Owain Gwynedd

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Owain Gwynedd , actually Owain ap Gruffydd (* around 1100 , † 23 or 28 November 1170 ), was king of the Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd .

He was the second son of Gruffydd ap Cynan and his wife Angharad, daughter of Owain ap Edwin. Usually, to distinguish him from his younger contemporary of the same name Owain ap Gruffydd, called Owain Cyfeiliog von Powys , the name of his principality is added as a surname.

Life

Youth and succession to his father

In 1124 he led a campaign to Meirionydd together with his older brother Cadwallon. While his father was still alive, he and Cadwallon conquered the Cantrefs Rhos, Rhufoniog and Dyffryn Clwyd alongside Meirionydd . His older brother died in the commote of Nanheudwy in 1132 during an attack on Powys, so that he became his father's heir to the throne. 1136 he undertook with his younger brother Cadwaladr during the Welsh revolt after the death of Henry I two campaigns against the Anglo-Normans in Ceredigion . During the second campaign they defeated the Anglo-Normans , together with Gruffydd ap Rhys , Prince of Deheubarth, at the Battle of Crug Mawr not far from Cardigan .

A little later, after the death of his father Gruffydd in 1137, he became sole king of Gwynedd.

Campaigns of conquest and family quarrels

In 1138 he conquered all of Ceredigion, which was shared between his eldest son Hywel ab Owain and his brother Cadwaladr. His sister Gwenllian had already been married to Gruffydd ap Rhys von Deheubarth, and Owain tried to consolidate this alliance with Deheubarth by betrothing his daughter to Anarawd , the eldest son and successor of Gruffydd. However, Anarawd was murdered in 1143 by followers of his brother Cadwaladr. Owain then drove his brother into exile in Ireland, but after Cadwaladr returned from there the following year with military support, there was a fragile balance between the brothers.

The wars in South Wales were only a secondary theater of war for Owain, his main focus was on the expansion and consolidation of his empire in North Wales. Despite resistance from Ranulph, Earl of Chester and Madog ap Maredudd von Powys, he conquered Mold by 1146 and annexed Cantref Tegeingl by 1149 . He was able to consolidate his conquests in 1150 with a victory over Madog ap Maredudd, who was supported by the Earl of Chester, on Coleshill in Tegeingl. After his sons Hywel and Cynan had launched attacks against Cadwaladr's territory since 1147, he drove him in 1152 from the island of Anglesey , his last remaining rule. Cadwaladr fled into exile in England. Owain had his nephew Cuneda, the son of his older brother Cadwallon, blinded and emasculated in the same year .

Submission to Henry II.

After the end of the anarchy in England, the new English King Henry II actively supported the Anglo- Norman Marcher Lords in Wales. His 1157 campaign in Wales was an impressive demonstration of the strength of the English king. Although the English suffered losses in the battle on Coleshill and failed in their attack from the sea on Anglesey, Owain realized that the English were superior to his empire and therefore submitted to Henry II. He paid homage to him and thereby accepted the loss of his royal title. From now on he appeared only as Prince of Gwynedd. He also had to take back his brother Cadwaladr, who had supported the English in their campaign, and renounce his conquests in Tegeingl. The English king had the castles of Rhuddlan and Basingwerk built there, and Owain made no further attacks against England in the next few years. 1157 Owain suffered another setback against Powys, when Madogs ap Maredudds brother Iorwerth Goch Owain's castle Tomen y Rhodwydd and with it regained control of Ial. However, he was able to compensate for this after the death of Madog ap Maredudd in 1160, in which he conquered the commotes of Edeirnion and Cyfeiliog in the same year and in 1162 carried out a campaign of revenge against Hywel ap Ieuaf of Arwystli . At the same time, he continued with his cautious communication with Henry II. After Einion Clud, the ruler of Elfael , was captured by his brother Cadwallon ap Madog and handed over to him, he handed him over to the English king on July 1, 1163 in Woodstock , who had just led another campaign to Wales. Together with Rhys ap Gruffydd von Deheubarth and the Scottish King Malcolm IV. Owain had to formally submit to the king in Woodstock.

