Â鶹Éç

Image of Welsh March soldier

The Welsh March

Last updated: 26 August 2008

The Normans became masters of England, a centralised kingdom, in a matter of a few years.

Wales, far more decentralized than England, proved resistant to the Normans' power. During the reign of William II, the Welsh rose in revolt, and by 1100 the Normans had been driven out of Gwynedd, Ceredigion and most of Powys.

Gruffudd ap Cynan became ruler of Gwynedd and Cadwgan ap Bleddyn ruler of Powys. Gruffudd ap Rhys ap Tewdwr sought to establish himself in Deheubarth.

In the uplands of the borders and the South East, members of the old Welsh royal families struggled to retain a degree of authority.

Thus Wales became divided between those regions still under native rule and the lordships controlled by the castles of the Normans - between Pura Wallia and Marchia Wallie. The Norman lords of the March, while subjects of the English king, were not subject to the law of England.

Their fiefdoms were like independent kingdoms whose rulers could, with impunity, hold courts, build castles and wage war.

As the March would exist in some form for over 450 years, it became a major and lasting element in the history of Wales.


Bookmark this page:

The Story of Wales

Image from Story of Wales

Your story. Our story.

Missed an episode? Catch up on the Â鶹Éç iPlayer.

History blog

Cinema seats

Haggar's Cinema

Phil Carradice blogs about William Haggar - a pioneer of British cinema.

Welsh castles

Harlech Castle

Famous fortresses

Start exploring these Welsh strongholds.

Â鶹Éç iD

Â鶹Éç navigation

Â鶹Éç © 2014 The Â鶹Éç is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.