Goodrich Castle

Position
  Goodrich Castle is of Norman origin and is situated at a key location between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye. Perhaps for this reason it seems to have been affected by the strife concerned with the English monarchy more than Welsh castles nearby, some of which had a relatively quiet time until the Civil War.
   Poised on the River Wye, near an ancient crossing point, its architecture was influenced by defensive needs and, once ruined, it became part of the itinerary of seekers after the picturesque. For some reason it now seems to me to be less famous than Raglan or Chepstow, although just as magnificent.
Construction
    It is possible that the earthworks around the castle were part of a hillfort dating from the Iron Age and the history of the castle itself begins with an entry in the Domesday Book of 1086 as belonging to Godric Mappeson, hence the name, Goodrich. Nothing of the probably wooden original survives. The area was part of the Welsh Marches, a group of territories granted to Norman nobles by William I to help keep the turbulent Welsh in order.
   The comparatively small keep (sometimes called Macbeth's Tower) in light grey sandstone is early Norman and had one smallish chamber on each floor measuring 18ft by 15ft (5.5 by 4.5 m) with thick walls and a mound around it for defence - the lower courses of stonework are still rougher than the rest. Around the keep is a virtually square structure guarded by 3 towers built during the 1280's from darker sandstone. These were protected on the vulnerable South and East sides by huge spurs which were intended to prevent undermining.
   In the 4th corner is the gatehouse where you enter, with one tower larger than the other and previously guarded by portcullises, murder holes and a drawbridge. Before you go into it you will cross the barbican which followed a similar design to that in the Tower of London and which had its own gate so that attackers could be trapped there. There is a chapel included here which was rare: the altar may have pre-dated the castle.
    The bailey had a number of luxurious large domestic facilities including a Great Hall, a Solar (living area from the French "sol"), kitchen, buttery (from French "bouteille") and pantry. The hall, overlooking the Wye had huge windows and fireplace. The living quarters were lavish as can be deduced from the unusual number of "garderobes" (latrines) for the comfort of inhabitants. We also know this from the detailed financial accounts of Joan, Countess of Pembroke and widow of William de Valence who would have had nearly 200 people to accommodate. There is a garderobe tower, unusually large, with the ultimate upper-class facility: multiple loos which could be used by several people at the same time. (You can see the outlets into the ditch from the East Wall.)  Beyond are the ruins of the stables destroyed in the Civil War.

    An example of good living: on Easter Sunday 1297, the kitchen ended the Lenten fast of the household with 3 quarters of beef, 3 pigs, half a boar, half a salmon, all from their store, half a carcass of beef at 10 shillings, mutton at 15 pence, 9 kid at 3s 8d, 17 capons, 2 veal calves, 600 eggs and more than 24 pigeons. Some banquet!

History
   

   Because of changes of ownership over the centuries, the various parts of the castle were built and added by different people. During the 1130's, the rival supporters of Stephen and Matilda were battling for power. William de Baderon, the next owner, (why is everyone in the period called William?) passed the castle on to his son, Baderon of Monmouth. He married into the de Clare family of the Stephen faction and had to seize the castle during the fighting. The de Baderons were a relatively poor family and perhaps could not afford to build some of the usual amenities. In about 1138 Stephen masterminded the transfer of Goodrich to Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare whereas the other nobles of Hereford supported Matilda. Later, Richard de Clare (Strongbow) lost the favour of King Henry II, son of Matilda, and the castle was taken into crown hands.
   In 1203, King John transferred the castle to William Marshal, one of the greatest knights of all times, who had to defend it from Welsh attack, particularly in a famous incident in 1216 when he was forced to leave Henry III's coronation banquet in Gloucester to rush back and fortify the castle. Although no documentary evidence survives, it is likely that he significantly upgraded its defences as he was a mighty castle renovator in Pembroke, Usk and Chepstow.
   William de Valence obtained the castle by marriage to Joan de Munchensi, becoming fantastically rich thereby but being obliged to enlarge the concentric castle at enormous expense, demolishing Marshal's construction, in order to defend it against the raids of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd into English territories. By the middle of the 1320's England suffered from the oppression of the Marcher lords, the Despensers, royal favourites of King Edward II. Hugh le Despenser kidnapped the then owner, Elizabeth de Comyn, in London and imprisoned her in her own castle in Goodrich. She signed it over but then married Richard Talbot who seized it back just before Queen Isabella, the "she-wolf of France", landed in 1326 and deposed the Despensers plus her husband Edward II (whose terrible murder she may have arranged.)
   Owen Glyndwr's forces invaded the Goodrich area in 1404 and 1405 but Gilbert Talbot fought back and the threat diminished in the 15th century which meant that the domestic aspects of the castle could then be expanded. During the Wars of the Roses the Talbots supported the Lancastrians but John died in their defeat in 1460 and the castle passed to the Yorkist, William Herbert, but later came back into Talbot possession to son John (by now we are confused by Johns!)

