The Super Bowl!?

It's February!? Holy shnikeys!

Yay for the Super Bowl. Thanks to my beautiful and brilliant mother I still get to watch (if I can stay awake until 11 :P) via el internet! Woot!

This whole not having an enter key blows, fyi. I have to press it 13 times to make it work.

Like just there...that was a lot of pressing.

I should probably talk about Caernarfon Castle and the other fieldtrips I've been on, eh? K. Here we go!

This is Caernarfon Castle:






ooooooh! ahhhhhh!



"Background

Edward I built castles and walled towns in North Wales to control the area following his conquest of the independent principality of Wales, in 1283.

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales, having rejected a bribe of one thousand pounds a year and an estate in England, if he would surrender his nation unreservedly to the king of England, had been lured into a trap on 11 December 1282, and put to death. His brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd had continued the struggle for continuing independence, but had been captured at Bera Mountain in the uplands above Garth Celyn, in June 1283.

Edward surrounded and overshadowed Garth Celyn, the royal home and the headquarters of resistance to English domination, with Caernarfon and Conwy castles, and later Beaumaris Castle. The other fortress in the iron ring encirling Snowdonia was Harlech Castle.

The site selected for Caernarfon was strategically important, located on the banks of the River Seiont where it flows into the Menai Strait. It had been the site of a Roman fort, and a later motte and bailey castle built c. 1090 by Hugh d'Avranches. The castle was, at the time, surrounded on two sides by water, and the other by the Caernarfon city walls, but in the 19th century, the area on the River Seiont was filled in to enlarge the port of Caernarfon, and is today part of the castle's car park.


Construction

Begun in 1283 after Snowdonia - the heartland of Gwynedd - had been overrun by the massive army, it reached something like its current state in 1323. It was never completed, and even today there are joints visible in several places on the internal walls ready to accept further walls which were never built. Contemporary records note that the castle's construction cost some £22,000 – an enormous sum at the time, equivalent to more than a year's income for the royal treasury. The castle's linear design is sophisticated by comparison with earlier British castles, and the walls are said to have been modelled on those of Constantinople, Edward being a keen Crusader. The castle dominates the Menai Strait.


History

Edward II of England was born here, during the initial stages of the castle's construction in 1284.

In the uprising of 1294–1295, Caernarfon was taken by the forces of Madog ap Llewellyn, but recaptured in 1295 and its defenses brought nearer to completion. In 1403 and 1404 it withstood sieges by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr. During the English Civil War its Royalist garrison surrendered to Parliamentary forces in 1646.


Ceremonial Usage

Queen Elizabeth II formally invests The Prince of Wales with the Prince of Wales crown at Caernarfon Castle

* The tradition of investing the heir of the monarch of Britain with the title of "Prince of Wales" began in 1301, when King Edward I of England, having completed the conquest of Wales, gave the title to his heir, Prince Edward (later King Edward II of England). According to a famous legend, the king had promised the Welsh that he would name "a prince born in Wales, who did not speak a word of English" and then produced his infant son to their surprise ; but the story may well be apocryphal, as it can only be traced to the 16th century. However, Edward II certainly was born at Caernarfon while his father was campaigning in Wales, and like all infants, could not at the time speak English. (Indeed, growing up in the royal court over the succeeding years his first language may well have been Anglo-Norman, not English.)

* The castle was used again in 1911 for the investiture of the then Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, because of its past associations with the English crown. This set a precedent which was to be repeated in 1969 with the investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales."

(Info hijacked from Wikipedia. Do not hate me if any of the information is misleading, incorrect or just flat out pointless. kthanks)


I personally found visiting this castle to be quite intense. For my entire life I have always dreamed about going to a castle. As I made my way up through the stone gates I was taken aback at how majestic and powerful it looked. The grass that ran throughout the center courtyard was breathtaking and the views from atop Eagle Tower (the tallest tower) were unbelievable. I won't lie...the informational video needs some work. They should have hired somebody who can actually act and not make overly-dramatic facial expressions every time he discusses something exciting, sad or daunting. I think he was supposed to be attractive too. Didn't do it for me. I think Moria may have been the one to find him dreamy though, lol. Sorry I didn't take a picture.

Well...yeah. Amazing first castle experience. People keep telling me I'm going to be tired of visiting castles...but I don't believe them. :) They are all so different and grandiose and tell their own unique story.

Plus I mos def made one with Krystle in 7th grade. And we did it wrong! haha. It looked so cool though with the metallic spray paint and green & yellow sheep in the courtyard.

Right on. Well I'm off to make tacos with Dani. :) I'm stoked...I've been craving one!! yumyum!

As Kylee would say...Peace Out! :D