The feeling was purely personal. In financial terms, the war in Wales had cost double what it should have. From Joanna’s point of view, this was not a disaster because Ian and Alinor had foreseen that no war ever costs what is estimated and had left careful instructions. Ian had told Geoffrey what men to hire, where to obtain them, and how much to pay if the terms of service of the vassals ran out. Alinor had told Joanna where to find the money for this and other things and where to say the money had come fromwhich were two different things. Even for those who had not the resources that Geoffrey and Joanna commanded, the Welsh war was no great strain. King John himself paid the costs for any man who was pinched, and he did not oppress the people with taxation. He wrung the loins of the Church, exacting such heavy fines that it was rumored he had extracted one hundred thousand pounds from this source. Joanna heard much of this from the church in Roselynde town and the abbey some ten miles to the east, which cried to her for help she could not give, although she promised the priest and monks that they should not starve.
