Events

Battlefields Trust online lecture: A Mortimer! A Mortimer! The Mortimers and Battle

Tuesday 2nd November 2021

The Mortimers of Wigmore in North Herefordshire were one of the most prominent, and longest-lived, of the medieval families. Arriving from Normandy in the years immediately after the Conquest, the Mortimers were well established across large parts of England by the time of Domesday Book (1086). From their caput at Wigmore, the Mortimers gradually acquired further lands, wealth, and power, dominating first the Welsh Marcher Lordships, then the whole kingdom. One Mortimer forced the abdication of the King and was the virtual ruler of the country for nearly four years; another married into the royal family bringing his heirs into the line of accession to the throne; following his victory at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, a Mortimer grandson was crowned Edward IV. This talk will explore the Mortimer involvement in five battles/military campaigns (the Battle of Radnor in 1196; the Battle of Evesham 1265; the Siege of Dolforwyn in 1277; the Weardale Campaign in 1327; and, the Battle of Bryn Glas/Pilleth in 1402) and the roles they played in the turbulent history of the Mortimers and their rise to power and influence.

Philip Hume is secretary of the Mortimer History Society, author of various books and articles, and a popular speaker on the Mortimers and the Marcher lordships. His most recent book is “The Welsh Marcher Lordships 1: Central & North”, This is the first in a series of 3 by the Mortimer History Society. This first volume covers the traditional Welsh counties of Radnorshire, Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, together with the adjacent lordships in Shropshire and Herefordshire, that also became Marcher lordships. The book describes the distinctive features and powers of the Marcher lordships, and how they evolved in the context of the significant events in Wales and the Marches between 1066 and 1282, that shaped their development. The book also includes histories of each of the twenty Marcher lordships in the region, with a list of the lords and ladies who held them.

This presentation is exclusive to Battlefields Trust members. It starts at 8pm and booking will be on-line in response to a Mailchimp invitation sent to all Trust members.