I was born in the year of 1383 in the manor of Croom in the kingdom of Munster. My father was of minor Irish nobility, and was lord of Croom. My mother had died several years ago, taken by smallpox. Although I had an older brother and sister, I was my father’s favourite.  He always said that I had inherited his wild side and thirst for adventure.

I had been promised in betrothal to the Lord of Kilmallock when we were both children, but my father withdrew from the arrangement in favour of betrothing me to one of the knights that fought for him. I was not happy with this. William Conway was youthful, brash and arrogant. He was also a man of no land and no means to support me.  Yet I came to realise that my father knew what he was doing. He knew that William would provide the opportunity for me to leave the manor and seek out adventures.

This opportunity came after a long spell of peace in our region. Suddenly William’s skill with a sword was no longer needed. So he decided to seek patronage elsewhere. William had talked about a lord in Wales called Reginald deGrey,  who he had fought beside in the not too recent battles under the banner of King Richard II of England. I heard William say that he did not like deGrey, but knew he would provide employment for him. You see, deGrey was responsible for issuing and enforcing royal demands.  This meant that he needed mem like William to act on his behalf.

So off we went across Munster to the old viking port of Wexford in the kingdom of Leinster to seek passage across the sea to the land of the Welsh.

We were welcomed by Lord Ruthin, and William was put straight to work. After a while listening to William’s daily stories, it became obvious to me that deGrey was exploiting his royal connections for his own benefit. Yet William is not the brightest and needed convincing of this. I soon made him realise that he had become increasingly reluctant to carry out his lord’s wishes. I saw an opportunity for William to right the many wrongs he had committed for deGrey.

deGrey had a long running feud with a local welsh lord called Owain Glyndwr, and he was using his connections to steal land from Glyndwr.  When violence finally erupted, I persuaded William to swap sides and fight on the side of justice; on the side of Glyndwr.

So off we went again, this time moving from town to town, up and down the Welsh hills.  Whereever Glyndwr went, he followed.  Never one to do what was expected of me, I followed William and became a camp follower.  I would regularly cook food for troops, chop wood for the fire and make sure William didn’t do anything foolish, like getting killed.

Again my life takes an unexpected turn.  When we narrowly escaped death or capture at the Welsh defeat at Harlech Castle, we fled south with our newly born child to the safety of Glamorgan.  William used his brother’s connection with the Despenser family to secure work.  The new Lord Richard Le Despenser was only a child when he became lord, so when his guardian learned about William’s battle experience, William was appointed to his personal guard.

Our life was peaceful for once. William lived in the castle in Caerdydd with the young lord, and our daughter and I lived in the manor house owned by his brother in Rumney.  William would visit as often as he could, which I didn’t mind as I had become tired of moving around and watching after him.

William’s loyalty was rewarded in 1410 when he was appointed the Constable of the Wentloog Hundred. Finally he had been appointed to a position where he could provide for his family.

But this happiness only lasted a few more years. He had lost his mind again! He had met an old friend, Captain Nicholas Horton, who had fought with William in Glyndwr’s rebellion many years ago. Horton had told him that the young King Henry V planned to sail to France and seize the French throne, something his illustrious ancestor Edward III could not do. The Captain wanted William to fight once more beside him with his new company, the Freemen of Gwent. 

Although William had grown older, he hadn’t grown wiser. He was still the same reckless and impetuous man I had left Munster with all those years ago. He still needed guidance from time to time.  So I decided to leave the children with their uncle in Rumney and our peaceful life to look after William, and make sure he came back.

To France then, on what will hopefully be our last great adventure.