I was born in 1365 in Munster the third son of John de Conway a
Cambro-Norman knight from Pembroke and Aiofe, daughter of a minor Irish noble.
I was sent to squire in the household of Lord Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond,
where I learned to use all forms of
weaponry.
The latter part of the 14th century in Ireland was a
turbulent time. Irish lords had started to rebel against the Anglo- Norman
lords. It was at one of these battles at Althone 1381 at the age of 16 years I
earned my spurs fighting against the native Irish.
Whilst fighting a local Irish lord in Croom, I met and fell in love with
Lynnette, the daughter of a prominent cloth merchant named Patrick O’Feane. I
ignored my father’s wishes to marry a Norman lady and married Lynnette in a
secret ceremony. My father was outraged at this disobedience and informed Lord
fitzGerald of my marriage to Lynnette; I had ignored the Statute of Kilkenny
1367, which forbid marrying the Irish. So both myself and Lynnette fled Ireland
to the safety of a distant relative in Pembroke.
With the help of my kin I joined the retinue of the young John Hastings,
3rd Earl of Pembroke, and made a living helping the lord settle land disputes.
In 1389 I followed the young Earl to the Christmas court at Woodstock Palace
held by Richard II in the hope of showing my fighting prowess. But tragedy
struck and I was forced to look for
another lord after the earl’s death in a joust when a lance struck him in the
groin.
With my growing family we travelled north to serve Reginald deGrey, 2nd
Baron of Ruthyn. I helped deGrey to enforce royal demands in the Northern
March, such as calling the local nobility, gentry and their men to do Royal
military service.
Outraged at the ever increasing
tyrannical actions of deGrey my chivalric conscience forced me to reassess my
allegiance to deGrey. When he seized land from a local a Welshman of noble
ancestry called Owain Glyndwr in 1400, I offered my services to the Welshman
and fought many battles. One of these battles was the Welsh victory over Edmund
Mortimer, son of the 3rd Earl March at the Battle of Brynglas, 1402. My part in
the Welsh Revolt came to an end in 1409 when I narrowly escaped capture in the
siege of Harlech Castle by the English.
At the end
of the revolt I moved my family to the welsh marches to serve the Lord of
Glamorgan. After 4 yrs of enforcing the lord’s will, I was rewarded and became
the constable of the Wentloog hundred, thus providing a decent income for my
family.
After s
couple of years serving as constable I became bored and yearned for the
battlefield. This opportunity came in 1415 when King Henry V wanted to reclaim
his french inheritance; the French throne. I travelled with Henry’s forces to
France and fought with my “band of brothers” at Agincourt.
