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Bernard de Neufmarché (), also Bernard of Newmarket or Bernard of Newmarch was the first of the Norman conquerors of Wales. He was a minor Norman lord who rose to power in the
Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...
before successfully undertaking the invasion and conquest of the Kingdom of
Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans ...
between 1088 and 1095. Out of the ruins of the Welsh kingdom he created the Anglo-Norman lordship of Brecon. His toponymic byname comes from Neuf-Marché in Normandy. It was Latinised as ''de Novo Mercato'' (literally: "from the new market"), and has sometimes been Anglicised as "Newmarket" or "Newmarch".


Coming to England

Because Bernard's family had attachments to the monastery of Saint-Evroul-sur-Ouche, the monkish chronicler
Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...
of that foundation had special knowledge of him and his family, though this still does not reduce the general obscurity of his origins or his life when compared to the richer
Marcher Lord A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in Fra ...
s, like the great Roger of Montgomery. Bernard was the son of the minor Norman baron Geoffrey de Neufmarché and Ada de Hugleville, and he was born at the castle of Le-Neuf-Marché-en-Lions on the frontier between
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
and
Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...
.Nelson, 84. His ancestors on his mother's side had founded the town of Auffay south of
Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...
on the Scie, while his paternal grandfather, Turquetil (possibly known as Turchetil d'Harcourt), had served the young William II of Normandy as a guardian and was killed in that capacity. On his mother's side he also descended from the
dukes of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western Kingdom of France, France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 an ...
. The question of Bernard's participation in the
Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...
and therefore in the Norman Invasion is subject to debate. While Bernard had close family connections to the port of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme from which William's invading fleet launched, Bernard himself was not the ruler of that city and need not have been in the fleet. He had later connections with
Battle Abbey Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument. The Grade I listed site is now o ...
: he established a cell of that abbey in Brecon, but that may have been an analogous foundation intended to mark his conquest of Brycheiniog.Nelson, 85. Bernard's peculiar absence from the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 more or less damns the case for his presence at Hastings, for it is impossible that a noble participant in the victorious battle should not have received land to be recorded in Domesday if he was still living in 1087.


Rise to power

Bernard was finally rewarded by the king, then William II of Normandy, in 1086 or 1087. He received lands in
Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
and lands which had devolved to the crown with the deaths of Gilbert fitz Thorold and Alfred of Marlborough. Gilbert's lands were concentrated in Herefordshire and included the manors of
Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...
, Middlewood and Harewood in the Golden Valley and the castles of Dorstone, Snodhill and Urishay connecting
Clifford Castle Clifford Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Clifford which lies 2.5 miles to the north-east of Hay-on-Wye in the Wye Valley in Herefordshire, England (). It was the '' caput'' of the feudal barony of Clifford, a Marcher Lordship (owi ...
to
Ewyas Harold Ewyas Harold () is a village and civil parish in the Golden Valley, Herefordshire, Golden Valley in Herefordshire, England, near the Wales-England border about halfway between Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, and Hereford. The population of this civ ...
, which belonged to Alfred's lordship. Among Bernard's acquisitions from Gilbert was the ''domus defensabilis'' of Eardisley. From Alfred he received Pembridge,
Burghill Burghill is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, north-west of Hereford. The parish includes the villages of Burghill, Tillington, Herefordshire, Tillington, Portway and Eltons Marsh. It was originally a small village of farms ...
and Brinsop. Of these Snodhill was not founded until the twelfth century and then became the caput of the
honour Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...
of Chandos. Bernard was also established in Speen and Newbury in
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
and Brinsop and Burghill in Herefordshire sometime before 1079. Both these latter
vill Vill is a term used in English, Welsh and Irish history to describe a basic rural land unit, roughly comparable to that of a parish, manor, village or tithing. Medieval developments The vill was the smallest territorial and administrative unit� ...
s were held from his honour of
Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...
in the twelfth century. Bernard's omission from Domesday is especially peculiar there. It is possible that he had some kind of exemption. Probably as a consequence of his rapid rise in the
marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...
, Bernard attracted the attention of Osbern fitzRichard, who gave him his daughter, Agnes (Nest), whose mother was the Welsh princess Nest, daughter of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and Edith of Mercia, in marriage sometime before 1099. She brought with her a
dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...
of Berrington and Little Hereford. All of Bernard's estates lay in the valley of the
River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...
and along an old
Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
which led from
Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...
to Y Gaer and on into
Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans ...
. The military possibilities of that road could only have encouraged his subsequent ventures into Wales.


