Davy Gam: hero or traitor?

If the name Davy Gam seems vaguely familiar to you, it may be because you actually concentrated during the part of Shakespeare's Henry V where the king reads out the names of those killed in the battle of Agincourt (more correctly Azincourt.) After a list of French noblemen with dashing Gallic titles, he turns to a second paper, handed to him by the herald, and notes the deaths of 4 men, the last of whom is Davy Gam, esquire. To the monarch, he is amongst those "of name", meaning that the rest were squaddies, a mere "five and twenty" of them. Perhaps this seems a little snobby for a king who, before the battle, when egging them on, claimed that they were all a "band of brothers" - but even then he was aware that this group included each of the men, "be he ne'er so vile." (Hal, as prince, frequented the ale houses but dropped his drinking mates as soon as he donned the crown). Yet he did go around, in disguise, chatting to the ordinary soldiers the night before. Davy Gam was clearly an aristocrat and, interestingly in this literary connection, some believe him to be the model for Fluellen, the slightly comic but knowledgeable military supporter of the king, who praises him and claims common kinship as a Welshman.  He has read all about the glorious battles of Edward, the Black Prince of Wales, Henry's great-uncle.

Who was he - and why do we want to know?
In case you thought you were getting off lightly pronunciation-wise, part of his full name was Sir Dafydd ap Llewelyn ap Hywel and he lived from approximately 1380 to 25th October 1415. "Gam" is one of those merry Medieval nick-names which draws attention to some physical flaw such as short legs (Curt-hose) and probably means that he was lame. We still have the expression "gammy leg." Rather mysteriously the Dictionary of Welsh Biography thinks it means that he squinted or had only one eye but I find it difficult to fathom how he managed to be a successful warrior with that defect.

  He was a prominent opponent of Owain Glyn Dwr and a supporter of the English king, which made him a traitor from the Welsh point of view. Bearing in mind the destruction that Glyn Dwr's rebellion caused in Wales, it is easy to see why some men were hostile to him. Dafydd could add to the pedigree already mentioned "Fychan ap Hywel ap Einion Sais" but probably told people "just call me Gam." His background locates him round Llanover in Monmouthshire and Pen Pont near Brecon.  Some think he was previously in service to John of Gaunt and had to leave Wales after killing a rival in Brecon High Street. Rumour also places him in Hen Gwrt, near White Castle.

Hen Cwrt

Dafydd Gam was previously paid annually 40 marks (a large sum) by the royal estate and the family's loyalty to the king caused their lands near Brecon to be attacked by the rebels. Another local point of interest is that he was named, by the Scottish Chronicler Walter Bower, as the leader in the critical and crushing defeat of Glyn Dwr's men at the battle of Pwll Melyn near Usk. His local knowledge may have helped the English victory and attracted Welshman to his cause. When captured in 1412 he was quickly ransomed for somewhere between 200 to 700 marks, a large sum indicating the regard in which he was held. He had made a forced promise to Glyn Dwr never to oppose him but, on release, he told King Henry where the rebel was and attacked him, suffering reprisals such as the burning of his house. Another less likely story is that he attacked Glyn Dwr's parliament in Machynlleth in 1404.

Agincourt
  He probably fought with Henry V prior to the French battles but certainly served with three-foot archers (that disposes of the squint theory in my opinion) in the Agincourt campaign. Several chroniclers noted his death in that encounter but no-one agrees as to whether he was knighted then or posthumously. There is a legend that he saved the king's life during the counter-charge of the Duke of Alencon (whose name appears on Shakespeare's death roll of the French) when Henry was fighting hand-to- hand with him. The Frenchman lopped an ornament from Henry's crown with his sword and Dafydd led a group of Welsh knights to intervene. Some believe he killed the Duke before being killed himself.
  In the 19th century George Borrow wrote of him: "he achieved that glory which will for ever bloom, dying, covered in wounds, on the field of Agincourt after saving the life of the king, to whom in the dreadest and most critical moment of the fight, he stuck closer than a brother." Borrow also quotes descriptions of him, supposedly included in satirical englyn (you don't want to know, really you don't) written by Glyn Dwr: "he was small in stature and deformed in person. though possessed of great strength. He was very sensitive of injury, though quite as alive to kindness, a thorough-going enemy and a thorough-going friend." There is a stained glass window commemorating him in the church at Llantillio Crossenny, where the Latin inscription calls him a golden-haired knight. He is also a chief character in the novel Owen Glendower by John Cowper Powys.

