In the beginning of the reign of king John, a royal council was assembled in Shrewsbury for the purpose of devising means to put a stop to the continual and harrassing incursions of the Welsh. Gwenwynwyn, prince of Powis, offered terms of reconciliation, but, without any apparent cause, he was detained a prisoner.—The Welsh shortly after attempted to recover their liberties; on this occasion John assembled a large army at Oswestry, and released Gwenwynwyn and several other Welsh chieftains, who immediately repaired to his standard with all the forces they could muster. Llewellin ap Jorwerth, who then governed Wales, was obliged to retire before this powerful army of the British monarch, and delivered hostages to answer for the rectitude of his conduct. But Llewellin, fired with the idea of rescuing his countrymen from the yoke of foreign government, once more broke the truce which had been concluded. When intelligence of this event reached John, his heart was so steeled against the feelings of humanity that he ordered the immediate execution of the hostages, 28 in number, and chiefly children allied to the first families in Wales—a deed which renders his name worthy to be recorded on the same page, in the annals of cruelty, with that of Nero. Nottingham was the place in which this tragical drama was acted, and from thence John marched with his army for the purpose of chastising the Welsh; but fear and distrust took possession of his mind, and learning that the Pope had dissolved the allegiance of his subjects, he dismissed his army on a sudden and returned to London. Llewellin soon after suddenly appeared before Shrewsbury, which he now entered without opposition; nor did a long period elapse before the Welsh took ample vengeance for the cruelties committed on their countrymen. An insurrection having broke out in England, in consequence of the unpopular ministry of Peter de Roche bishop of Winchester, in the 17th of Henry III. many of the barons joined Llewellin, and having united their forces, laid waste the Marches, and entering Shrewsbury, after having plundered and burnt the town, in which were considerable riches, they put many of the inhabitants to the sword. Notwithstanding peace was established between the contending monarchs, the national jealousies and deep rooted hatred of the two nations were the fruitful source of perpetual conflicts, to repress which, Henry marched with his array to Shrewsbury, where, in 1269, peace was again restored, through the mediation of the Pope’s legate; and the town and castle of Shrewsbury were placed under the care of Edward, the king’s eldest son, afterwards the celebrated Edward I.