Miracles of Dryslwyn

The siege of Dryslwyn Castle in the summer of 1287 was notable for the sheer mass of soldiery gathered under its walls: upward of thirty thousand men, English and Welsh, in a camp that must have resembled a small city. God knows how they were all fed.

God was present in other forms. From an English perspective, the siege gives us an interesting - and rare - insight into the thoughts of ordinary soldiers. By the end of July 1800 English infantry were mustered at Hereford, prior to marching on Dryslwyn. At this point strange things started to happen. Hereford Cathedral contained the tomb of Thomas de Cantilupe, bishop of Hereford (1275-82), one of the most popular saints in medieval England. Between 1287-1404, no less than 460 miracles were attested at his shrine.

The stress of the campaign ahead seems to have affected the minds of Earl Edmund’s soldiers. One of his knights, Ralph Abecoft, discovered his falcon lying dead outside his lodgings. He followed the English custom of bending a penny over the dead bird’s head, as a votive offering to the saint, and commended it to Cantilupe and God. The falcon suddenly revived and was taken to Cantilupe’s shrine in the north transept of the cathedral. There it attracted an awestruck crowd, including Earl Edmund himself and a great number of lords and knights. Another miracle was experienced by Roger, a cleric of Cirencester. He claimed that his hands were crippled by God after he publicly slandered Cantilupe’s memory; then he came to the Hereford shrine in penitence, placed his hands on the tomb and - lo! - they were instantly healed.

News of these miracles spread among the troops. On the vigil of St Margaret the Virgin (20 July) John de Havering sent one of his men, a youth named John, to the shrine in the hope that he would be cured of deafness. John was cured in front of all present that day. At the end of July Edmund’s army had marched through Usk into Newport. In mid-August the forces of Edmund and Havering converged and laid siege to Dryslwyn. During the three weeks of siege more miracles were reported. At one point a soldier of Herefordshire, Ralph Boteler, was shot under the eye by a Welsh archer; the arrow hit him with such force ‘the arrowhead became horribly fixed deep inside his head’. Ralph signed himself with the cross, and he and his friends invoked the power of the saint. Ralph not only survived but kept his eye as well. St Thomas was called upon again when a mine collapsed under the wall, burying many men alive, including several knights. As the survivors fled, the Welsh fell upon them. Two knights only escaped through the ‘invocation and aid of Saint Thomas’. Another was buried so deep under the heap of mortar and soil only his foot stuck out. One of his men called upon the saint and was suddenly gifted superhuman strength; he dragged his master clear of the rubble ‘with wonderful ease’.

One final miracle was reported at Dryslwyn. After the castle fell in the autumn it was granted to Alan Plukenet. The following year his son, Alan junior, was rearing a goat as a pet. The animal fell from the battlements and was broken all to pieces: “With one of its legs having been broken, even its innards spewed out. The blood of its body spurted through various courses”. A crowd of local people gathered to mourn the goat, and promised to make offerings to God and Cantilupe if the animal could be restored to life. Since the locals were Welsh, this suggests the saint had become popular with them as well. “And behold! The little creature at once got up, alive and healthy, and immediately took food with many looking on amazed and praising the Lord”.