Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn

Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn [ gwɛnˌɬian vɛrx ɬɨuˈɛlɪn ] (* June 1282 in Abergwyngregyn near Bangor ; † June 7, 1337 in Sempringham ) was the only (historically documented) child of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd , the last ruler of an independent Wales .

Gwenllians lost both parents in infancy: Her mother Eleanor de Montfort died shortly after giving birth in childbirth and her father was killed in the Battle of Orewin Bridge on December 11, 1282. His brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd , who continued the resistance against the English , took over Gwenllian's guardianship for a few months until he too was captured and executed.

Monument to Gwenllian

The English King Edward I , who had now brought Wales completely under his rule, left Llywelyn and Dafydd's children alive, but made sure that they would no longer pose a threat to him: the boys were kept in captivity for life while he was had the girls brought to the convent. The one-year-old Gwenllian was placed in the Gilbertine Abbey in Sempringham, and the title " Prince of Wales " her father passed on to Edward's son.

Numerous legends emerged about Gwenllian's further history, although her actual life is historically documented. She received what was then a generous pension of £ 20 a year from King Edward and spent the rest of her life in the monastery. Her death at the age of 54 was recorded by the monastery chronicler Piers Langtoft .

In 1993, a memorial to Gwenllian was erected on the site of the former Sempringham monastery, which was replaced in 2001 by a new and larger one. The Princess Gwenllian Society was founded in 1996 to maintain the monument and to maintain the memory of Gwenllian as one of the symbols of an independent Welsh identity.

Web links

• Website of the Princess Gwenllian Society ( Memento from May 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive )