Anarawd ap Gruffydd

Anarawd ap Gruffydd († 1143 ) was a prince of the Welsh principality Deheubarth from the Dinefwr dynasty .

He was the eldest son of Lord Gruffydd ap Rhys . After the death of his father in 1137, he took over the rule of his empire, which was currently in the rebellion against the supremacy of the Anglo-Normans . Despite his youth, he had distinguished himself by defeating and killing Letard , a local ruler of Letterston in southern Ceredigion who tyrannized the people of the Pebidiog peninsula. 1138 he reached with his brother Cadell and with Owain Gwynedd and Cadwaladr , the Prince of Gwynedd , and with the support of the Vikings from Ireland vain Cardigan Castle to. He tried to continue the alliance between his kingdom and Gwynedd and was engaged to a daughter of Owain Gwynedd. Nevertheless, in 1143 he was treacherously murdered by followers of Owain's brother Cadwaladr. Owain punished his brother by driving him out of his dominions and into exile in Ireland. Anarawd was succeeded by his brother Cadell.

Anarawd left a son, Einion. Einion was presumably a captain in the service of his uncle Rhys ap Gruffydd , but he was slain in 1163 by his henchman Walter ap Llywarch. The instigator of the act was probably the Anglo-Norman Lord Roger de Clare .

Web links

• Welsh Biography Online: Anarawd ap Gruffydd