards the Angles ultimate goal. Fortunately they did not succeed in taking Caerleon.
Having thus failed Ossa undertook his next attack using a strategy that had Cerdic's hallmark stamped all over it, albeit that Cerdic does not appear in the credits for that next encounter at Battle No 10.
