Llwelyn mab Iorwerth to Emma d' Anjou

[Llywelyn mab Iorwerth]

To my beloved aunt Emma Princess of Gwynedd,

I was gladdened to hear that you would be attending the coronation as well. I struggle to imagine a better representative for our people.

I may found myself called to pilgrimage soon, and may be away for some time. I have heard little of my uncles of late, other than to know that they still are holding to their respective sides of the River Conwy. It would be a relief to me to speak pleasantly with family.

I wish you well and hope to see you soon.

With love, your nephew,

Llwelyn mab Iorwerth

P.S. I chose Welsh for this missive, but if the tongue of Anjou would be better, I will use it for future correspondence.

[Emma of Anjou]

To her husband's nephew, Emma, Princess of Gwynedd, sends greetings.

The cordiality of your letter was well-received, and has found me in the middle of preparations for departure to Westminster. I am heartened to hear that you will be paying some attention to the state of your soul. I wonder where you will be going? Perhaps Archbishop Baldwin's call to Jerusalem has reached the ears of you and the band of friends you have gathered around you? Or perhaps it will be the Camino to Compostela, which the coming season shall make so dangerous, with its weather and its winds? I would urge you to take care of yourself, but I know how rarely the warning words of an old woman find purchase in the ears of young men.

I thank you for your words of encouragement. My brother is very much a son of Aquitaine, and has seldom paid much mind to England, let alone the other lands of the Isles, so this may be the finest opportunity for our people in some time. There will be other points of view, of course, some advanced by powerful men, but I believe that they can be overcome. For your cousins' sake, I hope that this will be so.

In the meantime, I send my love,
Emma

[Llywelyn mab Iorwerth]

To Lady Emma, Princess of Gwynned,

I thank you for your concern for my well-being, though of which old woman you speak, I could not possibly guess. It is the duty of all knights to serve God and their king, but it is the wisest of them who know that they must learn how to serve best. I hope that I may do so in the coming days.

I share with you the hopes this may indeed be the finest opportunity of our peoples. Yet I do keep a watchful eye on those who gather. The last thing I would wish for my cousins would be to have a claim by someone outside of our people, that the "powerful opinions" of which you speak might grow louder without the roar of their king at hand. Please consider me aligned and eager to help in that regard.

Will any of my cousins be joining you, or are called to pilgrimage themselves, or to enjoy the attentions of the court while seeking a husband?

With love,

Llwelyn mab Iorwerth

[Emma of Anjou]

To Llywelyn mab Iorwerth from the Princess of Gwynedd,

Your Uncle and I considered it best to keep them here in Wales, for it has been proven by the Lord of Bramber that Welshmen are not safe when a Norman offers hospitality. This is much to the shame of my people and kinsmen, but only a fool fails to believe a man when he tells you he's a wolf.

I look forward to coordinating with you at the coronation. I have prepared a little something for the Coronation Feast that should take Canterbury down a peg or two in the estimation of the realm, and we shall see if we will not find the ground made a little more fertile when the coercion heaped on our young people has been laid bare.

With hope for the future,
Emma of Anjou.