The Norman conquest of England quickly produced westward expansion by adventurers who built motte-and-bailey castles as they seized territory. Welsh resistance recovered much of the lost ground under William Rufus, but the Normans retained the strategically important Pembroke foothold. By Henry I's reign, a chain of Marcher lordships ran from Glamorgan to Chester under laws and privileges that left the king's writ weak. Intermarriage tied Marcher families to Welsh dynasties, making political identity more complicated than a simple English-Welsh divide. The Marchers could therefore serve as the first line of a royal invasion or join Welsh rulers against the crown, a dual role that explains the frontier's volatility.
Chapter · 3:29-4:44
Marcher lordships and Norman footholds
Norman footholds and the semi-autonomous Welsh March created a frontier whose lords could defend royal power or ally against it.