Maredudd ap Bleddyn

Maredudd ap Bleddyn († 1132 ) was a king of the Welsh principality of Powys .

He was a younger son of Bleddyn ap Cynfin and of Haer, daughter of a Gllyn. After the death of his older brothers Madog and Rhiryd, who had died in 1088 in the battle against Rhys ap Tewdwr , princes of Deheubarth , he and his brothers Cadwgan and Iorwerth Powys divided between them. In 1102, like his brothers, he supported the Anglo-Norman Lord Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury in his revolt against the new English King Henry I. In contrast to his brothers, however, he did not change sides before the revolt was put down and was captured by Iorwerth in 1103 taken. He was not released until 1107. After the death of Iorwerth and Cadwgan in 1111, he served his nephew Owain ap Cadwgan , who had taken control of Powys, as the commander of the bodyguard. In 1113 he was able to arrest his fugitive nephew Madog ap Rhiryd , who had murdered his two brothers Iorwerth and Cadwgan, and handed him over to Owain. As a reward, Owain gave him control of part of Powys. After Owain was killed in action against the Anglo-Normans in 1116, Maredudd was the most important surviving descendant of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn and fought for supremacy in Powys, which he maintained until his death. In 1121 King Henry I undertook a campaign against him, and under pressure from Gruffydd ap Cynan , king of Gwynedd , Owain had to submit to the English king and pay him a large number of cattle in tribute. His reign was threatened by several family feuds between his sons and nephews. His nephew Ithel ap Rhiryd , who had spent several years in English captivity, made 1124 claims to parts of Powys after his release and was eventually murdered by Maredudd's son Gruffydd. Maredudd blinded and emasculated his nephew Llywelyn ap Owain in 1130 .

He was married to Hunydd, a daughter of Eunydd ap Morein, a warrior and distant cousin of his father. He had three sons with her. After his eldest son Gruffydd died around 1128, his son Madog ap Maredudd succeeded him. In addition, with a lover named Christin had another son, Iorwerth Goch and at least four other children of unknown lovers.

Web links

• Huw Pryce: Bleddyn ap Cynfyn (d. 1075) , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004 [1] , accessed July 2, 2014
• Ancient Wales Studies: The brief Life of Gruffudd ap Maredudd

predecessor	Office	successor
Owain ap Cadwgan	King of Powys 1116–1132	Madog ap Maredudd