danger.

The area of the enclosure is about ten acres--more suited to a Roman
garrison than to a lord marcher of the twelfth century. That the
castle was difficult to guard is shown by the success of Ivor Bach's
bold dash, _c._ 1153-1158. Ivor ap Meyric was Lord of Senghenydd,
holding it of William of Gloucester, the Lord of Glamorgan, and,
perhaps, had his headquarters in the fortress above the present
Castell Coch. "He was," says Giraldus Cambrensis, "after the manner of
the Welsh, owner of a tract of mountain land, of which the earl was
trying to deprive him. At that time the Castle of Cardiff was
surrounded with high walls, guarded by 120 men at arms, a numerous
body of archers and a strong watch. Yet in defiance of all this, Ivor,
in the dead of night secretly scaled the walls, seized the earl and
countess and their only son, and carried them off to the woods; and
did not release them till he had recovered all that had been unjustly
taken from him," and a goodly ransom in addition. Perhaps the most
permanent result of this episode was the building of a wall 30 feet
high between the keep and the Black Tower--dividing the castle
enclosure into two parts and forming an inner or middle ward of less
extent, and less liable to danger from such sudden raids.

Cardiff Castle was much more than a place of defence; it was the seat
of government. The bailiff of the Castle was _ex officio_ mayor of the
town in the Middle Ages. The Castle was also the head and centre of
the Lordship of Glamorgan. This was divided into two parts--the shire
fee or body, and the members. The shire fee was the southern part;
under a sheriff appointed by the chief Lord: the chief landowners owed
suit and service--_i.e._, they attended and were under the
jurisdiction of the shire court held monthly in the castle enclosure,
and each owed a fixed amount of military service--especially the duty
of "castle-guard"--supplying the garrison and keeping the castle in
repair. There are indications of the work of the shire court in some
of the castle accounts published in the Cardiff Records, _e.g._, in
1316, an official accounts for 1d., the price of "a cord bought for
the hanging of thieves adjudged in the county court: stipend of one
man hanging those thieves 4d." The "members" consisted of ten
lordships (several of which were in the hands of Welsh nobles): these
were much more independent; each had its own court (with powers of
life and death), from which