The Civil War

   
   One of the most bitter sieges of the Civil War took place at Goodrich: Richard Tyler, a local lawyer, had become tenant and constable of the castle and major renovations had been undertaken in the early 1630's. With his support the Earl of Stamford garrisoned the castle for the Parliamentary forces until December 1643 when it was occupied by the Royalist, Sir Henry Lingen,  whose troops of 200 men with 90 horses burned surrounding areas. In 1646, Colonels John Birch and Robert Kyrle, on the Parliament side, advanced from winning the Siege of Hereford and the struggle was increased by personal hatred between Birch and Lingen. Lingen set fire to the stables in the night but failed to win until later that year. He destroyed the water supply and ordered the building locally of "Roaring Meg", a massively powerful mortar capable of firing gunpowder-filled shells of 187-198 lbs in weight (85-90 kg.) This pugnacious lady now sits peacefully in the courtyard with an accessory of a pile of cannon balls nearby. Finally the Royalists surrendered having merely 4 barrels of gunpowder and 30 of beer left and marched out to the tune of "Sir Henry Lingen's Fancy". Their side left in style at Raglan also.

Comments
   In the early 16th century John Leland noted: ""They cary their prisoners to Castel Goderyce sumwhat owt of Erchynfeld, but longging to the Erle of Shrewsbyri." (Love that spelling!)  He was noting the fact that the castle was abandoned as a residence and was used for judicial purposes. Like many picturesque ruins, the castle attracted later sight-seers including William Gilpin who popularised the tourist craze in 1782 and who called the scene from the river one of the grandest views and "correctly picturesque", high praise from a man who wanted to take a mallet to Tintern Abbey to improve its appeal. Yet he managed to be grumpy about guidebooks: "full of intricate and tiresome details, and some undoubtedly incorrect."
   The early Victorian historian Theodore Fielding was moved to "solemnity that is inspired by the sight of grandeur sinking in dignity, into decay." Artists David Cox and William Callow visited and painted and William Wordsworth called it "the noblest ruin in Herefordshire", immortalising his visit in the 1798 poem: "We are Seven" inspired by meeting a little girl there. A window was added in the chapel in June 1992 to commemorate the personnel who died in service during the development of radar. RAF Halifax V9977 caught fire and crashed a mile south of the castle whilst flying a test mission in June 1942 killing all 11 on board. I feel this adds poignancy and modernity to the sense of past warfare.

A little extra
   In the early 1820's Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick wanted to buy the site but was refused: out of pique, presumably, he then built the neo-Gothic Goodrich Court next door, an act which greatly annoyed Wordsworth on his return visit since it spoilt the view. Personally, I'd love to have seen it. In fact, given a choice between a tour of Meyrick's folly and re-reading "We are Seven" ... The Court has been demolished but its gatehouse can be seen on the main road.

Your visit
  Arriving by the no 34 bus (Monmouth/Ross-on-Wye) may be less romantic than the river tour but the view of the castle as you approach still takes your breath away. There is a good shop, excellent café and toilets at the entrance (go before you go) and you can obtain a very helpful audio-guide free of charge. For prices and opening times click here. There are lovely walks in the area. Other interesting castles not too far away are Raglan Castle, Chepstow Castle and Usk Castle. Monmouth, at one end of your bus route has the castle where Henry V was born. I have merely summarised the fascinating history of Goodrich and will write in more detail about some of the people connected with it in future posts.
 

Five Fascinating Facts about Farting in the Fourteenth Century - give or take a century or three

  Next time you are in the Great Hall of a castle you might like to ponder on the type of entertainment that created merriment before kings.

