Llewelyn (The Great) ap Iorweth

• General Notes
  • He was a Prince of Gwynedd and eventually ruler of much of Wales. Although he is often referred to as a Prince of Wales, his official title was "Prince of Aberffraw and Lord of Snowdonia" (the first "official" Prince of Wales was his son, Dafydd). He was also known as Llywelyn the Great or, in Welsh, Llywelyn Fawr.
    Llywelyn was born in 1173, possibly at Dolwyddelan, the grandson of Owain Gwynedd. Little is known about his father Iorwerth Drwyndwn, who may have died when Llywelyn was an infant. Gwynedd was ruled by his uncles Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd and Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd, but by 1188 the young Llywelyn was already in arms against them. In 1194, with the aid of his cousins Gruffydd and Maredydd ap Cynan, he defeated Dafydd in a battle at the mouth of the river Conwy. Rhodri died in 1195 and in 1197 Llywelyn captured Dafydd and expelled him from Gwynedd to spend the remainder of his life in England. Llywelyn went on to capture the castle of Mold in 1199.
    He consolidated this conquest in 1205 by marrying Joan of England, illegitimate daughter of King John of England. His main rival in Wales was Gwenwynwyn ab Owain of Powys. When Gwenwynwyn fell out with King John in 1208, Llywelyn took advantage of the situation to annex southern Powys and northern Ceredigion. In 1210 however relations between Llywelyn and King John deteriorated, and John restored Gwenwynwyn to the rule of southern Powys. In 1211 John invaded Gwynedd and Llywelyn was forced to come to terms, losing all his lands east of the river Conwy. In alliance with other Welsh princes, Llywelyn was able to recover many of these lands in 1212 and took the castles of Deganwy and Rhuddlan in 1213. Llywelyn allied himself with the barons who forced John to sign the Magna Carta. He had now established himself as the leader of the independent princes of Wales and captured Cardigan and Cilgerran. At Aberdyfi in 1216 he held what could be regarded as a Welsh parliament to adjudicate on the territorial claims of the lesser princes. Gwenwynwn of Powys allied himself with King John the same year, but was again driven from southern Powys by Llywelyn, this time for good.
    Following King John's death Llywelyn concluded a treaty, the Peace of Worcester, with his successor Henry III whereby he was confirmed in possession of all his recent conquests. From then until his death Llywelyn was a dominant force in Wales, though there were further outbreaks of hostilities with marcher lords such as Hubert de Burgh and sometimes with the king. Llywelyn was a notable castle builder, his castles at Deganwy and Castell y Bere being among the best examples.
    Llywelyn's marriage to Joan has an unusual history. Following the birth of a legitimate heir, Dafydd ap Llywelyn, and a daughter, Elen (who was married off to the Norman Earl of Chester), Joan committed adultery with William de Braose or Breos, a Norman noble of south Wales who had allied himself with Llywelyn by the marriage of his daughter, Isabella, to Llywelyn's son, Dafydd. On learning of the affair in 1230, Llywelyn executed de Braose and Joan was imprisoned. Some time later, she was forgiven and restored to her position as princess, dying in 1237. Llywelyn himself died in 1240 and was buried at the abbey of Aberconwy. His stone coffin can be seen in Llanrwst parish church.
    In his later years Llywelyn had devoted much effort to ensuring that his only legitimate son Dafydd would inherit the whole of Gwynedd, rather than dividing it with his older but illegitimate brother, Gruffydd who according to Welsh law had equal rights of inheritance. Llywelyn had departed from tradition by naming Dafydd as his sole heir, as he recognised the Welsh custom of dividing inheritance equally amongst all male sons prevented a cohesive polity from forming, preventing a united Wales. Gruffydd was killed attempting to escape from the Tower of London in 1244, leaving the field clear for Dafydd, but Dafydd himself died without heirs in 1246, and was eventually succeeded by his nephew, Gruffydd's son, Llywelyn the Last.
    (Wikipedia)