Conquest of Brycheiniog

Bernard joined the rebellion of the marcher lords against
William Rufus William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...
at
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
in 1088. Bernard escaped without recorded punishment and the king probably conceded the marcher lords the right to expand their lands by conquest at the expense of the Welsh buffer kingdoms of Brycheiniog, Morgannwg and Gwynllwg. Shortly after the settlement with the king, Bernard spearheaded an invasion of Brycheiniog which was to lead eventually to its conquest. Before the end of the year, though, he had captured Glasbury, for he issued a charter for lands near that place to the abbey of Saint Peter's at
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
(autumn 1088). The chronology of events at this juncture is often confused. Bernard may well have already been in power in Brycheiniog by 1088 if he had already inherited a claim to it after the defeat of
Roger de Breteuil Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford (c. 1056 – after 1087), succeeded in 1071 to the Earl of Hereford, earldom of Hereford and the English estate of his father, William Fitzosbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, William Fitz-Osbern. He is known t ...
,
Earl of Hereford Earl of Hereford is a title in the ancient feudal nobility of England, encompassing the region of Herefordshire, England. It was created six times. The title is an ancient one. In 1042, Godwin, Earl of Wessex severed the territory of Herefordshir ...
, in 1075. In 1088 the king, William Rufus, confirmed a previous charter of Bernard's stating that he had already made an exchange "within his lordship of Brycheiniog" at Glasbury. He also already held Castell Dinas which had probably been built by the Earl of Hereford before 1075. After the initial conquest of 1088, Bernard continued warring with Brycheiniog until 1090, probably supported by Richard Fitz Pons, the lord of Clifford.Nelson, 89.
Talgarth Talgarth is a market town, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in southern Powys, Mid Wales, about north of Crickhowell, north-east of Brecon and south-east of Builth Wells. Notable buildings in the town include the 14th-century ...
was captured early and a castle was constructed at Bronllys where the rivers Dulais and Llynfi meet, a site probably central to the '' llys'' of the ''
tywysog Tywysog (), in modern Welsh, means "Prince", but historically it referred to a broader category of rulers. The feminine form (Princess) is ''Tywysoges''. The work Brut y Tywysogion is the Annals of the Princes of Wales and is a historical nar ...
'' of the
commote A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...
of Bronllys. By 1091 Bernard had reached the valley of the Usk, which was at the centre of the kingdom which was to become his own principality. There is some discrepancy in this description of events also. Richard Fitz Pons was lord of
Llandovery Llandovery (; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 road, A40 and A483 road, A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and w ...
, which he had reached probably through
Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
, already by 1088. Bronllys Castle may not have been built until 1144, when Roger Fitzmiles, Earl of Hereford, is first recorded granting it as a five- knight's-fee mesne barony to Walter de Clifford, son of Richard Fitz Pons. According to much later accounts and reconstructions, of dubious accuracy but which contain some references to verifiable history, the king of Brycheiniog, Bleddyn ap Maenarch, allied with the king of Deheubarth, Rhys ap Tewdwr, in 1093 (or perhaps 1094) and tried to attack the forces of Bernard which were building a castle at
Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...
on the Usk and Honddu in the centre of a great plain in his kingdom where several Roman viae met. Bleddyn led a charge up the hill, but the Normans defeated the Welsh and Rhys was killed in battle. Brecknock Priory, which was later founded at the site of the battle, may have been built on the spot where Rhys supposedly fell. Bleddyn died not long after and Bernard was able to advance over the whole of Brycheiniog. Reliable historical records refer to no king of Brycheiniog after a Tewdwr ab Elise who died after 934. Certainly there is no contemporary reference to a Bleddyn ap Maenarch. The Welsh '' Bruts'' simply state that "Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of Deheubarth, was slain by the Frenchmen who were inhabiting Brycheiniog." This passage lends evidence to the belief that the conquest of Brycheiniog was mostly finished by Eastertide 1093 and that the main effect of the battle of Brecon was to open the way to the conquest of
Deheubarth Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...
.


