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Information about Gruffudd Ap Llywelyn

See also Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr


Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (c. 1000–August 5, 1063) was the ruler of all Wales from 1055 until his death, one of very few able to make this boast. Known as King of the Britons, he was of a cadet branch of the princely house of Mathrafal of Powys.

Genealogy and early life

Gruffydd was the only son of Llywelyn ap Seisyll, who had been able to seize both Gwynedd and Powys from their traditional dynasties. On Llywelyn's death in 1033, a member of the traditional Aberffraw dynasty, Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig, became ruler of Gwynedd. Gruffydd according to tradition had been a lazy youth, but one New Year's Eve, he was driven out of the house by his exasperated sister. Leaning against the wall of another house, he heard a cook who was boiling pieces of beef in a cauldron complain that there was one piece of meat which kept coming to the top of the cauldron, however often it was thrust down. Gruffydd took the comment to apply to himself, and began his rise to power.

King of Gwynedd and Powys 1039-1055

In 1039 Iago ab Idwal was killed by his own men (his son Cynan ap Iago went into exile in Dublin) and Gruffydd, already the usurper-king of Powys, was able to become king of Gwynedd by 1039. Soon after gaining power he surprised a Mercian army at Rhyd y Groes near Welshpool and totally defeated it, killing its leader, Edwin, the brother of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He then attacked the neighbouring principality of Deheubarth which was now ruled by Hywel ab Edwin. Gruffydd defeated Hywel in a battle at Pencader in 1041 and carried off Hywel's wife. Gruffydd seems to have been able to drive Hywel out of Deheubarth in about 1043, for in 1044 Hywel is recorded as returning with a Danish fleet to the mouth of the River Tywi to try to reclaim his kingdom. Gruffydd however defeated and killed him.

Gruffydd ap Rhydderch of Gwent was able to expel Gruffydd ap Llywelyn from Deheubarth in 1047 and became king of Deheubarth himself after the nobles of Ystrad Tywi had suddenly attacked and killed 140 of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn's household guard. He was able to resist several attacks by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in the following years. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was active on the Welsh border in 1052, when he attacked Herefordshire and defeated a mixed force of Normans and English near Leominster.

King of Wales 1055-1063

In 1055 Gruffydd ap Llywelyn killed his rival Gruffydd ap Rhydderch in battle and recaptured Deheubarth. Gruffydd now allied himself with Ælfgar, son of Earl Leofric of Mercia, who had been deprived of his earldom of East Anglia by Harold Godwinson and his brothers. They marched on Hereford and were opposed by a force led by the Earl of Hereford, Ralph the Timid. This force was mounted and armed in the Norman fashion, but on October 24 Gruffydd defeated it. He then sacked the city and destroyed its Norman castle. Earl Harold was given the task of counter attacking, but was not able to penetrate very far. Shortly afterwards Ælfgar was restored to his earldom and a peace treaty concluded.

Around this time Gruffydd was also able to seize Morgannwg and Gwent, along with extensive territories along the border with England. In 1056 he won another victory over an English army near Glasbury. He now claimed sovereignty over the whole of Wales - a claim which was recognised by the English.

Death and aftermath

Gruffydd reached an agreement with Edward the Confessor, but the death of his ally Ælfgar in 1062 left him more vulnerable. In late 1062 Harold Godwinson obtained the king's approval for a surprise attack on Gruffydd's court at Rhuddlan. Gruffydd was nearly captured, but was warned in time to escape out to sea in one of his ships, though his other ships were destroyed. In the spring of 1063 Harold's brother Tostig led an army into north Wales while Harold led to fleet first to south Wales and then north to meet with his brother's army. Gruffydd was forced to take refuge in Snowdonia, but at this stage his own men killed him, on 5 August according to Brut y Tywysogion. The Ulster Chronicle states that he was killed by Cynan ap Iago, whose father Iago ab Idwal had been put to death by Gruffydd in 1039. [1] Gruffydd had probably made enemies in the course of uniting Wales under his rule. Walter Map has preserved a comment from Gruffydd himself about this:
Speak not of killing; I but blunt the horns of the offspring of Wales lest they should injure their dam.


Gruffydd's head and the figurehead of his ship were sent to Harold.

Following Gruffydd's death, Harold married his widow Ealdgyth, though she was to be widowed again three years later. Gruffydd's realm was divided again into the traditional kingdoms. Bleddyn ap Cynfyn and his brother Rhiwallon came to an agreement with Harold and were given the rule of Gwynedd and Powys. Thus when Harold was defeated and killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Normans reaching the borders of Wales were confronted by the traditional kingdoms rather than a single king. Gruffydd left two sons who in 1070 challenged Bleddyn and Rhiwallon at the battle of Mechain in an attempt to win back part of their father's kingdom. However they were defeated, one being killed and the other dying of exposure after the battle.

