Owain ap Gruffydd († 1236)
Owain ap Gruffydd († January 18, 1236 in Strata Florida Abbey ) was a lord of the Welsh principality of Deheubarth .
Owain ap Gruffydd came from the Dinefwr dynasty . He was a son of Gruffydd ap Rhys and his wife Matilda de Braose, a daughter of William de Braose . Together with his brother Rhys Ieuanc , after the death of his father in 1201, he inherited his father's territories and claims to the inheritance of their grandfather Rhys ap Gruffydd , the Lord of Deheubarth. Their inheritance was challenged by their uncle Maelgwn ap Rhys . After Maelgwn had seized the Ystrad Tywi in 1203 , he was driven out again in 1204 by Owain ap Gruffydd, Rhys Ieuanc and their uncle Rhys Gryg . In the battles that followed for Deheubarth, Owain and his brother Rhys Ieuanc always seemed to be on the wrong side. In 1211 Owain supported Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth von Gwynedd in the war against the English King John Ohneland , which led him to come into conflict with Rhys Gryg, who captured Llandovery Castle in 1211 . In 1212, Owain and his brother Rhys Ieuanc were back on the side of King John , who sent an army under the mercenary leader Falkes de Bréauté to support them. This struck Rhys Gryg near Llandeilo in January 1213 , so that his lands fell to his nephews. In the spring of 1215 Owain and Rhys Ieuanc allied again with Maelgwn ap Rhys against the king and supported Llywelyn from Iorwerth in North Wales.
Originally endowed with lands in Cantref Bychan , Owain was awarded lands north of the River Aeron in Ceredigion in the Aberdyfi Agreement in 1216 , which regulated the division of Deheubarth . For this, like the other Lords of Deheubarth, he had to recognize the supremacy of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth and provide this weapon aid. As early as 1217 Owain fought together with Llywelyn from Iorwerth against the Anglo-Norman baron Reginald de Braose , a brother of his mother.
Given the brutal succession battles within their family, Owain's longstanding alliance with his brother Rhys Ieuanc is remarkable. Their close working relationships may have been encouraged by their origins, since as children of an Anglo-Norman mother they were considered outsiders within the family. After the death of Rhys Ieuanc in August 1222, Owain did not succeed in taking over its territory in the north of Ceredigion completely, but had to share it with Maelgwn ap Rhys. Owain died at Strata Florida Abbey and was buried there with his parents and brother. His heir and successor was his son Maredudd .
Web links
- Thomas Jones Pierce: Owain ap Gruffydd (d. 1236) Dictionary of Welsh Biography, National Library of Wales
Individual evidence
- ^ John Edward Lloyd: A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest . Vol. II. Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1912, p. 640
- ^ David Walker: Medieval Wales . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990. ISBN 0-521-31153-5 , p. 99
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Owain ap Gruffydd |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Lord of Deheubarth in South Wales |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 12th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 18, 1236 |
| Place of death | Strata Florida Abbey |