General Notes

[Direct Linage1.FTW]

Reign: 1137 - 1170

In Gwynedd, Owain Gwynedd, the son of Gruffudd ap Cynan, peacefully took the seat of Aberfraw in 1137 and reigned until his death in 1170. He consolidated his position very quickly (though with an on again, off again relationship with his brother, Cadwaladr) and began pushing back the Anglo-Norman positions. He was known more for his baility to lead men in batle, than cultural pursuits, and this he did very well, capturing Rhuddlan castle in 1167 and bringing Tegeingl back into the Welsh fold (which was followed with a successful Welsh colonization of the newly re-acquired lands). Owain also had his eye on Ceredigion, and after several posturings, the Lord Rhys and Owain came to aan agreement whereby
they divided Ceredigin amongst each other, with Rhy getting the lion's share.

In 1155, Henry II took the throne of England and quickly became one of its most powerful monarchs. Henry took an interest in subduing the resurgent Welsh princes, and in 1157 mounted a campaign into Wales. The Brut records the following:

1157: Henry, son of the empress, king of England, who was grandson of Henry, son of William the Bastard, brough an immense army into the champaign land of Caerleon, with the design of subjecting all Gwynedd to himself; and there he encamped. And then Owain, prince of Gwynedd, had called to him his sons and his strength and his army and his power, he encamped at basingwerk, having with him an immense host. And there he fixed an appaointment for battle with the king, causing dykes to be
raised, with the design of fighting a pitched battle with the king. When the king heard of that he divided his army, and sent earls, many and innumerable barons, with a powerful number of armed troops along the strand towards the place where Owain was. And the king himself undauntedly, with armed troops...proceeded through the Wood, called the Wood of Cennadlog...; and David and Cynan, sons of owain, intercepted them in the trackless Wood, and fought a severe battle with the king; who after
many of his men were killed, scarcely escaped into the champaign lands again...And then the king collected his army together and proceeded to Rhuddlan in a rage. Then Owain encamped in fron of Llwyn Pina; and from thence harrassed the king day and night...

{in the meantime, Henry had sent men to make a landing on Anglesey in the rear}

...on the following day there was a battle between them and the men of Mona. And in that battle the French, according to their accustomed manner, retreated, after many of them were killed, and others taken, and others drowned; and scarcely a few of them escaped to the ships, Henry, son of king Henry, and almost all the chief officers of the seamen, having been slain...


However, despite some success against the king, Owain adopted the course of of submitting to the king, accepting him as his overlord. Owain porbably did this to prevent a further expedition and to get the angry king out of Gwynedd. Owain also delivered hostages to the king, which would play a part in the future. The following year, the Lord Rhys was subjected to much the same treatment by Henry II, and was also forced to submit (upon the advice of Owain Gwynedd) and give up hostages.

In 1163, the Lord Rhys once again revolted against the incursions and presuppositions of the English. Henry II came once more into Wales, forced Rhys to submit, but this time Henry had Rhys and his chief leaders pay homage to himself and his son.

The Brut record the following:

1165: The ensuing year, when Rhys ap Gruffudd saw that the king fulfilled nothing of what he had promised, and that he could not thus submit honorably, he manfully entered the territory of Roger, earl of Clare...and dismantled and burned the castle of Aber Rheidiol...and reconquered for a second time the whole of Ceredigion, iterating slaughters and conflagrations against the Flemings, and taking form them many spoils. And after that, all the Welsh combined together to expel the garrison of the French altogether.




This time, the enraged Henry II prepared and mounted what was hoped to be the final blow to the recalcitrant Welsh princes. Forces were comandeered from the continent and from Scotland, a fllet was also summoned from Dublin "..proposing to destroy the whole of the Britons".

However, this time, things went differently, as Owain Gwynedd and Madog ap Meredudd of Powys united with the Lord Rhys in their defiance assembling forces at Corwen in the Dee valley. Henry then made the serious tactical blunder of trying to march from Oswestry up the Ceiriog valley and across the Berwyn range, rather than follow the traditional coastal routes.

"...And after remaining there a few days, he was overtaken by a dreadful tempest of the sky, and extraordinary torrents of rain. And when provisions failed him, he removed his tents and his army to the open plains of England; and full of extreme rage, he ordered the hostages, who had previously been long imprisoned by him, to be blinded; to wit the two sons of Owain Gwynedd...and the son of the Lord Rhys..."

This defeat of Henry enabled Owain, Rhys and Madog to concentrate their efforts on building a sustained peace, though with some of the ususal disputes amongst their relations. This also allowed the Welsh to take the initiative once more, making some headway against the English who were on their borders.

The next time Henry came to Wales was in 1171. This time he was not on a punitive expedition, but on his way to Ireland to establish his authority over the barons who had set themselves up there (many of whom were Marcher lords). This time, he made the Lord Rhys the justiciar over all of Deheubarth, and freed his son. this last visit of Henry II marks the end of an era in Welsh-English relations, for no king would return to Wales for almost 40 years. Owian Gwynedd died in 1170, and his son, David
succeeded him. David took the opportunity to establish new relations with Henry II, further securing his position.

Upon Owain Gwynedd's death in 1170, the kingdom was divided amongst his sons and the usual quarrels ensued. However, in 1194 Dafydd ap Owain and his brother Rhodri were defeated by two of their nephews in battle. One of the victors was Llywelyn ap Iorweth, and his rise to power
quickly became meteoric. On 11July 1201, King John secured a formal agreement with Llywelyn, recognizing all of Llywelyn's rights and claims to gwynedd, and conceding that if there were a dispute between the king and Llywelyn, that such a dispute would be resolved in accordance with Welsh law. In 1205, King John wed his illegitimate daughter, Joan to Llywelyn. Royal support enhanced Llywelyn's position, allowing him to further secure his position at home and to look to his interests in domestic disputes. However, Llywelyn would come very close to the disaster which would occur in 70 years later.

http://home.worldonline.dk/kmariboe/fgspwelsh.html

Upon Owain's death his lands were divided between his sons, of whom Maelgwyn inherited Anglesey. Civil War broke out from 1170-74, from which emerged two victors who eventually divided the kingdom between them. Another son, Cynan, succeeded in retaining his land at Merioneth and briefly re-establishing a ruling dynasty there.

http://www.castlewales.com/gwynedd.html

Name Suffix:<NSFX> Prince of North Wales
REFN: HWS6963
Ancestral File Number:<AFN> FJGV-6L
OBJE: C:\LEGACY\PICTURES\C_PrinceSaintEmpire.GIF

Nickname:<NICK> King of Wales
Name Suffix:<NSFX> King of Gwynedd