Maredudd ap Rhys

Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg (* around 1220; † July 27, 1271 in Dryslwyn Castle ) was a lord of the Welsh principality of Deheubarth from the Dinefwr dynasty .

Youth and conflict with his brother Rhys Mechyll and his son Rhys Fychan

Maredudd ap Rhys was the younger son of Rhys Gryg , his mother was believed to be Maud de Clare , a daughter of Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford , who his father had married in 1219. In the Aberdyfi Agreement of 1216, his father was granted control of most of Ystrad Tywi, the heart of the Principality of Deheubarth, under the rule of Prince Llywelyn from Iorwerth of Gwynedd . After his father's death in 1234, Maredudd inherited the north-eastern part of Ystrad Tywi with Llandovery Castle , while his older half-brother Rhys Mechyll received the larger southern part. There were several arguments between the two brothers over the division of the inheritance. After the death of Llywelyn from Iorwerth in 1240, Maredudd allied himself with Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke, and married his niece Isabel. Gilbert died in 1241 without a direct heir, and after the childless death of his brother Walter in 1245, Maredudd was able to acquire Emlyn in Dyfed from the lands of the Marshals . To secure Emlyn, he built Newcastle Emlyn Castle . In the same year, in the war against Dafydd ap Llywelyn von Gwynedd, his residence, Dryslwyn Castle, was besieged unsuccessfully by English troops from Carmarthen . After the death of Dafydds ap Llywelyn he surrendered together with his relative Maredudd ap Owain in April 1246 to the English King Henry III. and accompanied Nicholas de Moels , the constable of Cardigan, on his campaign to Ceredigion . For this he received parts of the possessions of his cousin Maelgwn Fychan . In 1251 Maredudd, like his nephew Rhys Fychan , who had inherited his brother's territories in 1244, allied himself with Owain Goch and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd , the successors of Dafydd ap Llywelyn in Gwynedd. In 1256, however, an open war broke out between him and his nephew. Rhys Fychan was supported by English troops under Stephen Bauzan , who drove Maredudd from his lands. He fled to Llywelyn in Gwynedd and accompanied him on his campaign to Perfeddwlad in north-east Wales, whereupon a new Anglo-Welsh war broke out. Llywelyn then occupied Ystrad Tywi, where Maredudd got his territories back and in addition the territories of Rhys Fychans. Thereupon Stephen Bauzan led together with Rhys Fychan in May 1257 again an English army to Ystrad Tywi. However, Rhys Fychan betrayed the English and switched sides. The English troops, leaderless in the thick forests of Ystrad Tywi, suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Cymerau , in which Bauzan was killed.

Break with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd

Llywelyn tried to reconcile Rhys Fychan and Maredudd and gave Rhys Fychan his lands back. Maredudd felt that he was being left out and began negotiations with the English king. This accepted him as his vassal and promised him rule over all of Ystrad Tywi including the possessions of his nephew and parts of the lands of Maredudd ap Owain in Ceredigion . King Henry III did not have the power to keep his promise, but on October 18, 1257, in Westminster , confirmed Maredudd's rule over all of Ystrad Tywi.

Despite this agreement with the English, Maredudd paid homage to Llywelyn with the other Welsh rulers in the spring of 1258. The news of this infidelity was soon known throughout Wales, and Llywelyn undertook two campaigns against Maredudd. During the second campaign he was able to capture Maredudd. On March 28, 1259, Maredudd was accused of treason before a meeting of Welsh rulers. This was the first time such a meeting was held over any other Welsh ruler and Maredudd was sentenced to imprisonment at Criccieth Castle . He was only released in 1261 under strict conditions, but Maredudd betrayed Llywelyn again, in which he paid homage to the English heir to the throne Eduard in 1265 . In the Treaty of Montgomery 1267, Maredudd was next to Prince Llywelyn himself the only Welsh ruler who did not have to pay homage to Llywelyn, but was directly subordinate to the English king. For the payment of 5,000 marks, however, Llywelyn acquired from the English king in 1270 the supremacy over Maredudds rule Ystrad Tywi.

After his death, Maredudd was buried in Whitland Abbey .

Family and offspring

Maredudd was married to Isabel, an illegal daughter of William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke . He left a son, Rhys ap Maredudd , who became his heir.

Web links

• JB Smith: Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg (d. 1271) , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004; Online version, January 2008 [1] , accessed June 25, 2014
• Thomas Jones Pierce: Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg (d. 1271) . In: Dictionary of Welsh Biography, The National Library of Wales

Individual evidence

1. ^ John Edward Lloyd: History of Wales from the earliest times to the edwardian conquest , part 2, Longmans, Green, London 1912. p. 710
2. ^ David A. Carpenter: The struggle for mastery. Britain, 1066-1284. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003. ISBN 978-0-19-522000-1 , p. 364
3. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 59
4. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 173