Family Notes

[Pullen010502.FTW]

One interesting story from Joan and Llywelyn's marriage:  about 1230/1231,
Llywelyn returned home unexpectedly to find Joan alone in their bedroom with
William de Braose.  This story is recounted in "Here Be Dragons" and one
other "purely historical" source. William was later hanged on Llywelyn's order.

From "The Genealogist" article by Wm. Addams Reitwiesner: He was discovered in Joan's chambers, accused of being her lover, and promptly
and publicly hanged.  While the story that William and Joan were lovers 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 himself on
William for political injuries inflicted not only by William but by the entire
Braose family; the execution was hailed by the Welsh as a vindication of a
blood-feud against the Braoses dating from at least 1176.  Indeed, shortly
after the execution Llywelyn wrote to William's widow Eva and to William
Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, Eva's brother, stating, in effect, that so far as
he was concerned, the intended marriage between Llywelyn's son Dafydd and
Eva's daughter Isabella could go forward as planned, and that he could not
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 Law Series, 2)(Cardiff, 1935), pp 51-52, nos.  XI.56a, 56b.  The marriage in fact took place three months later.