Rhys ap Thomas

Coat of arms of Rhys ap Thomas

Sir Rhys ap Thomas KG (* 1448/9; † 1525 in Carmarthen ), also called Rhys ap Thomas FitzUrian , was a Welsh nobleman, military man and statesman. He was a close confidante of the English King Henry VII , allegedly he had Henry's opponent Richard III. killed. For almost 40 years, from 1485 to 1525, he was principal lieutenant in South Wales , deputy to the king.

Life

He was the youngest legitimate son of Thomas ap Gruffudd ap Nicolas († around 1474), the son of Gruffudd ap Nicolas , a powerful landowner of Newton House in Carmarthenshire , and his wife Elizabeth († 1471), daughter of John Gruffudd from Abermarlais in Carmarthenshire. After the defeat of Towton , his father was besieged at Carreg Cennen Castle , where he had to surrender in 1462. He then went into exile in Burgundy , where Rhys accompanied him. Presumably they returned to Wales around 1467. After the death of his two older brothers and the death of his father, Rhys inherited the family estates in 1474, and inherited the extensive estates of her family from his mother. In order to preserve his possessions, Rhys raised a militia in support of Edward IV , although his family was traditionally Lancaster supporters . He also did not take part in the Duke of Buckingham rebellion in 1483 because their families were at odds with one another. Allegedly, Richard III demanded that Rhys hold his only legitimate son Gruffydd hostage as proof of his loyalty, but at the same time the king tried to win his support by granting him an annual pension of 40 marks . Although he was Richard III. Having affirmed his loyalty with an oath, Rhys got in touch with Heinrich Tudor, who was living in exile in Brittany, and promised him his support for the planned invasion.

After Heinrich Tudor landed in Pembrokeshire on August 7, 1485, Rhys joined him on August 16 in Welshpool with an army of about 2000 men. This support was instrumental in the victory of the Lancastrians at the Battle of Bosworth on August 22, 1485, and according to a poem by the Welsh poet Guto'r Glyn Rhys himself Richard III. killed in battle with a battle ax. The new king knighted Rhys on the battlefield, and in November 1485 appointed him royal deputy and Chamberlain in South Wales and Vogt of Brecon and Builth . Rhys was elected mayor of Carmarthen , the largest city of Wales at the time, four times between 1488 and 1516 and was considered the second most powerful landowner in Wales after Jasper Tudor , the king's uncle. He was part of the king's immediate retinue and served as a military leader during the Brecon uprising in 1486, during the Simnel rebellion and the Battle of Stoke in 1487, during the expedition to France in October 1492, in the Battle of Deptford Bridge during the uprising in Cornwall in 1497 and the subsequent Perkin Warbeck rebellion . After the death of Jasper Tudor Rhys received other offices like in January 1496 that of the Justiciars of South Wales and in April 1502 the office of the constable of Aberystwyth Castle . In 1505 the king accepted him into the Order of the Garter , the anniversary of his acceptance he celebrated in 1506 in Carew Castle with a magnificent tournament, which is said to have been the last major tournament in England.

Heinrich's son and successor Henry VIII also valued his loyalty and military experience and confirmed him in his offices. In 1509 he appointed him Vogt of Pembroke , and during the campaign in northern France in 1513, Rhys was in command of over 3,000 infantry and light cavalry with whom he fought successfully in the battle of Guinegate and during the sieges of Thérouanne and Tournai . He then retired to his Welsh estates. He died in the spring of 1525 and was buried in the Franciscan church of Carmathen. After the dissolution of the monastery, his tomb was moved to St Peter's Church in Carmarthen.

Rhys owned extensive estates in Carmathenshire, but also in Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire . In place of Newton House and Dinefwr Castle , the residences of his father and grandfather, he expanded Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire, acquired in the 1490s, into his primary residence. He also owned other castles such as Newcastle Emlyn Castle, which was used as a hunting lodge, and Weobley Castle on the Gower Peninsula , which he expanded around 1500.

family

Rhys was married twice:

1. ∞ Efa, daughter of Henry ap Gwilym
2. ∞ around 1480 Janet († 1535), daughter of Thomas Mathew and widow of Thomas Stradling.

From his first marriage he had a son, Gruffydd ap Rhys (around 1478-1521), who was married to Catherine St John . Since his son had died in 1521, his son Rhys ap Gruffydd (around 1508–1531) and his grandson inherited his goods. In addition, Rhys ap Thomas had several lovers, with whom he had at least 12 children.

literature

• Dictionary of National Biography . Volume LVIII: From Reilly to Robins. New York, London, Macmillan, Smith, Elder & Co., 1888, p. 91, available online from Wikisource

Web links

• J RA Griffiths: Rhys, Sir, ap Thomas (1448 / 9-1525). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
• James Frederick Rees: Rhys ap Thomas, Sir (1449-1525), Welsh Biography Online, National Library of Wales

Individual evidence

1. ↑ BBC Blogs Wales: Sir Rhys ap Thomas: the most powerful man in Wales. Retrieved August 14, 2013 .