Rhys ap Gruffydd († 1356)

Sir Rhys ap Gruffydd (also Syr Rhys; † May 10, 1356 in Carmarthen ) was a Welsh military.

origin

Rhys ap Gruffydd was a son of Gruffydd ap Hywel and of Nest , a daughter of Gwrwared ap Gwilym from Cemais. His father was a great-grandson of Ednyfed Fychan , the seneschal of the Welsh prince Llywelyn from Iorwerth . Rhys owned extensive estates in south west Wales and was one of the wealthiest members of the 14th century Welsh gentry , including Gruffydd Llwyd . He probably inherited the family estates, especially the Llansadwrn estate in Cantref Mawr, directly from his grandfather Gruffydd ap Ednyfed Fychan .

Life

Rhys is the first time in 1309 as the steward of Cardigan mentioned in the following years, he held several other lucrative offices in southwest Wales. In 1310 he set up a Welsh contingent in south-west Wales for the campaign of the English King Edward II against Scotland. He also took part in the next campaign against Scotland with Welsh soldiers.

During the rebellion of the English Marcher Lords against the royal favorite Hugh le Despenser in South Wales in 1321, the so-called Despenser War , he was appointed deputy to the royal counsel of South Wales. On November 15, 1321 he and Gruffydd Llwyd received the order from the king to attack with their Welsh troops the possessions of the Marcher Lords, especially the Roger Mortimer of Wigmore and Roger Mortimer of Chirk , who were hated by the Welsh . From the end of 1321, Rhys and his troops attacked Gower and other areas in South Wales and thus contributed to the subjugation of the Welsh Marches . In gratitude, Dinefwr and Dryslwyn were leased to him and the Narberth reign was given as a fief, and he was sheriff of Carmarthenshire and commander of Carmarthen Castle . When the Queen landed with an army in England in 1326 to overthrow Edward II, the King asked Rhys to raise troops for him. However, the king's reign quickly collapsed, and Edward II fled to Wales with a few loyal followers. There Rhys met him in November 1326 in Neath Abbey , shortly before the king was taken prisoner by his opponents. Rhys then fled to Scotland, but a little later he got his possessions back. In 1330 he fled abroad again when he was involved in a rebellion against the regent Roger Mortimer , which was, however, still put down. When this was overthrown in the course of the year and King Edward III. Had taken power, Rhys was able to return and held numerous offices again. In 1341 he took part with Welsh soldiers in the campaign of Edward III. against Scotland . From 1345 he fought as one of the most famous Welsh mercenary leaders during the Hundred Years War in France. He was knighted between June and November 1346 , perhaps after the English victory at Crecy .

Family and offspring

He married Joan de Somerville , a wealthy English heiress. Through this marriage he acquired extensive estates in six English counties, which his son Sir Rhys the Younger (* 1325) inherited along with his own extensive estates in Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire. This unusually large property remained undivided among his descendants until it fell through marriage to Thomas ap Gruffudd, a son of Gruffudd ap Nicolas and thus became the basis for the power of his son Rhys ap Thomas .

Web links

• Thomas Jones Pierce: Rhys ap Gruffydd or Syr Rhys . In: Dictionary of Welsh Biography. 1959.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 548.