Llywelyn ap Gruffudd

“ North Wales on condition of faithfully serving Edward the Confessor ‘everywhere by water and by land.’ As the son of Angharad, daughter of Maredudd ab Owain ap Hywel Dda, he was Gruffydd's half-brother. In August 1067 he and Bleddyn joined Eadric the Wild in an attack upon Herefordshire, which was part of the general resistance to the Conqueror. In 1069 (or 1070?) the two fought the battle of Mechain with Maredudd and Idwal, sons of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. Though they were victorious, Rhiwallon fell, leaving Bleddyn sole prince of North Wales. ”

“ Middle Country; also Cydewain, Ceri, Gwerthrynion, Builth, and Brecon. But Maelienydd was restored to Roger Mortimer, though Llywelyn reserved his right to appeal to the law against this article. Further, the Prince of Gwynedd received the hereditary title of Prince of Wales, and was recognised as overlord of all the Welsh barons in Wales, except Meredydd ap Rhys, who remained immediate vassal of the King of England: his territories therefore in the Vale of Towy were withdrawn from the power of Llywelyn. ”

“ The poems of Bleddyn Vardd, or Bleddyn the Bard, which have come down to us are all short eulogies and elegies. One of the latter on Llywelyn ab Gruffydd is a good example of the elaborate and artificial nature of Welsh versification.
The most illustrious name among the poets of this century is Gruffydd ab yr Ynad Coch, “Gruffydd, son of the Red Justice,” who wrote many religious poems of great merit. His greatest work, however, is the elegy to Llywelyn ab Gruffydd, the last prince of Wales. It is easily first among all the elegies written in the Welsh language. ”

“ According to the Brut, p. 309, “young Rhys” (of South Wales; see above, p. 90) “became angry with the Lord Llywelyn and separated from him, and went to William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, because Llywelyn had given Caermarthen to Maelgwn ap Rhys, and would not give Aberteivi” (i.e. Cardigan) “to him [Rhys] , which fell to his share when South Wales was divided. Then Llywelyn with his army came to Aberystwith, and obtained possession of it.... Rhys repaired to the court of the King and complained ... and the King assembled Llywelyn and the earls and barons of the Marches to Shrewsbury. ”

“ He realised that the best way of securing this was by interesting King Henry in his nephew's welfare. But he did not neglect to conciliate the goodwill of his own subjects. On 19 Oct. 1238 he gathered together all the princes and barons of Wales at the Cistercian abbey of Strata Florida in Ceredigion (Brut y Tywysogion, p. 327) . There they all swore oaths of fealty to Davydd as his successor. As Gruffydd still resisted, he was deprived of all his lands but the cantred of Lleyn. In his new-born zeal for peace Llywelyn deprived one of his chieftains of his lands for murdering his brother. ”

“ In 1223 Gruffydd was entrusted by Llewelyn with a numerous army to oppose William Marshall, earl of Pembroke, who had returned from Ireland to South Wales, and had taken Aberteivi and Carmarthen from Llewelyn. A battle was fought by Carmarthen with doubtful result, but lack of provisions immediately afterwards obliged Gruffydd to retire to the north. ”

“ He already bade fair to become prince of all Wales.
The good understanding between Llywelyn and John did not last long. In 1208 John released Gwenwynwyn and restored him to his territories. He also promised to regard Llywelyn as his son, and pardon him all injuries done to Gwenwynwyn (Fœdera, i. 102) ; but the release of his rival was an act of hostility, and war soon broke out between the prince and the king. In 1209 Gwenwynwyn, with the king's help, drove Llywelyn out of Powys. In the autumn of 1209 Ranulph de Blundevill, earl of Chester [q. v.] ”

“ But if Llywelyn lacked the hard head of the practical statesman, if he did not, like his grandfather, merit the title of “the Great,” he will always remain an attractive and striking figure in history; he possessed qualities which made him an ideal representative of the Cymric race in the Middle Ages:—
“A bold and bounteous lion—the most reckless of givers,
Man whose anger was destructive; most courteous prince;
A man sincere in grief, true in loving,
Perfect in knowledge.” ”