Marriage and issue

Gruffydd married Ealdgyth, daughter of Ælfgar, they had the following:
  • Maredudd ap Gruffydd (died 1070)
  • Idwal ap Gruffydd (died 1070)
  • Nesta verch Gruffydd, married Osbern FitzRichard
Preceded by
Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig		King of Gwynedd
1039—1063		Succeeded by
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn
King of Powys
1039—1063
Preceded by
Meurig ap Hywel		King of Gwent
1055—1063		Succeeded by
Cadwgan ap Meurig
Preceded by
Gruffydd ap Rhydderch		King of Glywysing
1055—1063
King of Deheubarth
1055—1063		Succeeded by
Maredudd ab Owain ab Edwin

Notes

1. ^ Davies, J A history of Wales p. 101

References

  • John Edward Lloyd (1911) A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest (Longmans, Green & Co.)
  • John Davies A history of Wales (Penguin Books) ISBN 0-14-014581-8
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (c. 1200 – March 1, 1244) was the eldest, but illegitimate son of Llywelyn the Great ("Llywelyn Fawr").

Hostage

As a boy, Gruffydd was one of the hostages taken by King John as a pledge for his father's continued good faith.
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August 5 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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  • 642 - Battle of Maserfeld - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia.

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10th century - 11st century - 12nd century
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Motto
Cymru am byth   (Welsh)
"Wales forever"
Anthem
"Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau"
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Britons, or Brythons were the indigenous Celtic-speaking people of what is now England, Wales and southern Scotland, whose ethnic identity is today maintained by the Welsh and to a lesser extent the Cornish and Bretons[1].
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Mathrafal near Welshpool, Wales was the seat of the Kings and Princes of Powys probably from the 9th Century until its destruction in 1212 by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth of Gwynedd.
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Llywelyn ap Seisyll (died 1023) was a King of Gwynedd and of Deheubarth in north-west and south-west Wales, also called King of the Britons by the Annals of Ulster.

Lineage


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Gwynedd (pr. /'gwɪnɛð/) was one of the kingdoms or principalities of medieval Wales. Traditionally covering an area between the rivers Dyfi and Dee in the north-west of the country around Snowdonia (Welsh: Eryri) and
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The Kingdom of Powys was a Welsh successor state that emerged during the Dark Ages following the Roman withdrawal from Britain. Based on the Romano-British tribal lands of the Cornovii, its boundaries originally extended from the Cambrian Mountains in the west to include the
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Aberffraw is a small village on the south west coast of Anglesey (Welsh: Ynys Môn), by the west bank of the River Ffraw, at grid reference SH354693 . The UK postcode begins LL63.
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Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig (died 1039) was a Prince of Gwynedd.

On the death of Llywelyn ap Seisyll in 1023, the rule of Gwynedd returned to the ancient dynasty with the accession of Iago, who was a great-grandson of Idwal Foel.
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Cynan ab Iago (died 1039) was a Welsh Prince, the son of Iago ab Idwal, King of Gwynedd and father of Gruffydd ap Cynan who also became king of Gwynedd.

Iago ab Idwal was king of Gwynedd from 1023 to 1039, but in the latter year he was killed by one of his own men and the
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Mercia (IPA: /ˈmɝsiə/) was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands.
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Welshpool

Welshpool Town Hall

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Leofric (born 968, died 31 August or 30 September 1057) was the Earl of Mercia and founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock. Leofric is best remembered as the husband of Lady Godiva.
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Deheubarth was a south-western kingdom or principality of medieval Wales.

History

Deheubarth was created in about 950 by Hywel Dda ("Hywel the Good") out of the territories of Seisyllwg and Dyfed, both of which had come into his possession.
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Hywel ab Edwin (died 1044) was king of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1033.

Hywel was the son of Edwin ab Einion and great-grandson of Hywel Dda. When the previous king, Rhydderch ap Iestyn, who had usurped the throne, died in 1033 Hywel became king of Deheubarth, sharing
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Pencader is a large village in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire, it is part of the community of Llanfihangel-ar-Arth.

External links

  • Village website
  • Map sources for Pencader, Carmarthenshire

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Origin Cambrian Mountains (SN802631)
Mouth Carmarthen Bay
Basin countries Wales (Llandovery, Llandeilo, Carmarthen)
Length 67 mi (108 km)
Source elevation 1,601 ft (488 m)

Avg.
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Gruffydd ap Rhydderch (died 1055) was a king of Gwent and part of the kingdom of Morgannwg in south Wales and later king of Deheubarth.

Gruffydd was the son of Rhydderch ab Iestyn who had been able to take over the kingdom of Deheubarth from 1023 to 1033.
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Gwent was one of the kingdoms or principalities of mediæval Wales, in the Welsh Marches.

Emergence

The area has been occupied since the Paleolithic, with Mesolithic finds at Goldcliff and growing activity during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman period.
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Ælfgar (died 1062) was son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, possibly by his well-known wife Godgifu (Godiva), although more probably by an earlier marriage. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the latter's death in 1057.
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Leofric (born 968, died 31 August or 30 September 1057) was the Earl of Mercia and founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock. Leofric is best remembered as the husband of Lady Godiva.
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Harold II of England (Harold Godwinson); c. 1022 – October 14, 1066) was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England.[1] He ruled from January 5 to October 14 1066 when he was killed at the Battle of Hastings.
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Hereford
Welsh - Henffordd

Hereford ()
|240px|Hereford (

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Ralph the Timid was the Earl of Hereford from 1052[1] until his death in 1057.

Lineage

He was the son of Drogo of Mantes, Count of the Vexin, and Goda, daughter of King Ethelred the Unready of England and Emma of Normandy.
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October 24 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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Normans were a people from medieval northern France, deriving to a large extent their aristocratic origins from Scandinavia (the name is adapted from the name "Northmen" or "Norsemen").
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