Cadell ap Gruffydd
Cadell ap Gruffydd († 1175 in Strata Florida Abbey) was a prince of the Welsh principality of Deheubarth .
He was a son of Prince Gruffydd ap Rhys († 1137) . After the death of his father in 1137, he inherited the rule of his father in parts of Ceredigion and the valley of the Tywi together with his older brother Anarawd and his younger half-brothers Maredudd and Rhys . Favored by the anarchy that ruled England after the death of Henry I , the brothers were able to expand their territories, as Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester , the Lord of Glamorgan, was involved in the battle for the English throne. 1138 attacked Cadell together with Anarawd and Gruffydd ap Cynan's sons Owain Gwynedd and Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd with 15 Viking ships from Dublin over the river Teifi in vain at the Norman castle of Cardigan . After Anarawd was murdered in 1143 by followers of Cadwaladrs ap Gruffydd, he followed him as Prince of Deheubarth and led raids, often together with his younger half-brothers, to Dyfed , Ystrad Twyi and Ceredigion. In 1146 he conquered the castles of Carmarthen , Llansteffan and Gwyddgrug , the next year he conquered the castle of Wiston Castle in an unusual alliance with the Cambro-Norman Lord Maurice FitzGerald of Pembroke and with the help of Hywel ab Owain , the eldest son of Owain Gwynedd's Wiston Castle Walter Fitzwiz .
In 1150 he restored Carmarthen Castle, then raided the Kidwelly rule and conquered Ceredigion south of the River Aeron . In 1151 he conquered the rest of Ceredigion, except for Hywel from Owain's castle in Llanrhystud . In 1151 he was badly wounded while hunting by an Anglo-Norman patrol from Tenby and left for dead. He survived, but as a war invalid, he was no longer able to rule the country as ruler. In 1153 or 1156 he is said to have set out on a pilgrimage to Rome and left his land to his brothers Maredudd and Rhys until his return. On his return to Deheubarth, he retired as a monk to Strata Florida Abbey , where he died in 1175 and was buried.
His successes as a warlord laid the foundations for the resurgence of Deheubarth under his half-brother Rhys, who later became Lord Rhys .
literature
- Dictionary of National Biography . Volume VIII: From Burton to Cantwell. New York, London, Macmillan, Smith, Elder & Co., 1886, available online from Wikisource
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cadell ap Gruffydd |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prince of Deheubarth in South Wales |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 12th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1175 |
| Place of death | Strata Florida Abbey |