“ All the 'wise men' of Gwynedd gathered round Llywelyn at Aberdovey, where, in a sort of Welsh parliament of magnates, Dyved, Ceredigion, Ystrad Tywi, and Kidwelly were partitioned among a number of rival princelings. Alarmed at Llywelyn's power, the faithless Gwenwynwyn went over in 1216 to King John, 'treating with contempt his oath to the chieftains of England and Wales and violating his homage to Llywelyn' (Brut y Tywysogion, p. 291) . Llywelyn vigorously expostulated with his vassal for breaking his faith, and, finding remonstrance fruitless, invaded his dominions. ”

“ The homages of nearly all the 'Welsh barons' were transferred from the prince to the king, save the homage of five barons of Snowdon, 'inasmuch as he could not be called a prince if he had no barons under him.' The Welsh lords were called upon to swear to the treaty and renounce Llywelyn if he broke it. In return for all these concessions Edward promised to continue Llywelyn in his principality, now reduced to the district round Snowdon. Ample provision was made for Llywelyn's Welsh enemies, Davydd, Owain, and Gruffydd. ”

“ There a decisive battle was fought, in which Caradog, Trahaearn, and Meilyr fell, and the crowns of Gwynedd and of Deheubarth were permanently secured to the descendants of Gruffydd and of Rhys respectively. Gruffydd's biographer alleges that he was distrusted by Rhys, who withdrew from him after the battle, and that in revenge he ravaged Rhys's lands. Rhys was again involved in civil strife in 1088, when Madog, Cadwgan, and Rhiryd, sons of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, drove him into exile. ”

“ Auloed, says Gruffydd's biographer, to whose rather doubtful testimony our knowledge of Gruffydd's early life is due, was the son of King Sihtric and a descendant of Harald Haarfagr. His wife was a daughter of King Brian. So that Gruffydd sprang from the noblest royal lines of Wales, Norway, and Ireland. He was born about 1055 at Dublin, and was nursed at a place called by the Welsh the 'Cymmwd of Columcille,' three miles from his parents' house. After Cynan's death his mother inspired him with the desire to emulate his father's exploits and save Gwynedd from the usurpers. ”

“ At this news Marshal returned from Ireland with a large host, landing at St. Davids on Palm Sunday, 9 April 1223. Abertavy was recovered on 24 April and Carmarthen two days later. Gruffydd ab Llywelyn (d. 1244) [q. v.] then encountered him near Kidwelly, and though the issue was doubtful the Welsh had to retreat through lack of provisions. After this the king and archbishop arranged a truce, and summoned Marshal to meet them at Ludlow. But their attempt to make peace failed, and the war broke out again. Llywelyn was aided openly by Marshal's Irish enemy Hugh de Lacy, earl of Ulster [q. v.] ”

“ The second struggle of Llywelyn’s reign took place between 1267 and 1277. He tried to weld his land into a closer union, and many of the chiefs of the south and east became willing to call in the English King. Two of them, his own brother David and Griffith of Powys, fled to England, and were received by Edward, who had been king since 1272. Llywelyn and Edward distrusted each other. Edward wished to unite Britain in a feudal unity, and to crush all opponents. Llywelyn thought of helping the barons; he might become their leader. ”

“ In July there was a rumour in England that Llywelyn was dead, and Henry summoned an army to meet at Shrewsbury (ib. i. 420) . In November some Welsh subjects of Roger Mortimer in Melenydd rose in revolt, and called upon Llywelyn to protect them from the new castle of Cevnllys, which their English lord was building within their borders. Llywelyn came with an army, captured Cevnllys, Bleddva, and Cnwclas castles, and received the homages of the men of Melenydd (Annales Cambriæ, p. 100; Brut y Tywysogion, p. 349; Worcester Annals, p. 447) . ”

“ In 1053 his brother Rhys became so troublesome that the witan decreed that he should be slain, 'and his head was brought to Gloucester on Twelfth-day eve.' At last in 1055 Gruffydd ab Rhydderch was slain by Gruffydd ab Llewelyn. He must have possessed unusual vigour of character to struggle so long both against the English and the North Welsh king. ”

“ Llywelyn took the constable prisoner, and burnt the outer wards, but failed to capture the main works of the castle. A vast throng of Welsh from the hills—estimated by the Monk of Malmesbury as ten thousand in number—flocked to the standard of Llywelyn and of his six sons. Turberville had no means of resisting such a force, and stood quietly aside while the vale of Glamorgan was devastated, and an enormous booty conveyed to the mountains. Edward was now at Lincoln, where, owing to Llywelyn's revolt, very few lords attended the parliament. ”

