When Norman earls Hugh of Chester and Hugh of Shrewsbury drove Gruffudd ap Cynan off the Welsh mainland and onto Anglesey, a Norwegian fleet under King Magnus Bareleg arrived by chance. Magnus shot Hugh of Shrewsbury through the eye with an arrow, killing him. The Normans immediately withdrew. Gruffudd survived and rebuilt Gwynedd. This extraordinary intervention by a Viking king saved the Gwynedd dynasty and shaped the subsequent history of north Wales.
Hugh of Shrewsbury killed by arrow
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
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