Rhys Fychan († 1271)

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Rhys Fychan († August 17, 1271 ), actually Rhys ap Rhys Mechyll , was a Welsh lord of Deheubarth .

Rhys Fychan came from the Dinefwr dynasty . He was the son of Rhys Mechyll and his first wife, a Miss Croft of Croft Castle in Herefordshire . He became Lord of Dinefwr after the death of his father in 1244 . His stepmother Matilde de Braose , a daughter of Reginald de Braose , was so hostile to him that she handed over the Carreg Cennen Castle, which was part of his father's legacy, to the Anglo- Norman Marcher Lords . Rhys Fychan first supported Dafydd ap Llywelyn von Gwynedd in his war against the English King Henry III. , but after Dafydd's death, Rhys paid homage to the king in August 1246. In 1247 he submitted to the royal court of Carmarthen . In 1248 he was able to buy Carreg Cennen Castle back. In 1251, however, he allied himself with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd , the new lord of Gwynned. Around this time he began a long-standing border conflict with William de Braose , lord of Gower to the south , whom he assaulted several times. However, he was so hostile to his uncle Maredudd ap Rhys of Dryslwyn Castle that he allied himself with the royal constable of Carmarthen Castle in 1256 and drove his uncle from his lands. Maredudd ap Rhys now turned to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, who had meanwhile become the sole ruler of Gwynedd. With his help he was able to get his lands back and Rhys Fychan's lands to take over. Rhys Fychan now turned to the English, and in June 1257 he served as leader of an English army that invaded the valley of the Tywi under the command of Stephen Bauzan . Faced with a strong Welsh army ambushing English troops, Rhys Fychan switched sides and sought refuge in Dinefwr Castle, whose garrison opened the gates for him. The now leaderless English army suffered a crushing defeat on the retreat to Carmarthen in the Battle of Cymerau . Subsequently, Rhys was a loyal ally of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, who returned Dinefwr Castle and its possessions to him. In response, his uncle Maredudd became an ally of the English.

Rhys Fychan left several sons:

  • Rhys Wyndod
  • Gruffudd
  • Llywelyn
  • Hywel

His heir and successor was his son Rhys Wyndod .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Edward Lloyd: A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest . Vol. II. Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1912, p. 750
  2. ^ Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415 . Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford 1991. ISBN 0-19-820198-2 , p. 305
  3. ^ Diane M. Williams: Gower. A Guide to ancient and historic monuments on the Gower peninsula. Cadw, Cardiff 1998. ISBN 1-85760-073-8 , p. 14
  4. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 18
  5. ^ Welsh Biography Online: Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg. Retrieved May 22, 2014 .
personal data
SURNAME Rhys Fychan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rhys ap Rhys Mechyll
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lord of Deheubarth in South Wales
DATE OF BIRTH 12th century or 13th century
DATE OF DEATH 17th August 1271