1) Roland le Pettour
   King Henry II (probably he, though some say earlier kings) had a favourite minstrel called Roland who was rewarded handsomely for his ability to perform "unum saltum et siffletum et unum bombulum" [one leap and whistle and one fart] as part of the Christmas entertainment. It seems he managed to achieve these three requirements in one act called a "tripudium" and for this valued talent he was given a serjeanty, a land-holding of 30 acres. It has been stated that the land passed down the generations provided that the heirs could earn it in the time-honoured fashion of this particular hat-trick.
  The salary of land was later transmuted into a monetary payment by King Henry III (possibly), because of the indecency, when cash was cheaper than land. One feels that such a brief exhibition by Roland must have been heralded by a massive build up of excitement in the court. Yet some records state that he could also play tunes in this manner to prolong the fun. (William Camden, however, in 1610, identifies this minstrel as Baldwin and comments, "Such was the plaine and jolly mirth of those times"). Roland seems then to have disappeared into obscurity: perhaps he broke a leg or maybe he ran out of steam - as it were.


2) Etymology
  You will have cleverly deduced that the word "bombulum" means "fart" and it derives from the Latin for "to buzz", "bombinare". The native English word "fart", Middle English "ferte" (Anglo-Saxon "feorting") and the French "pet", from which Roland's name is taken, co-existed for some time in the 13th to 15th centuries but, once English had re-established itself as the official language, the French term died out. Yet you may want to pause before sipping your glass of "pétillant" wine.
  Chaucer's Summoner's Tale has a play on the word "ferthing" meaning both "farthing" and "farting" with the ultimate puzzle of how a fart can be divided into 12 equal parts. The Miller's Tale also hinges on this explosive deed.  It was not wholly a rude word: a Portuguese fart was a kind of pastry puff and there was a puffball which "pete en se crevant", dispensing a fine and smelly dust as it burst.

3) Queen Elizabeth I
    Moving outside our wide period there is a story too good to miss. Edward de Vere, seventeenth Earl of Oxford, (1550-1604) accidentally broke wind whilst bowing to the queen and was so ashamed that he went abroad for seven years. When he returned, Elizabeth was delighted to see him and greeted him with the warm and friendly (though not wholly convincing) reassurance: "My Lord, I had forgott the Fart."

4) Gender Difference etc
   In the literature of the Middle Ages, involuntary passing of wind was regarded as a woman's flaw and this was connected with the anti-feminist belief that women were incontinent, incapable of chastity and of low status. This was in consequence of Eve's lack of restraint in the Garden of Eden. In men the controlled fart was a sign of potent virility. Perhaps this is the reason for its intrusion into the innocent song "Sumer is icomen in" where we have the delightfully cheery: the "buck verteth" in which I believe you can note a Germanic consonantal shift from "f" to "v". In the Medieval theatre devils were notorious for their ability to expel air from their lower quarters and frequently did so raspingly on leaving the stage. In revenge it was believed that if one returned the compliment, the devil would flee.

5) Medicines

   Not, as you might imagine, to cure flatulence but to provoke it, there were substances recommended in the popular Book of Secrets, though these do have the air of a practical joke. You could pluck a hair from near an ass's private parts and give it to your victim in wine or crush ants' eggs in water and administer them likewise. A more complicated method was to wrap the dried blood of a snail in a linen cloth so that it made a wick and ask someone to light it, thus producing an unstoppable attack. As Camden said: "jolly mirth" would have ensued.

[I am indebted to Valerie Allen's scholarly work On Farting: Language and Laughter in the Middle Ages for most of this reliably sourced information.] Great Halls to stimulate your imagination can be visited at Chepstow Castle, Raglan Castle and Caldicot Castle. Castle lovers should hang in here as my next post will be about Goodrich Castle where I am sure Countess Joan was in full control.
 

Trellech: Harold's Stones; St. Anne's Well and Tump Terret

Harold's Stones
   These stand in a field south west of the village of Trellech, the path being signposted. They are an unusual example of alignment of Bronze Age stones, dating from between 3000 and 1000 BC (or possibly Middle or Late Neolothic).  They are in a 12 metre north east to south west line and are therefore unlikely to have been part of a Druidical circle. Neither can they be anything to do with Harold Godwinson's victory over the Welsh in 1063 as was believed previously as they predate him considerably.
    Their heights are between 8 and 14 feet and they were probably dragged here on logs and levered into position for a purpose which is not entirely clear: for rituals, as a sepulchre or for astronomy - or all 3 - since they indicate the midwinter sunset. They are made of conglomerate stone or "puddingstone" which is hard pebbles enclosed in a cement-like rock. (Remind me not to try the local desserts!) Their phallic outline may mean that they were used for fertility rites.
   Legend has it that they were thrown here in a contest between the mystical John of Kent and the Devil, being hurled from the top of Trellech Beacon. John threw first, reaching the outskirts of the village, was then bested by the Devil's first shot but managed a greater distance, upon which the Devil flounced off in a huff. It is said that you can see a hole in the side of the Skirrid where John pressed his heel for support. Much later an experienced dowser from Abergavenny, John Williams, placed his hands on one of the stones and was flung backwards.

