Gruffydd Maelor ap Madog

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Gruffydd Maelor ap Madog (also called Gruffudd of Bromfield or Gruffydd Maelor II ), († December 7, 1269 ) was a prince of the north Welsh principality of Powys Fadog .

Under the supremacy of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth

He was the eldest son of Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor . After the death of their father in 1236, his five sons divided the area of ​​Powys Fadog among themselves. As the eldest son, Gruffydd was nominally in control, but the brothers soon quarreled. His brother Gruffydd Iâl was killed by his brother Maredudd in 1238, whereupon Llywelyn ap Iorwerth , who as Prince of Gwynedd ruled over the Welsh principalities, confiscated the lands of Maredudds. Gruffydd Maelor supported his father Llywelyn ap Iorwerth as before, but after his death in 1240 he did not support his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn , but was a leading supporter of his older brother Gruffydd .

Change between English and Welsh supremacy

Since their kingdom Powys Fadog was surrounded by the territories of the barons of the Welsh Marches , he and his brothers Hywel and Maredudd paid homage to the English King Henry III after Llywelyn's death . , and the three brothers vouched for Gruffydd's wife Senana when she tried to buy her husband out of English captivity. In 1242 the king of Dafydd ap Llywelyn and him demanded the provision of troops for a campaign in Gascony . As a result, Gruffydd and his two brothers no longer unconditionally accepted English supremacy over their empire. Henry III. tried to reassure them in 1244 by assuring them that if they accepted the existing laws and tributes, he would not enact new laws for Powys Fadog. Thereupon he stood like Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn of Powys Cyfeiliog and Morgan ap Hywel of Caerleon during the war of Dafydd ap Llywelyn against Henry III. on the side of the English. His brothers Madog Fychan and Maredudd, however, supported Dafydd. After Heinrich III. but is said to have planned to divide Powys and Gwynedd according to the old Welsh inheritance law, allied around 1250 Gruffydd ap Madog and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd , the nephew and successor of Dafydd. However, after Llywelyn had gained sole control of Gwynedd in 1255, he claimed supremacy over all Welsh principalities. This led to the break with Gruffydd, who was driven from his kingdom in 1256.

Ally of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd

In late September 1257, however, Gruffydd was reconciled with Llywelyn, and to cement the alliance, Gruffydd's son Madog married Llywelyn's sister Margaret. Gruffydd was now considered the most powerful of the Welsh princes after Llywelyn. He and his brother Madog Fychan were part of the Welsh delegation that signed a treaty between the Welsh princes and the Cummings clan in Scotland in 1258 . Around 1260 he built Dinas Brân Castle near Llangollen as his main residence . He died on the same day in December 1269 as his brother Madog Fychan and was buried like him in the Valle Crucis Abbey.

Family and offspring

He married Emma, ​​a daughter of the English baron Henry Audley . He had four sons: Madog, Llywelyn, Owain and Gruffydd Fychan . During the English campaign of 1276 they submitted to the English King Edward I in time and were thus allowed to keep their possessions. Madog died shortly afterwards, leaving behind only two underage sons, which is why there was a dispute among the other three sons over the division of the inheritance. During the second war between Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and Edward I, Llywelyn, Owain and Gruffydd Fychan again sided with the Welsh. Llywelyn and Gruffydd Fychan took part in the raid on Oswestry on Palm Sunday 1282 . Llywelyn probably coincided with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in the battle against the English in December 1282, and Owain is believed to have died during the war. The family was expropriated after the English victory. The northern areas of Maelor Gymraeg and Iâl formed the new English barony of Bromfield and Yale, which fell to John de Warenne . The southeastern Commotes were combined to form the English rule Chirkland, which Roger Mortimer received. The only member of the descendants of Gruffydd Maelor I who was allowed to keep part of Powys Fadog was Gruffydd Fychan. He was allowed to keep the rule Glyndyfrdwy in Merioneth under the rule of the descendants of Owain Brogyntyn . His son Madog inherited the rule of Cynllaith from the descendants of Owain Fychan around 1300 , he was the great-grandfather of Owain Glyndŵr .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ LB Smith: The death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd: the narratives reconsidered . In: Welsh History Review , 11 (1982-3), p. 209
personal data
SURNAME Gruffydd Maelor ap Madog
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gruffydd Maelor from Madog; Gruffudd of Bromfield; Gruffydd Maelor II
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince of Powys (Wales)
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH December 7, 1269