ABERCONWY. 41 



Dining- the civil wars between the liousew of 

 York and Lanraster, Conwy castle was the scene 

 of much contention. It is recorded, that the friends 

 of one party gained possession of it, while the 

 influential family of Gryffyth Goch, and many 

 equally powerful in the neighbourhood, were in 

 arms for the other : it happened that his son Rhys, 

 who had gone either out of curiosity, or more pro- 

 bably for the purpose of examining the strength of 

 the place, was standing at Tal y sarn, on the op- 

 posite side of the river, when he was slain by an 

 arrow discharged from the castle by Llywelyn of 

 Nannau. As the distance is considerably more 

 than half a mile, this is probably one of the long- 

 est shots on record. A few nights after, Robin ab 

 Gryffyth Goch or Graianllyn, and his brother 

 Hywel, with their followers, crossed the river, to 

 avenge the death of their brother Rhys ; they took 

 the castle by escalade, and beheaded the captain/ 

 Sir John Wynne, in his history of the Gwydir 

 family, observes, that the whole country around 

 was laid waste by the partisans of the two factions ; 

 and utterly desolated by Lord Herbert, earl of 



7 O'r tu iichaf i Gonwy (medd yr hen hanes) y saethasai Llyw- 

 elyn o Nannau y bicell hon, a Has Rhys dros Gonwy : a Uyma un 

 o'r ergydion pellaf y lias dyn erioed. See Cylchgrawit. 1. 250. 



