OK thanks to my daughter not bothering to bring the camera I have had to put up with using this from the enthusiast's own site from a few years ago, but Bank Holiday Monday saw me spending a fairly pleasant afternoon reminding myself how things used to be done when governmets went too far against the will of the people.
In 1263 "Red" Gilbert De Clare (red for his hair colour not his political persuasion) controlled much of the lands of South Wales as Lord of Glamorgan. He sided with Simon de Montfort against the King, but soon switched allegiance when it became clear that would better suit his needs. After Simon De Montfort was slain at the Battle of Evesham, De Clare decided that rather than join the earl's son and his rebel pals INSIDE Kenilworth Castle, he would instead offer his sword and his services to the king, and join the besiegers. Impressed with the trouble they had in their siege of Kenilworth, De Clare began work on a mighty bastion of his owm, using many features similar to Kenilworth, including the large lake / moat.
De Clare would meet his own end at Bannockburn in 1314, deviod of a male heir. While the crown dithered as to who should have the spoils of his estate and the pleasure of his daughters, the locals starved as the crops failed. A siege of the Castle followed, and it was this siege that is re-enacted on last Bank Holiday Monday - and seemingly several previous ones.
The day proceeded as a number of "tableaux" depicting key scenes from the siege followed by demonstrations of the siege engines - a perfect opportunity to lob rocks the size of boulders hundreds of yards into the castle moat, grieviously disturbing the wildlife, which would normally lead to the red faced killjoys in Caerphilly Council dumping an ASBO on you.
Perhaps the funniest point in the day was madam borrowing the geat to demonstrate to devastating effect that a proper longbowman (or as in her case woman) could easily skewer one of the hand-cannoneers. Actually I take that back, the funniest moment was easily the point when the proprieter of the pig-stuff-inna-bun stall was ehard to complain that in the last re-enactment her stall was showered with arrows.
Excuse me ? She's set up a stuff - in - a - bun stall in the inner defended areas of a castle and she complains when attacking bowmen strike their mark ? I mean, the whole point of archers is that thy take out the castle's population military AND civil - some people just don't understand the point of total war eh ?
But the wierd thing is, hardly any of the people watching knew anything of the history of the siege or the people behind it. They would leave educated that the man at the head of the besieging army - who failed in their quest - would be taken to London to be hung drawn and quartered, but I bet few know just how hated the winner in the quest for De Clare's spoils and the loins of his eldest daughter, Hugh Despenser, was and would further become.
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