Wales and Ireland

One morning in the spring of 1188, Baldwin of Ford, Archbishop of Canterbury, and his entourage, which included Gerald of Wales, Archdeacon of Brecon, who recorded these events, struggled along a steep and undulating valley near Caernarfon on the way to Bangor. This was part of a drive to recruit men from Wales to take part in Richard I’s proposed crusade to rescue the Holy Land and recapture Jerusalem after the great defeat of the battle of Hattin in July 1187. By the time they had reached the end of the valley, Baldwin was exhausted and flopped down on an oak tree blown over by the winds. On hearing a bird singing they began to try to identify it, for Gerald was greatly interested in birds, but none of them really knew. However, they were certain it was not a nightingale.