Llywelyn Bren

Llywelyn Bren († 1318 ) (Eng. Llywelyn from the forest , actually Llywelyn ap Gruffydd) was a Welsh nobleman and rebel leader.

origin

He was a son of Gruffydd ap Rhys , the last Welsh lord of Senghenydd , whose territory had been occupied in 1267 by Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford . His father was imprisoned by de Clare in Kilkenny Castle, Ireland, where he died in captivity.

Life as an English vassal

Llywelyn inherited his father's extensive estates in Senghenydd and neighboring Cantref Miscin. He is said to have had an unusual literary education for a man of his rank. Presumably he had a very good relationship with the young Gilbert de Clare , the Lord of Glamorgan , under whom he held high offices and whom he served as an adviser and mediator towards the Welsh people. However, after the young earl fell at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and left no male offspring, Glamorgan was placed under royal administration. In July 1315, Payn de Turberville , Lord of Coity Castle , was given the management of Glamorgan. Turberville despised all Welsh regardless of their position and removed Llywelyn and other Welsh from their offices. He filled the vacant positions with his friends. There were mutual accusations between Llywelyn and Turberville, which eventually culminated in a hearing before King Edward II . The king, worried about his unsuccessful war against Scotland , but showed against Llywelyn complaints not understand and asked him before in from 27 January 1316 Lincoln meeting participants Parliament to appear. However, Llywelyn no longer trusted the king and secretly returned to Glamorgan in January 1316.

Leader of a Welsh rebellion

With the help of his six sons and friends, he was easily able to instigate a local revolt among the residents of the Glamorgan hill country in the face of a famine in the country and the general discontent among the Welsh over the administration of Turberville. In a surprise attack, the rebels tried to capture Caerphilly Castle on January 28, 1316 . They were able to capture the constable who was courting outside the castle, but they failed to capture the castle. Instead, they burned the Caerphilly settlement down. The rebels were then able to drive Turberville out of Glamorgan and pillage the lowlands of the Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff , Kenfig and other cities, but they were unable to capture any of the English castles. The king appointed Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Lord of neighboring Brecon , to command an army to quell the revolt. With the support of the Marcher Lords Roger Mortimer of Wigmore and his uncle Roger Mortimer of Chirk, Hereford gathered an overpowering army. Other troops provided Henry of Lancaster , William Montagu , John Giffard, and Hugh de Audley and Roger Damory , both of whom had married one of the heiresses of the Clare family's lands. Even West Welsh warriors joined the army. The army rallied at Brecon , Cardiff and Monmouth in March and quickly appalled Caerphilly Castle, which was besieged by the rebels.

Imprisonment and Execution

In view of the hopeless situation, Llywelyn surrendered together with two of his sons on March 18 in Ystradfellt , where he accused Hereford of being the sole cause of the rebellion and asked for mercy for his supporters. After initially incarcerated in Brecon, he was taken to London before the King and imprisoned with his family in the Tower of London . A commission of inquiry met in Cardiff on April 4, which confirmed Turbeville as administrator of Glamorgan and authorized him to expropriate Welsh tenants. At the end of the month, however, he was replaced by the more conciliatory John Giffard , who pardoned many of the rebels. Hereford and the Mortimers urged the king not to punish Llywelyn too severely. However, the king expropriated Llywelyn on May 21, under the influence of his new favorite Hugh le Despenser . His herds of cattle, personal belongings and books kept in Llandaff Cathedral were confiscated. Despenser, who had also married one of the sisters of the last de Clare, hoped that the extensive estates of the de Clares would be transferred to him. In November 1317 Despenser became Lord of Glamorgan. He occupied Llywelyn's lands, had him taken to Cardiff Castle and sentenced him to death by hanging and disembowelling in 1318 as a traitor . After the parts of his body were publicly displayed as a deterrent, Llywelyn was finally buried in Cardiff's Dominican Church.

Aftermath

During the Despenser War , the rebellion of the Marcher Lords in 1321, the rebels, including Hereford, charged Despenser with the unlawful execution of Llywelyn. Hereford took Llywelyn's sons into his service in 1321 and 1322, but the rebellion eventually failed. Only after Despenser's final overthrow and the deposition of Edward II did Llywelyn's sons get their father's lands back on February 11, 1327. Llywelyn's widow received child support from the Earls of Hereford in Brecon until her death in 1349.

Family and offspring

With his wife Lleucu, Llywelyn had six sons: Gruffudd, Ieuan, Meurig, Roger, William and Llywelyn.

Web links

• TF Tout, RA Griffiths: Llywelyn Bren (d.1318). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
• Thomas Jones Pierce: Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Bren (d. 1317) Dictionary of Welsh Biography, National Library of Wales