If you DO want to know about englyn (and you have only yourself to blame for asking), here is the Wikipedia definition: "... it uses quantative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent known as cynghanedd." That clarifies that, then. Oh yes - and the plural is "englynion".

My thanks to Wikipedia for much of this information and two of the images.
Hen Gwrt is now a small moated ruin and very atmospheric, quite near the equally charismatic White Castle, one of the Three Castles in the area. Grrr  - you do need a car to get to both but there is excellent walking nearby to earn you your CAKE. You can, however, visit the site of the crucial battle of Pwll Melyn by travelling to Usk by bus and walking up past the castle which you can look at en route.

White Castle and Hen Gwrt: atmospheric and isolated

White Castle: position and origin

   White Castle is one of the Three Castles, the others being Skenfrith and Grosmont, which form a triangle whose sides measure approximately 5 miles, at a strategic point between Herefordshire and Wales. They were brought under single ownership by King Stephen in 1138 and stayed that way until the early 20th century. White is about 1 mile from Llantilio Crossenny and is the largest, best preserved and loneliest of the three. Its name may derive from the white plaster which once covered it and of which traces can still be seen but the earliest known owner was Gwyn ap Gwaethfoed, whose first name in Welsh means "white." 

   Like Chepstow Castle, it may have been started by William FitzOsbern, originally built in earthwork and timber, and its purpose was always as a fortress rather than a residence. Such domestic buildings as existed (kitchen, pantry, buttery, latrine, chapel, apartment) were simple and of insufficiently high status for a great lord. It was so successful in this role that it was never attacked and never slighted: its history is devoid of major bloodshed and intriguing personalities as residents. Many monarchs had connections with it but its interest is largely architectural - it does appear the archetypal castle and, as such, is stunning.

   It is best approached on foot along Offa's Dyke path from the west where it appears at its most formidable. This is the direction from which any attack would have come and so it is no accident that its strength is most visible here. 

Construction and history

   There are three main areas and it is important to note that the orientation of the castle was changed at one point through 180 degrees so that you now enter from what was the rear into the large outer ward. This had its own curtain walls, towers and gatehouse and was big enough to contain a camp, secure from surprise attack, with animals as well as possible refugees. At the centre is the pear-shaped inner ward, surrounded by a wet moat with steep stone-revetted sides, containing the main defensive walls and towers and there is also a crescent-shaped hornwork. White is unusual amongst Norman Welsh castles in having its outer bailey largely intact and the moat, built on a hill and exceptionally deep, was an amazing engineering feat.

   There were 2 main building phases, about 100 years apart although the castle gives an impression of unity. At what is now the far end are the immensely thick foundations of the earliest stone part of the castle, a small squarish keep dating from the first half of the 12th century. Then came the pear-shaped curtain wall probably in the 1180's which is still almost at its full height except on the east side: parts of the wall-walk are visible. Hubert de Burgh, who was granted ownership of all 3 castles by King John in 1201, seems not to have made any changes and so the next great phase of fortification was under the Crown, probably by Lord Edward, later Edward I, who remodelled the castle extensively in the 1260's. It was his first castle in this country and a prelude to all his other huge fortresses in North Wales. In 1260 Llewelyn ap Gruffudd took Builth and 2 years later attacked Abergavenny: the constables of Monmouth and the Three Castles were ordered to garrison them "by every man and at whatever cost" and there was another scare at the time of the uprising of Owain Glyn Dwr in the very early 15th century.

