Hywel ap Maredudd

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Hywel ap Maredudd († after 1258) was the last Welsh lord of the South Welsh rule of Meisgyn .

origin

Hywel was a son of Maredudd ap Caradog. His father had been a grandson of Iestyn ap Gwrgan , the last Welsh king of Morgannwg . Together with two of his brothers, after the death of their father , he had divided up the hill country of Glamorgan , which had remained under Welsh rule , and received Meisgyn. Nominally, the Welsh lords were under the sovereignty of the Norman lords of Glamorgan, and the Lord of Afan, as a descendant of the eldest son of Maredudd ap Caradog , claimed supremacy over the Welsh lords.

Life

Hywel ap Maredudd came to power in Meisgyn in 1211 after the death of his father. From 1212 Llywelyn from Iorwerth , the Welsh prince of Gwynedd , extended his influence to south-east Wales. He attacked the English Brecknockshire north of Meisgyn , and Hywel ap Maredudd supported him by raids on English settlements in Glamorgan. After his cousin Morgan Gam von Afan had been captured in 1228 by Gilbert de Clare , the Anglo-Norman Lord of Glamorgan, Hywel ap Maredudd attacked and occupied the neighboring Glynrhondda and drove its lord, his cousin Morgan ap Cadwallon. With that he was able to bring almost the entire area between the River Taff and River Neath under his rule, making him the most powerful of the Welsh lords of Glamorgan. After the death of Gilbert de Clare in 1230, his heir was still a minor, so that Glamorgan fell under royal administration. Like the other Welsh lords, Hywel ap Maredudd saw his loyalty to the Lords of Glamorgan as ended with the death of Gilbert de Clare and allied himself with Lord Llywelyn from Iorwerth of Gwynedd. In the Welsh War against England from 1231 he attacked Kenfig and other English settlements. In 1233 he supported with Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Rhys ap Gruffydd , the Welsh Lord of Senghenydd and the released Morgan Gam the unsuccessful rebellion of Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke against the English King Henry III. With the support of the Anglo-Norman Lords of Glamorgan, Marshal had occupied Glamorgan during this rebellion, leading to the unusual situation that Hywel ap Maredudd and the other Welsh Lords of Glamorgan became allies of Anglo-Norman Richard Marshal. Marshal promised the Welsh parts of Glamorgan as a reward. When the rebellion failed, Richard Siward , the new administrator of Glamorgan, reclaimed these areas. Hywel ap Maredudd refused to return these areas until Llywelyn from Iorwerth himself asked Hywel ap Maredudd to return the areas. Contrary to the express prohibition of the English king, Hywel ap Maredudd was one of the Welsh princes who swore allegiance to Llywelyn's son and heir-designate Dafydd in Strata Florida Abbey in 1238 .

In 1242 there was a conflict between Hwyel ap Maredudd, who was assisted by Rhys ap Gruffydd of Senghenydd, and Gilbert de Turberville, the English lord of Coity Castle . Richard de Clare , the Lord of Glamorgan, brokered a truce at a meeting at Cardiff Castle . This was broken shortly afterwards by the Anglo-Norman Lord Richard Siward , who attacked the south of Meisgyn. In November 1242 Siward had to answer to his overlord in Cardiff, but there was no peace between him and his Welsh neighbors. As a result, Hywel ap Maredudd attacked Kenfig Castle and other English settlements in 1243 . When Hywel and Richard Siward settled their quarrel in 1245 and now undertook raids on English settlements together, Richard de Clare occupied the possessions of Siwards and also Meisgyn and Glynrhondda. Hywel ap Maredudd had to flee into exile in Gwynedd before 1246 . He is mentioned as an ally of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1258 and allegedly even in 1277 , although the mention of 1277 may refer to a descendant of him who owned a smaller estate in Meisgyn in 1279.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares . The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 57
  2. ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares . The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 63
  3. ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares . The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 59
  4. ↑ Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan: III - Part 1b: Medieval Secular Monuments, the Later Castles from 1217 to the present , Her Maj. Stat. Office, London 2000, ISBN 978-1-871184-22-8 , p. 4
  5. ↑ RF Walker: The supporters of Richard Marshal, earl of Pembroke, in the rebellion of 1233-1234 in: Welsh History Review / Cylchgrawn Hanes Cymru , 17 (1994-95), p. 63
  6. ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares . The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 66
  7. ^ Kenfig: The Complete History. Retrieved August 30, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan: III - Part 1b: Medieval Secular Monuments, the Later Castles from 1217 to the present , Her Maj. Stat. Office, London 2000, ISBN 978-1-871184-22-8 , p. 186
  9. ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares . The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 73
personal data
SURNAME Hywel ap Maredudd
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Welsh Lord of Meisgyn
DATE OF BIRTH 12th century or 13th century
DATE OF DEATH after 1258