Family Notes

 [Pullen010502.FTW]

One interesting story from Joan and Llywelyn's marriage:  about1230/1231,
Llywelyn returned home unexpectedly to find Joan alone in theirbedroom with
William de Braose.  This story is recounted in "Here Be Dragons" andone
other "purely historical" source. William was later hanged onLlywelyn's order.

From "The Genealogist" article by Wm. Addams Reitwiesner: He wasdiscovered in Joan's chambers, accused of being her lover, andpromptly
and publicly hanged.  While the story that William and Joan werelovers has
been generally accepted, the Annals of Margam (in T. Gale, ed ,Historiae
Britannicae et Anglicanae Scriptores XX (Oxford, 1687), 2-18, [anno]MCCXXX)
implies that the "intimacy" was devised by Llywelyn to avenge himselfon
William for political injuries inflicted not only by William but bythe entire
Braose family; the execution was hailed by the Welsh as a vindicationof a
blood-feud against the Braoses dating from at least 1176.  Indeed,shortly
after the execution Llywelyn wrote to William's widow Eva and toWilliam
Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, Eva's brother, stating, in effect, that sofar as
he was concerned, the intended marriage between Llywelyn's son Dafyddand
Eva's daughter Isabella could go forward as planned, and that he couldnot
have prevented the Welsh magnates from taking their vengeance.  See J.Goronwy Edwards, Calendar of Ancient Correspondence concerning Wales(Board of Celtic Studies of the University of Wales, History and LawSeries, 2)(Cardiff, 1935), pp 51-52, nos.  XI.56a, 56b.  The marriagein fact took place three months later.