   St. Anne's Well
    

  Located near the road to Tintern, this is both a Virtuous Well and a wishing well, the two functions overlapping.  It was a place of pilgrimage and believed, as late as the 17th century, to be curative of, in particular, "scurvy, colic and other distempers". Even in 1839 W.H. Thomas, a medical man, recommended the waters for those suffering from "dyspepsia, hypochondriasis and amenorrhagia" (absence of periods). The iron-rich water or chalybeate had to be drunk on an empty stomach in the morning. As the water may also be an aphrodisiac it might be a good idea to time carefully the drinking of it!

   As a "clootie" well, offerings were placed in niches or pieces of cloth hung from neighbouring trees. If you placed your sock there, your foot trouble would be cured. Fairies were said to drink from harebell cups on All Hallowe'en and a farmer, sceptical of all this magic, who dug up a fairy ring, found the well dry only to him until, warned by a little old man, he replaced the sods and all was - as it were - well!

   Pins and other bright objects were deposited for luck and to tell the future; pebbles were thrown in and the number of resulting bubbles told the wisher if their desires would be granted or refused: the larger the amount the better. As a test for a spinster, each bubble meant a month before a love-lorn maiden would be married. Quite recently flowers and candles were found in the niches inside the stonework (which was restored in 1951 for the Festival of Britain). There may once have been 9 holy wells in Trellech.

Tump Terret

   This mound is 400 feet in circumference and 15 to 20 feet high. It stands in the grounds of Court Farm which is quite near the bus stop and you can see the mound over the fence. It had been believed to be the burial place of either Harold's men or Welshmen fighting the battle of 1063 but now it is thought to be the motte of a 12th century castle possibly built by the de Clare family, the bailey having disappeared. The ditch can be seen only on the northern side.  For a long time it was believed to be unlucky to dig here and it has never been fully excavated.

Excavations

    In 2005, Stuart Wilson, a young archaeology graduate and a member of the Monmouth Archaeological Society, followed his hunch that there would be the remains of the ancient city in a field across the road from St. Anne's Well and bought it. They followed dips and flat places in the land to find the spot. On-going excavations have revealed the stone foundations of a fortified moated manor house house dating from 1250 and an industrial quarter on this minor road to Catbrook. The diggers have found evidence of a serious fire which destroyed the house possibly during a battle in 1296 in which the Welsh destroyed what they felt to be an alien town, planted by the Normans. It is all fascinating proof of the existence of a substantial Medieval settlement and a fitting end to your visit.

   To see all these sites, you can head off across wet fields, getting soaked feet or risk leaving this life prematurely by walking on the roads. I tried both in my dedication to giving you the best recommendation and now advise wearing wellies and going mildly rough.

   My account of the village and church can be found by clicking here. You are on the no 65 bus route to Monmouth where, if you are interested in legends, you can see the window where Geoffrey of Monmouth is believed to have written about King Arthur and popularised the character for all times. Another lovely holy well can be found in Llangybi on the 60 bus from Monmouth to Newport. Alternatively you can go south on the 65 to Chepstow and thrill at the castle there.

