Editing Monmouth (section)

===The Middle Ages===
[[File:Monmouth Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1373622.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Monmouth Castle]], part of which remains in use as a regimental headquarters and museum]]
[[File:The only known example of an original 'Monmouth Cap',dating from the 16th century.jpg|thumb|140px|The only known example of an original [[Monmouth cap]], dating from the 16th century, on display at [[Monmouth Museum]]]]
After the [[end of Roman rule in Britain]], the area was at the southern edge of the [[Welsh people|Welsh]] kingdom of [[Ergyng]].  The only evidence of continuing settlement at Monmouth is a record of a 7th-century church, at an unknown location within the town, dedicated to the Welsh [[saint]] [[Cadoc]].  In 1056, the area was devastated by the Welsh prince [[Gruffydd ap Llywelyn]], on his way with an army of Welsh, [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxons]] and [[Danes]] to defeat [[Ralph the Timid|Ralph]], [[Earl of Hereford]], and sack the Saxon ''[[burh]]'' at [[Hereford]], {{convert|18|mi}} to the north.<ref name=briefhistory/>

Following the [[Norman conquest of England]] in 1066, the Earldom of Hereford was given to [[William FitzOsbern]] of [[Breteuil, Eure|Breteuil]], [[Normandy]], one of [[William the Conqueror|King William]]'s closest allies, who was responsible for defending the area against the Welsh. [[Monmouth Castle|A new castle]] was built at Monmouth, holding commanding views over the surrounding area from a sound defensive site and exerting control over both river crossings and the area's important resources of farmland, timber and minerals.<ref name=ggatlandscape/> Initially it would have been a [[motte and bailey]] [[castle]], later rebuilt in stone, and refortified and developed over time.  A town grew up around it, and a [[Benedictine]] [[priory]] was established around 1075 by [[Withenoc]], a [[Breton people|Breton]] who became lord of Monmouth after [[Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford|Roger]], the son of William fitzOsbern, was disgraced.<ref name=ggatlandscape/> The priory may have once been the residence of the [[monk]] [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]], who was born around 1100 and is best known for writing the chronicle ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' ("History of the Kings of Britain").

The town was recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] as part of [[Herefordshire]], and expanded thereafter. There was early [[burgage]] development along Monnow Street, and the [[suburb]] of [[Overmonnow]], west of the river and protected by a defensive moat called the [[Clawdd-du]] or Black ditch, began to develop by the 12th century.<ref name=ggatlandscape>[http://www.ggat.org.uk/cadw/historic_landscape/wye_valley/english/wyevalley_features.htm Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Historic Landscape Characterisation: Lower Wye Valley].  Accessed 11 January 2012</ref>  Charters from the period refer to the town's trade in [[iron]], and to [[forge]]s making use of local [[iron ore|ore]] and [[charcoal]].  The [[Ember|cinder]]s produced by the forges formed heaps, and were used in building foundations; the name of Cinderhill Street in Overmonnow dates from this period.<ref name=kissackmedieval>{{cite book|last=Kissack|first=Keith|title=Mediaeval Monmouth| publisher = The Monmouth Historical and Educational Trust|year= 1974| page=24}}</ref>

During the period of turmoil between the supporters of King [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] and the barons who sought to curtail his power, the town was the scene of a major [[Battle of Monmouth (1233)|battle in 1233]], in which the king's forces were routed by the troops of [[Richard Marshal]], [[Earl of Pembroke]].  Later, the castle was extended by Henry's son [[Edmund Crouchback]], after he became [[Earl of Lancaster]] in 1267.<ref name=ggatlandscape/>  In about 1300, town walls were built, and the [[Monnow Bridge]] was [[fortification|fortified]].  The bridge, now [[pedestrianisation|pedestrianised]], remains in place, the only such fortified bridge in Britain and reputedly one of only three similar crossings in Europe.<ref name=newman/><ref name=tchistory>[http://www.monmouth.gov.uk/pages/monmouth.asp Monmouth Town Council: History of the town] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424161512/http://www.monmouth.gov.uk/pages/monmouth.asp |date=24 April 2012 }}.  Accessed 11 January 2012</ref>

King [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] was briefly imprisoned at Monmouth Castle in 1326 after being overthrown by his wife [[Isabella of France|Isabella]] and her lover [[Roger Mortimer of Wigmore|Roger Mortimer]].<ref name="Mary Saaler 1997, p. 134">{{Cite book | last=Saaler | first=Mary | year=1997 | title=Edward II: 1307–1327 | url=https://archive.org/details/edwardii1307132700mary | url-access=registration | publisher=Rubicon Press | location=Norwich | page=[https://archive.org/details/edwardii1307132700mary/page/134 134]}}</ref>  In the mid 14th century, the castle and town came into the possession of the [[House of Lancaster]] through the marriage of [[John of Gaunt]] to [[Blanche of Lancaster]]. John of Gaunt strengthened the castle, adding the great hall, and the castle became a favourite residence of the House of Lancaster. In 1387, John of Gaunt's grandson was born to [[Mary de Bohun]], in the Queen's Chamber within the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle, while his father [[Henry Bolingbroke]] was [[hunting]] in the area.  The boy was known as Henry of Monmouth before his coronation as [[Henry V of England|Henry V]]; supported by [[longbowmen]] from the area,<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-34618197 Neil Prior, "Was the Battle of Agincourt really a victory for Wales?", ''BBC'', 25 October 2015]. Retrieved 13 April 2020</ref> he won the [[Battle of Agincourt]] in 1415.  Monmouth's links with Henry are commemorated in the naming of the main town square, [[Agincourt Square]], and in the statue of Henry on the front of the [[Shire Hall, Monmouth|Shire Hall]].

From the 14th century onwards, the town became noted for the production of [[wool]]len [[Monmouth cap]]s.<ref name=tchistory/> However, as a border town, its prosperity suffered after nearby areas, including [[Battle of Pwll Melyn|Usk]] and [[Grosmont, Monmouthshire|Grosmont]], were devastated through [[Glyndŵr Rising|attacks]] by supporters of [[Owain Glyndŵr]] around 1405, though Monmouth itself did not come under attack.<ref name=briefhistory/>