Gruffydd ap Rhys († 1137)

Gruffydd ap Rhys (* around 1090 , † 1137 ) was a prince of Deheubarth from the Dinefwr dynasty .

He was a son of Rhys ap Tewdwr and Gwladus, a daughter of Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn . After his father was beaten in the fight against Bernard de Neufmarché and was killed, his South Welsh empire fell apart. Three-year-old Gruffydd was brought to safety in Ireland while his sister Nest ferch Rhys fell into the hands of the Anglo-Normans .

Gruffydd returned to South Wales in 1113, which had since been largely conquered by the Normans . The English King Henry I feared that he could make claims on his father's inheritance and had him persecuted. Gruffydd fled to Gwynedd to Gruffydd ap Cynan , who wanted to hand him over to Henry I in 1115 under the impression of the power of the English king. Gruffydd escaped and, with other Welsh men who rebelled against Anglo-Norman rule in South Wales, began a predatory war against the English settlers. In 1116 he burned Narberth Castle in Dyfed , then attacked Llandovery Castle , which he was unable to conquer. An attack on Swansea Castle on the Gower Peninsula also failed while he was able to capture and burn the nearby Oystermouth Castle .

However, he was finally able to achieve a compromise with the English king in which he was granted the rule of Caio in Cantref Mawr. In 1127 he had to flee again to Ireland after conflicts with his Anglo-Norman neighbors, but soon returned and allied himself with Gruffydd ap Cynan. He married his daughter Gwenllian and allegedly lived in hiding in the woods of Cantref Mawr. After the death of Heinrich I, he was one of the leaders of the open uprising in South Wales and claimed the title of Prince of Deheubarth. Presumably he was involved in the battle at Abergavenny , in which Richard FitzGilbert de Clare was killed. He then sought support in the north from his brother-in-law Owain Gwynedd . While his wife was killed in a skirmish at Kidwelly Castle , he and his brother-in-law destroyed Aberystwyth Castle and in October 1136 won a major victory in the Battle of Crug Mawr at Aberteifi over Stephan, the constable of Cardigan Castle . However, Gruffydd died the following year, allegedly having been killed by treason.

With his wife Gwenllian he had several sons, including Maredudd and Rhys , who later became Lord Rhys . His two older sons, Anarawd and Cadell, likely came from a previous relationship. His daughter Gwladus married Morgan ap Caradog , the Welsh lord of Afan in Glamorgan . Another daughter, Nest is said to have been the wife of the South Welsh chief Ifor Bach .

literature

• Thomas Frederick Tout: Gruffydd from Rhys (d.1137) , in: Dictionary of National Biography . Volume XXIII . Macmillan, Smith, Elder & Co., London and New York 1890, pp. 309f

Web links

• Thomas Jones Pierce: [1] Gruffydd ap Rhys (c. 1090-1137) . In: Welsh Biography Online . The National Library of Wales, accessed November 14, 2013

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Arthur John Richard: Ifor Bach (fl. 1158). In: Welsh Biography Online. Retrieved December 2, 2013 .