BattlefieldsWelsh Attack on Abergavenny — Seisyll ap Dyfnwal 1175
Medieval

Welsh Attack on Abergavenny — Seisyll ap Dyfnwal 1175

1175
Monmouthshire, Wales
Also known as: Massacre of Abergavenny 1175 · Seisyll's War
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Monmouthshire, Wales
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Normans (Abergavenny garrison)
Forces
Norman garrison: c.50–150.
VS
Victor
Welsh (Seisyll ap Dyfnwal)
Forces
Welsh force: c.200–500
Outcome
Welsh raid on Abergavenny; later Norman revenge massacre of Welsh nobles
The Battle

History & Significance

The Normans of Abergavenny and the Welsh of Gwent were locked in permanent enmity. In 1175, Seisyll ap Dyfnwal led a Welsh raid on the area. Shortly after, the Norman lord William de Braose invited Seisyll and other Welsh nobles to a feast and massacred them — an act of treachery long remembered in Wales. De Braose's men then murdered Seisyll's infant son and kidnapped his wife. "Beware of Abergavenny" became a Welsh proverb.

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