Trellech - a lost city and its church

Trellech
   This is the spelling most commonly adopted from over 20 variants recorded between 1223 and 1677. There is also disagreement over the meaning of the name, some people taking it to mean "3 stones" and some "town of the stones."  It is 800 feet above sea level and there is an old saying: "Trellech is 2 coats colder than Monmouth."
   What is now a small village was once a large town with, by 1288, 388 burgage plots, making it bigger than Chepstow or Cardiff. It was probably planned by the de Clare family, as an intrusively English settlement in a Welsh area and a speculative venture to exploit local supplies of iron ore from the Forest of Dean for armoury. It had borough status in the Middle Ages with its own mayor, charter and town seal the last of which was found by diligent school children.
    It then suffered set-backs from the plagues of 1348 and 1361-2 as well as from Owain Glyndwr's men in the early 15th century. It had been burned in the 13th century in a raid following a dispute over alleged deer poaching. Being upland and some distance from river transport did not help its economy although its sheep rearing was important. I have been told that there was a grange here belonging to Tintern Abbey.
    There are many local customs associated with the town: Easter was the time for preparing the fields symbolically by a ritual known as "walking the wheat" when farmers and their families went up and down fields of young crops, each carrying a small cake and cider. They would eat a bit, bury a bit and throw a bit into the air, repeating a verse as they did so. On Good Friday small loaves were baked to be kept for a year unless needed in ground form for illness. There was also the custom of roping the bride and groom after a wedding ceremony: boys and girls blocked their way out from the church with a rope which was withdrawn only when the newly married man threw coins for them (he would come prepared with a pocketful of pennies, threepenny bits and sixpences!). Other observances took place at St. Anne's Well, the Virtuous Well.

St. Nicholas' Church

    This interesting church is right by the bus stop and has, in the graveyard, this 15th century Preaching Cross, with its chamfered steps, slender octagonal shaft and small cross on top. The way the shaft suddenly tapers suggests that there may have been a middle section, now missing. It is well over 600 years old.
  The church itself is constructed in local Old Red Sandstone and is early 14th century, having been rebuilt after a fire in 1296. (There was probably a wooden church here as early as the 7th or 8th century). The steeple is of squared masonry and the door has a splendid four-light window over it. The octagonal spire rises from behind a battlemented parapet and, inside, the tower arch is impressively high and pointed, the altar rails being 17th century. The nave is Early English. You can also see, below a window, the Royal Coat of Arms of Charles II dated 1683.
   For many visitors, the most intriguing item is the sundial set up in 1689 by Lady Magdalen Probert and moved inside - although a replica stands in a nearby field.

  Latin inscriptions may be made out, celebrating the town's landmarks:
MAGNA MOLE (Great in its Mound - a reference to the Norman motte)
MAIOR SAXIS (Greater in its Stones - Harold's Stones)
MAXIMA FONTE (Greatest in its Well - St. Anne's Well)
   You can also read: "O QUOT HIC SEPULTI" (Oh how many are buried here!) and
"HIC FUIT VICTOR HARALDUS" (Here Harold was victorious) and the attribution to Lady Probert.
   Skeletons were found under the floor of the church, probably hastily buried during the Great Plagues of the 14th century.
   (I have written about these 3 sites in my next blog post along with some information about the on-going archaeological dig).

Your Visit
   You may want to stop off at the 16th century Lion Inn for refreshments before going to see the other ancient places of interest.

 
 Trellech is on the no 65 bus route between Chepstow with its impressive castle and Monmouth, the birthplace of King Henry V.  Lots more CAKE opportunities in both places.

Three presentations of Courtly Love: Andreas Capellanus, Chaucer and Shakespeare

The Concept of Courtly Love
   Each time I visit a castle I think of this ideology. Whatever it was and whether or not it was carried out in practice, Courtly Love was not like the innocent and cheerful affection seen in this image.
   We believe the concept to have started in the 11th century in the South of France and, as it developed in Troubadour poetry and other writings, it became complex and differentiated. To summarise briefly: there were four cornerstones of Humility, Courtesy, Adultery and the Religion of Love; the male was always abject, obedient to every wish or whim of the lady; accepting of her rebukes; despairing, sick and sorrowing. Yet he has faith in the God of Love who will not betray his fidelity and might tame the wilful beauty. Meanwhile he practises a form of noble and elegant courtesy, typical of the higher classes.
   It was a kind of tragic madness with a code of service modelled on the feudal system. The lover was often of more lowly status and the devoted slave of a married and unobtainable lady whom he believed he served. For her he suffered a  malady, rendering him thin and pale, prone to writing verse or songs and on the verge of expiring. The lady's refusal was seen as cruelty for which he might die - though we might remember that this word also designated orgasm.
      Love entered through the eyes and the arrow pierced the heart. Secrecy was at its centre and its progress or otherwise was marked by frustrations, tasks, quests and obstacles and yet it was perceived as an educative and ennobling experience. Any factual basis may lie in the situation of lordly households containing young men in training, too poor to marry and few women - with the master away on a crusade. It is difficult to ascertain what actually happened or if this notion was merely the material of poetry.