   After King Edward I subjugated the Welsh, the castle fell into disuse but did function as an administrative centre. Overall we might note that it represents a later stage of castle planning with round rather than square towers for greater strength. Other up-to-date features were curtain walls with such towers projecting from them instead of plain walls and a twin-towered gatehouse. The arrow loops are also of a rare cross shape. There is no adjacent village or church - again an unusual feature. To me White Castle has a special atmosphere, partly because of its isolation and stern military feel.

This arrow loop would have afforded a good angle for shooting.

Later visitors

   The Elizabethan poet, Thomas Churchyard, wrote about the Three Castles and singled out White for praise:

        A Statlie seat, a lofty princlie place,

        Whose beauty gives the simple soyle some grace.

   By the time of James I all 3 castles were "ruynous and decayed tyme out of the memory of man" and Archdeacon Coxe noted in 1798 that the ward was used as "a place of pasture for horses and cows which take shelter in the ruined towers; and affords an occasional cover for hares, one of which I put up as I was passing the court." I take it he enjoyed his casserole that evening as he seems to have savoured everything!

   More riveting is the fact that Rudolph Hess (deputy leader of the Nazi party) was brought here on occasions from detention in an mental institution in Abergavenny. On 10th May 1941 he was visiting England in an attempt to negotiate a unilateral peace and piloted an aircraft on an unauthorised flight which crash-landed in Scotland. He was arrested and interned for the duration of WWII but was escorted to the grounds of White Castle to exercise under strict supervision and also, some say, to feed the swans in the moat.

Hen Gwrt moated site

    Hen Gwrt (Old Court) is just down the road from White Castle (in an angle of junction of B4233 and  the minor road to White). It is easy to miss behind its hedge because of the modest half-overgrown notice. In fact, I issue a rebuke to Cadw generally for the sign-posting of both these places which is semi-hidden and confusing. Yet this site is well worth seeking out as it is large and well-preserved and has the peaceful atmosphere that makes you want to have a picnic hamper full of elegant sandwiches, CAKE and chilled champagne at the ready.

  It is a rectangular grassy area (the slightly curved ends reminded me of the classic Roman playing-card shape of a site although it is nearly square) measuring 30 metres by 45 set within an appealing water-filled moat. Partial excavations in 1957 demonstrated a sequence of occupations starting in the 13th century, the moat being 14th century. Substantial buildings had been constructed with a wooden bridge across the area on the east. The first occupation was probably as the manor house of the bishops of Llandaff and it was later a hunting lodge for red and fallow deer but the stones were eventually robbed (to build Llantilio Court in 1775 now demolished) and the road then cut into the site. The rebellion of Owain Glyn Dwr may have contributed to its decline as did the Civil War.

   Tradition connects it with Dafydd Gam, kinsman of the Herberts of Raglan who owned the deer park, although this is unproven, which seems to me a pity since I like a strong character! He is mentioned in Shakespeare's Henry V as Davy Gam, esquire, amongst the 4 named dead after Agincourt, reputed as saving Henry's life. The name "Gam" is taken from a Welsh word meaning "lame/deformed" (from which "gammy leg" may be derived.) Some Welshmen regarded him as a traitor, "crooked David." Even better is that he was honoured in legend as having so many children that, if they stood with arms outstretched, they could reach from Llantilio Church to Hen Gwrt. Sometimes myth is so much spicier than the facts - and often contains some element of truth. 

Your visit

    My sharp-eyed readers will have noted that you cannot visit these sites by bus: you need a good friend with a car as I was fortunate enough to have. You may like to visit Chepstow Castle for comparison as built by the same person or Raglan Castle for contrast as that was primarily residential. There is also the stunning Goodrich Castle not too far away or Caldicot Castle - all of which are busable. 

For opening times of White Castle click here. When we went it looked shut but we opened the gate and went boldly in.