barbarathomson

By barbarathomson

Disaster on Burgh Marsh

A military warrior, a duplicious bargainer, a law reformer, crusader, quick to anger, cruely violent towards his enemies.and an ardent family man. Arch-enemies, Robert the Bruce and Llewelyn ap Gruffudd'.  He was of his time and acknowledged as one of the greatest Monarchs of England.

King Edward ' Longshanks' (1239 - 1307)was on campaign against the Scots when he caught dysentery and died here on Burgh Marsh. Even then it was in the middle of nowhere, and a nightmare spot of churning mud and midges to bring your army and make camp. Perhaps the last sound he heard was the wavering call of curlews rising over the sands and the wetland.
The monument sits just where he lay, slowly sinking. It's a melancholy sight on a dull November afternoon and quite experiential as a bad choice of field navigation filled my shoes with pungent slurry.

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