Andreas Capellanus
   In the twelfth century he wrote of the rules of Courtly Love. I have cherry-picked a few of these: "It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing"; "When made public love rarely endures"; "Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved"; "When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates"; "He whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little"; "Every act of a lover ends in the thought of his beloved"; "A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the thought of his beloved." (Translation by J.J. Parry)

Thanks to Debora B. Schwartz 

Geoffrey Chaucer
   There is much to be said about Chaucer's treatments of this theme but I will mention 3 from The Canterbury Tales.
   The Knight's Tale tells of two knights, Palamon and Arcite, who both fall in love with Emelye, instantly, on first seeing her: "And therwithal he bleynte [blenched, started back] and cride, 'A!'" is the reaction of Palamon, as though he were stung in the heart. Despite not knowing her and, in Arcite's case, restricting his "service" to "crueel torment ... peyne and wo", not sleeping, drinking or eating so that he became "lene" with hollow eyes and pale complexion, and wailing all night, the men allow their passion to destroy their friendship and the tale ends in terrible slaughter in a tournament. The Knight may be a mercenary, misunderstanding courtly conduct. (See Terry Jones' book.)
   In The Franklin's Tale there is a happy marriage, set in Brittany, but, when the knight Arveragus who has wooed and won Dorigen in courtly fashion through woe, pain and distress coupled with great enterprises, goes abroad, a potentially adulterous relationship intrudes. The marriage had been perfect but Aurelius has been watching from the wings, suffering, writing a great many songs in different formats and languishing in the prescribed manner. A tale of promises and magic ensues which ends in resolution owing to the "gentillesse" [nobility of spirit] of Arveragus. The Franklin is attempting to describe noble behaviour from his own lower rank.
   On a lighter note, Chaucer satirises the notion of Courtly Love in The Miller's Tale. Here the wife, Alison, has a relationship with a clerk, Nicholas, who grabbed her by her private parts to woo her - successfully. She is loved from afar by Absolom, a clever, talented and stylish man who happens to be squeamish about farting. One night he sees a chance of making love to Alison and climbs a ladder so to do - but she sticks her bottom out of the window to receive his kiss. This hairy encounter with the real puts a brake on his passion and he plans vengeance with a hot ploughshare. This time, Nicholas pokes his behind out of the window and farts but Absolom, despite being nearly blinded in the blast, has his iron at the ready. Chaos ensues. This fabliau [vulgar tale] is obviously a coarse but hilarious parody of the refinements of Courtly Love.

William Shakespeare

Image by dramatica.
The rose was a symbol of the lady
and her sexuality
in the allegorical Roman de la Rose

  It is easy to forget that, at the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is in love with another woman, Rosaline. He is reported as behaving like the traditional courtly lover: waking early to walk and weep in a grove of sycamores (the symbolic tree of melancholy lovers), going home at dawn to retire to a dark room and being "so secret and so close" that he resembles a bud bitten by a worm. When he enters, he presents himself as the rejected suitor of a woman who has vowed chastity, and talks in poetic paradoxes such as "cold fire" and "sick health". He stresses his grief, uses hyperbole and speaks of a "madness most discreet" - and yet Shakespeare hints at the falsity of his pose by having him suddenly demand: "Where shall we dine?" Courtly love is shown here in contrast to the real, mutual and consummated love he has for Juliet, the sight of whom drives Rosaline from his mind.

Conclusion
  The concept had a long and wide-ranging life and we may well ask ourselves if it has ever truly died: are there echoes still in our century in songs and poems of elements of the code?
   After reading about such self-denying conduct you may fancy a large slice of CAKE or visit a castle where the addiction to Courtly Love may have held sway, perhaps those that were more of a residence than a fortification. I suggest Raglan Castle or Caldicot Castle.

No courtly lover would have eaten this!

Caerleon: the Roman Baths

Roman Baths
  The bath house was an essential and central part of Roman life, providing exercise, hygiene and a meeting place for social contact. It was therefore even more of a necessity in a fortress to promote health and cohesion. Typically, it would contain a: "frigidarium" (cold room), "tepidarium" (warm ), "caldarium" (steaming hot) and "natatio", the swimming pool. There was also a  heated changing room, "apodyterium": all the warmth came from underfloor hypocausts which were so effective that slippers had to be worn to protect the feet in the caldarium.
  These rooms would be taken in sequence and one suspects that each soldier would develop his own preferences: at one point he would rub his body with oil which would later be scraped off with a curved bronze or copper tool called a "strigil" to remove dirt and sweat also. One of these instruments is on display. If the bather had a slave, it would be his task to clean up the resulting mess!
  Now you can gaze into the natatio and watch realistic and beautiful projections of swimmers, first single, then two or more: it is mesmerising and convincing.

