The son of William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber, and Bertha of Hereford he was Lord of Bramber in Sussex (inherited through his father) and at his peak, was also Lord of Gower, Abergavenny, Brecknock, Builth, Radnor, Kington, Limerick, Glamorgan, Skenfrith, Briouze in Normandy, Grosmont, and White Castle.
Born in 1153 he grew up in a privileged position which he was known to take full advantage of but which ultimately all but brought down the de Braose line, if not completely, he certainly managed to reduce it to a shadow of it’s former self.
He was a favourite of King John but only after he had supported King Richard I before King John’s time. King Richard had granted him several benefits including Sheriff of Herefordshire, a post he held for seven years. In 1195 he had accompanied King Richard I to Normandy and in 1199, he fought beside Richard at Châlus, where the king was fatally wounded. Following this he supported King John’s claim to the throne which brought him the aforementioned favour.
A couple of years later in 1202 he again travelled to France and was involved in the Battle of Mirebeau where the opposer to King John’s claim to the throne, Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, was defeated and captured. The following year Arthur was put into the care of de Braose but mysteriously disappeared, assumed murdered at the hands of de Braose, or at least on his orders. But the truth remains a mystery.
Following this in 1204 de Braose also served in the war against King Philip II of France and two years later was given the great trilateral castles of Gwent to the east of Abergavenny, namely White, Grosmont and Skenfrith castles for services to the King (although many might interpret that as a bribe or payment for the end of Arthur of Brittany!)
But it was earlier in 1175 at Christmas time that he earned the infamous name of the Ogre of Abergavenny when he invited three Welsh princes and other Lords to Abergavenny Castle under the pretence of peace and had them murdered at the table by his men. Seisyll ap Dyfnwal, of Castell Arnallt near Llanover was his main target on this occasion as he blamed him for the murder of his uncle, Henry. He is also reputed to have had ap Dyfnwal’s wife hunted down and killed together with her seven year old son Cadwaladr to prevent future reprisals from that family line.
This, of course, greatly angered the Welsh, particularly as Christmas time was a traditional time when differences were settled or forgiven and not a time when people were betrayed, especially in such a violent way. But he was exonerated by the archdeacon of Brecon, citing William’s religious piety and his generosity to the church at Brecon and Abergavenny. Some comfort to the families of those murdered I’m sure!
Not long after 1206 however de Braose fell out of favour with King John for obscure reasons. Officially it was over money that was owed to the King by de Braose but the King’s actions went somewhat beyond what would have been reasonable for this as he stripped him of land and titles and even sent a force to Wales to seize land from de Brasoe. Either way de Braose fled to Ireland and then to France in 1210 where he eventually died in August 1211 leaving his wife and eldest son behind who were taken by King John and had died in captivity the year before.
Other children did survive into older age however and his third son managed to claim back some of his land but the strength of the line never recovered, and the name now only really resonates in people’s minds for his most despicable act where he earned the name ‘The Ogre of Abergavenny’
The Cache
The cache is a magnetic nano and to find it you will need to read the information above to get the answers to the questions below, and then put them in the formula at the bottom:
How old was Seisyll ap Dyfnwal's son when he was murdered? A
At his peak de Braose was Lord of how many districts? B
How many of those were in France? C
How many years as Sheriff of Hereford? D
What year of the 13th century was de Braose involved in the war against Prince Philip II? E
What year of the 13th century was he given the Three Castles? F
How many Welsh princes did he have murdered at the dinner table? G
Put the answers in this co-ordinate N51 4(C+D).(B-F)(C+C)(G+C) W003 0(B-D-F).(E+G)(F-E)(A-G)
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.