Adam Gurdun (continued)

The tale of Sir Adam (continued)

After his traumatic experience on the Poitou campaign in 1242, Adam Gurdun had a better time in Gascony a decade later. The duchy was in chaos, thanks to Simon de Montfort’s mismanagement as seneschal and the revolt of Gaston, vicomte de Béarn. This caused neighbouring princes to cast greedy eyes upon it, in particular Alfonso the Wise, King of Castile. After he succeeded his father, Ferdinand, in 1252, Alfonso renewed his dynastic claim to Gascony.

La Réole

All this left Henry III with no choice but to sail to Gascony in person to sort out the mess. Adam was once again summoned to go with his king overseas. Alongside him were the likes of Ralph Bakepuz, a Derbyshire knight who would later fight against Henry’s army at Chesterfield; Humphrey de Bohun, destined to perish in the squalor of a dungeon at Beeston Castle after the battle of Evesham; Hamo Lestrange, who would marry the heiress of Beirut and die in the Holy Land; Fulk Fitzwarin, who would drown in a muddy pool at the Battle of Lewes; Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, whose successors would murder the Prince of Wales, depose Edward II and nearly depose Edward III. An interesting bunch, though I personally wouldn’t have them round for tea.

The duchy of Gascony

In August 1253 the royal fleet sailed up the Gironde to Bordeaux, the chief city of Gascony. Like his father, King John, Henry could soldier when he was in the mood. He fought a determined and energetic campaign, though it took months to reduce the towns and castles of the lower Garonne and Dordogne. The diehard rebels, most of them bitter enemies of Montfort, shut themselves up behind the walls of La Réole (pictured above). Henry deprived the rebels of their allies by negotiating treaties with King Louis of France, the lord of Albret, the Counts of Comminges and Armagnac, and Gaston himself. The lords of Albret in particular would remain steadfastly loyal to the Angevin regime for decades, until they were alienated by Edward II and the rise of Piers Gaveston.