In the Caerleon baths
  The baths were excavated in 1964 and 1981 and were found to have been built around AD 75 on an enormous scale covering an area the size of Wells Cathedral, 360 feet long. Bath houses were always constructed in stone rather than wood from the start because of the risk of fire. Their high roofs would have dominated the skyline.
   What we have in this building is about one sixth of the whole: part of the swimming pool, the cold room at right angles to it and remains of the changing rooms, heating channels and deep drains. The swimming pool would have extended under the walls at the far end and at the near end you can see where it was reduced in size, presumably to save water when the legion was lessened in manpower. There is no nearby natural spring to feed the pools and water had to be brought in for 5 miles through lead piping: the swimming pool needed 80,250 gallons. At the shallow end there had been an ornate Fountain House with water cascading down steps of Purbeck marble.
    Usually the bath area would have been outside the fortress but at Caerleon it is inside. As part of the complex there was a huge exercise hall and courtyard. Because of the climate there was an indoor space for wrestling, boxing, weight-lifting and ball games but the more military practices of javelin throwing and archery would have been outdoors. The men had to be ultra-fit and they were provided with luxurious facilities for keeping in peak condition.

The human angle

  Objects found during excavation reveal much about the people who used the baths. Gems were lost - or stolen if the man did not have a slave to guard his possessions - and other touching items such as baby teeth and hairpins indicate that family members were allowed to use the facilities at specified times. The strigil on display in Caerleon is made of copper inlaid with gold, silver and brass, decorated with images of the 12 labours of Hercules and was probably one of a set of 3 owned by a rich man - an up-market accessory! Games counters, dice, chicken bones, pig's ribs and broken pottery were uncovered, suggesting that there was a snack bar and space for gambling. Archaeologists surmise that there would have been high arching ceilings imitating the grandeur of Rome with painted walls, carved stonework and mosaic floors. This reads like an advertisement for the most expensive modern leisure centre!

Note the studs on the sole
 to aid durability for long marches.

Your visit
   The baths at Bath are famous and rightly so for their size and atmospheric steam rising from the hot water but the baths at Caerleon are also fascinating, less crowded and free! They are located at the back of the Bull Inn car park. For opening times click here. While you are in the town you can also visit the museum (where there are toilets) and walk on to the amphitheatre before crossing the road to the remains of the barracks (more toilets!) After that, excellent CAKE opportunities await in The Snug in the charming little mews-like Ferrum with its slightly OTT Arthurian statues. That calorie intake will give you the energy to take the no 60 bus to Usk with its castle or Monmouth, the birthplace of Henry V - or stop off at Llangybi to see and sip from its ancient well.

Chepstow Castle - Marten's Tower

The Tower
   As you walk up towards the entrance to Chepstow Castle, you will see to your left this imposing tower. It used to be called Bigod's Tower since it was built by Roger Bigod III in the late 13th century to a D plan, projecting from the SE curtain wall and taking advantage of its naturally raised position.The original purpose was to provide a second, four-storeyed splendid residence that could be sealed off and defended. When Archdeacon William Coxe visited it in 1798 he was surprised to find "a comfortable suite of rooms" with lodgings for domestics.
   These had been occupied by Henry Marten (1602 - 9th September 1680) who gave his name to the tower. He was imprisoned here, after a stormy and tumultuous life, for about 12 years from 7th December 1668 onwards as a regicide,  being one of the most prominent of the 31 out of 59 Commissioners who signed the death warrant of Charles I in 1649. Marten had always been a staunch republican whose extreme opinions frightened even his supporters. Coxe reports that he took out from a great iron chest at Westminster the crown, robes, sword and sceptre of Edward the Confessor (a king and a saint) and "with a scorn, greater than his lusts and the rest of his vices, he openly declared that there should be no further use of these toyes and trifles" - sacrilege indeed!