End of English supremacy

In 1165, however, Owain was at the head of an alliance that the Welsh princes concluded in Corwen to ward off another campaign by the English king. Together with the rulers of Powys and Rhys ap Gruffydd von Deheubarth, he was able to repel the English attack on Wales, which ended in the continuous rain of the Welsh mountains almost in a disaster for the English. Owain was now undoubtedly the leader of the Welsh princes, and he assumed the title of Prince of Wales . He tried to strengthen his position by offering his feudal oath to the French King Louis VII . Ludwig urged him to attack the English king, weakened after the failed campaign of the previous year, and Owain captured Basingwerk Castle in 1166. In 1167, in alliance with Rhys ap Gruffydd, he expanded his rule over Tegeingl by conquering Rhuddlan Castle and Prestatyn after a three-month siege . However, the Welsh alliance did not last long. A little later Owain and his brother Cadwaladr conquered together with Rhys ap Gruffydd Talfolwern Castle , a castle owned by Owain Cyfeiliog von Powys Wenwynwyn.

Conflict with the church and death

In recent years there has been a conflict with Thomas Becket , Archbishop of Canterbury , when he independently appointed a new Bishop of Bangor . Owain was a patron of various churches, but he required obedience from the priests in Gwynedd. When he was consecrated in Worcester in January 1140, Bishop Meurig of Bangor had to take the oath of fief to King Stephen . After Meurig died on August 12, 1161, Owain was determined that the new bishop would not have to take an oath of fief to the English king and used Thomas Becket's exile from November 1164 to set up his own candidate in 1165 with Arthur of Bardsey. Becket refused to recognize Owain's candidate, who was consecrated anyway by an Irish bishop. Becket gained the support of Pope Alexander III. who also did not recognize Bardsey, so the post of bishop was vacant until 1177 but was held by Arthur of Bardsey. Attempts at mediation by the French King Louis VII failed. Around 1169, the archbishop and the pope increased their opposition to Owain by attacking his marriage to his cousin Christina ferch Gronw, who had already criticized Archbishop Theobald von Bec in the 1150s. Here, too, Owain challenged the clergy by refusing to separate from his wife, which is why he was finally excommunicated by Becket. Nevertheless, after his death in November 1170, Owain received a dignified burial in Bangor Cathedral .

Aftermath of his rule

The chronicler Brut y tywysogyon describes it cleverly and nobly, as a stronghold of Wales, unconquered since his youth. Gerald of Wales praised his justice, wisdom and rule, but as a priest sharply criticized his incestuous relationship with his cousin. Owain made Gwynedd the leading principality of Wales. Even if he ultimately accepted English supremacy, he did not consider himself an ordinary vassal. His rule led to the fact that the Welsh princes no longer viewed themselves merely as tribal leaders, but instead appeared as feudal lords, following the English example. In addition, Owain improved the administration of his empire and settled passed pawns for defense. He kept his sons under control during his lifetime, but inheritance disputes ensued after his death. His eldest son Hywel fell against his half-brothers Dafydd and Rhodri shortly after his death in the Battle of Pentraeth in Anglesey. Through the almost three decades of fighting between his sons and grandchildren, the leadership of the Welsh principalities passed to Deheubarth until his grandson Llywelyn from Iorwerth was able to raise the empire back to the leading Welsh principality.

family

His oldest illegitimate son was Hywel ab Owain , a son of the Irish Ffynod or Pyfog. In his first marriage he married Gwladus, daughter of Llywarch ap Trahern . They had the following children:

  1. Iorwerth Drwyndwn , father of Llywelyn from Iorwerth
  2. Maelgwn from Owain

In his second marriage, Owain married his cousin Cristin or Christina, daughter of Gronw ap Owen ap Edwin around 1140. With her he had two sons:

  1. Dafydd from Owain
  2. Rhodri from Owain

In addition, he had at least six other sons and two daughters from several lovers, including:

  1. Cynan from Owain
  2. Angharad, wife of Gruffydd Maelor I
  3. Gwenllian, wife of Owain Cyfeiliog

According to legend, he is said to have had another son named Madoc who landed in America around 1170, more than 300 years before Christopher Columbus, and is said to have founded settlements there. However, this legend did not emerge until the 16th century and was intended to serve as a justification for the English that they had older rights than the Spanish conquerors.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Charles Insley: Kings, Lords, Charters, and the Political Culture of Twelfth-Century Wales. In: Christopher P. Lewis (Ed.): Anglo-Norman studies XXX. Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2007. Boydell & Brewer, Woodbridge 2008, ISBN 978-1-84383-379-6 , pp. 133-153, here p. 145.
  2. ↑ Madoc. Retrieved November 14, 2013 .
predecessor Office successor
Gruffydd ap Cynan Prince of Gwynedd
1137–1170 		Dafydd from Owain
personal data
SURNAME Owain Gwynedd
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Owain ap Gruffydd
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince of Gwynedd in North Wales
DATE OF BIRTH around 1100
DATE OF DEATH November 23, 1170 or November 28, 1170