“ He dominated his enemies with sword and shield. He kept good peace for the monks, providing food and clothing to those who made themselves poor for Christ's sake. By his wars he enlarged the boundaries of his dominions. He gave good justice to all men, and attracted all men to his service' (Annales Cambriæ;, pp. 82-3) . He was certainly the greatest of the native rulers of Wales, and the title of 'Llywelyn the Great' was recognised in the official documents of Edward I (Monasticon, vi. 200) . If other Welsh kings were equally warlike, the son of Iorwerth was by far the most politic of them. ”

“ He was a good friend to the clergy, and built so many churches that, says his biographer, 'Gwynedd became splendid with white churches like the firmament with stars.' In his will he left donations to many Welsh, Irish, and English churches. Gruffydd's reign marks an epoch in the growth of Welsh literature. He gave the same impulse to the poets of the north that Rhys ab Tewdwr's return from Brittany and the curiosity of the Norman conquerors gave to the prose writers of South Wales. ”

“ After Edward returned to England, “the nobles of Wales came to Llywelyn, having been robbed of their liberties and made captives, and declared they would rather be killed in war for their liberty than suffer themselves to be trampled on by strangers. And Llywelyn was moved at their tears, and invaded the Middle Country and subdued it all before the end of the week.” In this work Llywelyn was assisted by descendants of Rhys, the princes of South Wales, who in Cardigan suffered from Prince Edward’s policy in the same way as the men of the Middle Country or Four Cantreds. ”

“ Llywelyn now took possession of the throne of North Wales, thus bringing in the family of Howel Dda in the person of his descendants, and representing some sort of triumph of South Welsh over North Welsh. Llywelyn'a brief reign was one of exceptional prosperity. He is styled 'supreme king of Gwynedd, and the chief and most renowned king of all the Britons' (Brut y Tywysogion, p. 37) . ”

“ Such acts excited the alarm of the petty Welsh chieftains. The Welsh leaders in South Wales began to fear him. Gruffydd ab Gwenwynwyn [q. v.] , lord of Cyveiliog or Upper Powys, sought protection from him by allying himself with the English. But more formidable to Llywelyn's power was the new departure which took place at the English court. In 1254 Henry III granted his firstborn son, Edward, on his marriage, the earldom of Chester and all the lands held by the crown in Wales. ”

“ Llywelyn had no force with which he could withstand so overwhelming a power. He abandoned South Wales in despair, leaving the native chieftains to make what terms they could with the Earl of Lancaster. But he strove, by closely watching the royal advance, and by availing himself of his minute knowledge of the country traversed, to divide, starve out, or dishearten the invaders. A great wood offered a formidable obstacle to the king's advance, but Edward ordered a broad road to be cut through it, and successfully eluded the threatened ambush of Llywelyn. ”

“ Cadwalader, son of Gruffydd ap Conan, prince of North Wales, died in 1175. Gruffydd of Maelor was son of Madoc ap Meredyth ap Blethyn, prince of Powys, who died at Winchester in 1160. “This man was ever the king of England’s friend, and was one that feared God, and relieved the poor: his body was conveyed honourably to Powys, and buried at Myvod.” His son Gruffydd succeeded him in the lordship of Bromfield, and died about the year 1190. 6. Rhys ap Gruffydd, or the lord Rhys, was son of Gruffydd ap Rhys ap Tewdwr, who died in 1137. ”

“ Edward pressed his legal rights remorselessly and inexorably. His subordinates as usual served him badly, and displayed unnecessary violence and brutality. Davydd, Llywelyn's brother, was so disgusted at their actions; that he secretly entered into a league with him against the king. A great scheme of revolt seems to have been planned with the utmost secrecy. The reconciliation of Llywelyn and Davydd again united the Welsh forces. ”

“ God himself will not suffer her to be an exile from the mansions of bliss. Heaven be her lot.
p. 29A POEM To Llewelyn-ap-Iorwerth, or Llewelyn the Great; in which many of his victories are celebrated.
Composed by Llywarch Brydydd y Moch, a Bard, who, according to Mr. Edward Llwyd of the Museum’s Catalogue of the British writers, flourished about the year 1240; but this poem is certainly of more ancient date, for prince Llewelyn died in the year 1240. However that be, the original was taken from Llyfr Coch o Hergest, or the Red book of Hergest, kept in the Archives of Jesus College, Oxon. ”