His public life
   He was educated at Oxford and entered the Inns of Court: touring Europe in the 1620's he enjoyed the high living there but also encountered the thinking of French stoical philosophers. In his two periods as an MP he made an impression because of his severe republican outlook and was, in fact, expelled and imprisoned in the Tower of London for expressing his view that the royal family should be extirpated and the system of monarchy ended. When Ann Stagg of Southwark presented a women's petition in 1642 calling for political reform, he supported her. He was an enthusiastic committee man, serving on at least 46, but, since reading about committees is even more tedious than attending them, we will pass on to the exciting bits.
   At first he did not take an active soldierly part in the Civil War (he and Cromwell did not get on) but later raised a private regiment to defend his own area and his principles, occasionally stealing horses but attracting followers because of his charismatic personality and radical ideas. He was a sophisticated man of the world, having been a spymaster for Parliament: one receipt shows that he was paid £500 for information and he designed the emblem and mottoes of the Commonwealth regime. In June 1660, he surrendered himself to the authorities as a regicide but behaved so courageously at his trial that he was spared the death penalty. He was at first imprisoned in Windsor Castle until Charles II ordered him to be moved further away to Chepstow because his proximity worried the king.

Picture in National Portrait Gallery, London

His character
  Henry Marten is one of those fascinating personalities who seems to have at least two sides to his character: the serious radical thinker and the reckless libertine. Throughout his life he expressed republican views, tended towards atheism and wanted representative government. He was much maligned for his loose conduct although some of the accusations have no foundation.
   Married twice, the second time to Margaret Staunton, with 8 children in all, he had a long love affair with Mary Ward lasting 30 to 40 years. They lived together as man and wife: she ran the household when he was away and was allowed to visit him in prison. There is little evidence of other affairs although he was accused of being a whoremaster by Charles I: John  Aubrey wrote that he was a "great lover of pretty girls to whom he was so liberal that he spent the greatest part of his estate on them." Certainly he squandered a huge inheritance and passed some time in prison for debt. It cost money, also, to maintain a regiment. Later, too late, he observed that it was important to be "snugge like a snail within our selves, that is our mindes, which nobody can touch," having clothes and house safe.
  Some of that wealth went on clothes since he had a tendency to dandyism: in the portrait above by Sir Peter Lely, his dark cloak is embellished with fur trim and a jet pin and on 2nd December 1649 he paid Christopher Smith £17 8s 5d for a fancy cloak, a suit with taffeta inside and hose lined with calico. His rich diet included: dressed veal, goose, tongue, roast beef, capon, pork, mutton, mince pies and cheese washed down by, on average, 20 pints of beer a day to say nothing of wine and the dark rum supplied by his younger brother.
  He was not a handsome man but he spoke well, had a knack with one-liners and could turn the House with one short but well-crafted contribution. John Lilburne spoke of his "sincerity, uprightness, boldness and gallantry". Certainly he kept Mary Ward loyal to him: there a touching evidence that she liked to think of herself as his wife as she doodled both variations of her name. It was the fact that he flaunted his relationship with her so openly that caused trouble.

The end

   This is the view from inside the castle grounds of Marten's Tower where his apartments were. He was not badly treated and could even go outside. Yet it was a pitiful end of a talented man, though one must remember the background: the execution of the king on January 30, 1649, a freezing day on which Charles I wore 2 heavy shirts so as not to be thought to shiver with fear and at which a terrible groan arose from the huge crowd at the actual beheading, drowning the shouts of the soldiers.
   Marten choked on his supper on 9th Sept., 1680 and died: he had composed an epitaph for himself in the form of an acrostic in which the first letters of each line form his name, showing his wit and way with words. The last two lines read, ironically:

E xamples preach to th' eye, care then (mine says),
N ot how you end but how you spent your dayes.

   He was buried beneath the floor at an entryway of the Priory and Parish Church of St. Mary.

Your visit
   I have written earlier about the castle itself and the pleasant area round the river. It is well worth walking part way across the 200-year-old bridge to see the mighty cliffs on which this fortification rests. Chepstow is served by several buses from the top of town and there is an excellent information centre in the car park by the castle where you can also find the toilets; "Go before you go" is my motto. You can travel a little further north to visit Tintern Abbey or continue on this 69 bus to Monmouth where Henry V was born in the castle and Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote about King Arthur. Other possibilities are the the no 74 to take you to Caldicot Castle, the 75 to Caerwent Roman town and the 63 to Usk with its castle and the battle site of Pwll Melin as well as being the birthplace of Alfred Russel Wallace, evolutionary thinker.
   For opening times for the castle click here.