Pacification and administration of Brycheiniog

He followed the Usk down to Ystradyw and took it, which incited the bishops of Llandaff to protest because the annexation of Ystradyw removed it from their diocese and brought it into the lordship of Brecon, which was under the episcopal authority of Saint David's.Nelson, 90 and n26. In Spring 1094, the southern Welsh rose in revolt against the Normans that had come to dominate them. Brycheiniog was unaffected and the Normans of that region launched a counterattack from Ystrad Tywy and
Cantref Bychan A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...
which devastated
Kidwelly Kidwelly () is a town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, approximately northwest of the most populous town in the county, Llanelli. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...
and Gower but did not put down the revolt. In 1095 it spread to Brycheiniog and the Welsh of the countryside, allied with their compatriots of Gwynllwg and Gwent took back control of the province while the Normans were forced into their fortified centres. Two expeditions from
Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
came to the rescue of the garrisons of Brycheiniog. The first was crushed in battle at Celli Carnant, but the second defeated the rebels at Aber Llech.Nelson, 91. What followed was the complete encastellation of Brycheiniog. Among the castles possibly built during Bernard's lordship to defend the entrances to Brycheiniog from the southeast were Tretower, Blaen Llyfni (not attested before 1207–1215), and Crickhowell. Bernard also extensively enfeoffed his followers with Welsh land. Richard Fitz Pons may have been enfeoffed at Cantref Selyff on the western border of Brycheiniog and immediately he began in miniature the process whereby Bernard had come to rule Brycheiniog. However, Richard's son Walter is the first recorded landholder at Cantref Selyff. Furthermore, Bernard enfeoffed the sons of the king he had displaced in the less habitable land, thereby creating a loyal Welsh aristocracy and extracting more out of his land than the Normans otherwise knew how to do. The Normans lived predominantly in the valleys and lowlands in an
agrarian society An agrarian society, or agricultural society, is any community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Another way to define an agrarian society is by seeing how much of a nation's total production is in agricultur ...
while the Welsh kept to the hills and mountains living pastorally, thus creating an overall economic gain. Among Bleddyn's sons, Gwrgan received Blaen Llyfni and Aberllyfni while Caradog received an unnamed hill country, and Drymbenog, Bleddyn's brother, was given land neighbouring that of Richard Fitz Pons.


Death and succession

Bernard died around 1125 and was buried at Gloucester Abbey. By then he had established a flourishing borough around his castle of Brecon. Henry I had married Bernard's daughter
Sibyl The sibyls were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophet, prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by Pausanias (geographer), PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he desc ...
to Miles Fitz Walter, the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, in 1121 and passed a significant portion of Bernard's honour to him as a dowry, including
Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye, or simply Hay (; or simply ), is a market town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a book town, "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the s ...
Castle.Holt, 7. According to Giraldus Cambrensis this was because Mahel de Neufmarché, the son and heir of Bernard, had mutilated the paramour of his mother. In vengeance his mother, Nesta, swore to King Henry I that her son was illegitimate. Henry was therefore able by law and custom to pass over Mahel and give the land to his friend and confidant Miles Fitz Walter with Bernard's legal heiress in marriage.


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Barlow, Frank. ''William Rufus''. 1983. *Holt, J. C
"Presidential Address: Feudal Society and the Family in Early Medieval England: IV. The Heiress and the Alien."
''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', 5th Ser., Vol. 35. (1985), pp 1–28. * *Maund, K. L.. "Neufmarché, Bernard de (d. 1121x5?)". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press, 2004. *Nelson, Lynn H.

'. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1966. *Remfry, P. M. ''Hay on Wye Castle, 1066 to 1521''. . *Remfry, P. M. ''Castell Bwlch y Dinas and the Families of Fitz Osbern, Neufmarché, Gloucester, Hereford, Braose, Fitz Herbert''. .


External links



* ttp://www.cpat.org.uk/projects/longer/histland/usk/muadmi.htm The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust: Historic Landscape Characterisation — The Making of the Middle Usk Valley Landscape.br>Britain Express: History of Wales — Grufudd ap Cynan.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neufmarche, Bernard De 1050s births 1120s deaths Anglo-Normans in Wales Norman warriors People from Powys History of Herefordshire