Wales and its History

Recorded evidence reveals LLYWELYN BREN   as a man of culture with ‘unusual literary interests for a person of his class and period, possessing considerable property and personal wealth in Senghenydd and Miscin —  a great man and powerful in his own country’  Before  Llywelyn's revolt in 1316, there had been a recent outbreak of violence in Anglo-Norman south-east Wales   Gilbert de Clare was the most prominent landowner in the area, so when he died at the battle of Bannockburn in June 1314  it left a power vacuum in the area which also lead to a revolt in late summer.   Llywelyn wasn't involved in this revolt which was soon ended by Bartholemew de Badlesmere who was the new royal custodian in Glamorgan. Edward II soon replaced Bartholemew de Badlesmere with a new English administrator, Payn de Turberville of  Coity who was extremely brutal in his dealings with the welsh people who was at t...

By Dr Sean Davies Gruffudd ap Llywelyn was the most formidable, King of Wales. Having emerged as king of North Wales in 1039 he waged a bloody war to conquer the south-west of the country, while consistently pursuing a policy of aggression and expansion on his eastern border with England. By the 1050s, only the obdurately independent sub-kingdom of Glamorgan in south-east Wales lay outside his control, an area controlled by one of its most powerful leaders, Gruffudd ap Rhydderch. But the reign of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn should never be simply viewed within a Welsh context. In his rise to power he had needed to master formidable sea raiders from Ireland, the western isles and Scandinavia. Soon after he became king in 1039, Gruffudd won a major victory against the forces of Anglo-Saxon Mercia at the Battle of Rhyd-y-groes (near Montgomery and Welshpool). In 1047 he allied with Earl Swegn Godwinesson to subdue his rivals in south-west Wales, and a devastating attack made by Gruffudd on nort...

Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn was the most powerful welsh Jacobite and headed one of the best-known Jacobite clubs in Wales called the Cycle Club. Wynn was a direct descendant of the likes of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd who was the last native prince of wales before he was killed by the English and the welsh lost their independence. The amazing thing about the members of Cycle Club is that, despite its potentially treasonable purpose, they kept minutes of their meetings and even had special glasses made from which they would drink their toasts - the National Museum in Cardiff actually owns several examples! link here During the build-up to the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion discontent was rife, especially in Wrexham, whereas the summer progressed anti-Hanoverian anger turned into riots, Rioters break windows in the 'dissenting chapels' (dissenters being fervent supporters of the new regime) and crack open more than a few heads as they roam, unchecked and unhindered, through the streets of the t...

Owain lawgoch was born around 1330 and was the great-great-grandson of Llywelyn the Great and a great-nephew of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd who was the last but one native welsh prince (owain glyndwr) . Although Owain was born in England, he lived most of his life in France as a mercenary leader with many other welsh soldiers fighting against the English in the 100 years war among others. Owain defeated an English and Gascon force at Soubise later that year, capturing Sir Thomas Percy and Jean de Grailly, the Captal de Buch He was very conscious of his hereditary claims as lineal successor of the two Llywelyns. After being deprived of his English estates in 1369, In May 1372 in Paris, Owain announced that he intended to claim the throne of Wales The French king Charles V supported this and agreed initially to finance a fleet of ships Owain was preparing to launch for a campaign in Wales in 1372. At the last mi...

Armes Prydein  ( Welsh pronunciation:  [ˈarmɛs ˈprədəin] ,  The Prophecy of Britain ) is an early 10th-century  Welsh  prophetic poem from the  Book of Taliesin . In a rousing style characteristic of Welsh heroic poetry, it describes a future where all of  Brythonic  peoples are allied with the  Scots , the  Irish , and the  Vikings  of  Dublin  under Welsh leadership, and together succeed in driving the  Anglo-Saxons  from  Britain  forever. Leaders of such ventures are always given names in heroic poetry, and in this case they are said to be Cadwallon and Cadwaladr, implicitly inviting the audience to connect them with two famous leaders from the distant past,  Cadwallon ap Cadfan  and  Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon . The inclusion of the non-Celtic Vikings and the non-Brythonic Scots and Irish as full allies in a Welsh traditional poem is a remarkable oddity. The poem is common...

GRUFFUDD ap CYNAN ( c. 1055 - 1137 ), Gruffydd ap cynan is one of the most important people in the history of wales. He had a very eventful life and was the father of   Gwenllian  ferch  Gruffydd (read more about this remarkable woman here  Click for My post about Gwenllian the brave ) and  Owain Gwynedd who we will read more about in a future post. ****note, at the bottom of this page you will find a link to download the 11th-century history of Gruffydd ap cynan**** Son of Cynan ap Iago , who was an exile in Ireland , and Rhagnell ( Ragnhildr ) , a daughter of the royal house of the Scandinavians of Dublin . After 1039 , when Iago was treacherously slain by his own men, Gwynedd was ruled by usurpers who were not of the royal line. One of these was Bleddyn ap Cynfyn . who was killed in 1075 and succeeded by his cousin, Trahaearn ap Caradog ,king of Arwystli .  In that same year Gruffudd crossed over from Ireland intent on regaining his ...

Tomorrow is 'Owain Glyndwr day in Wales where the welsh remember the last time they had the guts to dream of independence. Glyndwr's banner will be flown all over wales, including outside the welsh parliament. Below is a letter written by the last native prince of Wales at the height of his rebellion to the king of Scotland and the king of France The king of Scotland never got the letter. It was intercepted by the English To the King of Scotland, 1401 Most high and mighty and redoubted lord and cousin, I commend me to your most high and royal majesty, humbly as beseemth me, with all honour and reverence. Most redoubted lord and right sovereign cousin, please it you and your most high majesty to know that Brutus, your most noble ancestor and mine, was the first crowned king who dwelt in this realm of England, which of old times was called Great Britain. The which Brutus begat three sons, to wit Albanact, Locrine and Camber. From which same Albanact you are descended in dire...

Gwenllian the brave (sister of owain gwynedd and daughter on gruffydd ap cynan) Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd was the daughter of the remarkable Gruffydd ap cynan and younger sister of the even more remarkable Owain Gwynedd Gwenllian grew up at a troubled time where there seemed to be constant wars between the welsh and Normans. The Normans had ambitions that included Wales but the welsh had different ideas. She was born with a deep hatred for the Normans that was common with all welsh folk at the time. So unusually for a girl she trained with her three older brothers and become very handy with or without the sword. by all accounts she was very pretty and drawn a lot of attention from males but wasn't interested. (Before Gwenllian was born, her father spent more than a decade as an English prisoner until he escaped more about her father in a future post. ) Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd often gets confused with Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn who was the daughter of Llywelyn ap Gru...

King Henry (who ascended to the throne in 1154) decided to invade Gwynedd to halt the recent expansion of Owain Gwynedd into the lands of Powys, and to expand his empire into northern Wales.  Henry led a large army of 30,000 men into northern Wales and sent a fleet (led by Henry FitzRoy) to capture Anglesey to cut off Owain's supplies. Owain responded by raising a Welsh army of around 3000 men. Owain's army made camp at Basingwerk to block the route to Twthill at Rhuddlan. Henry split from his main army with a smaller force that would march through the nearby Ewloe woods to outflank Owain's army. Sensing this, Owain sent a large army led by his sons Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd and Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd into the woods to guard Owain's main force from Henry's outflanking army. Owain split his army and decided to personally lead an extra 200 men into the Ewloe woods to reinforce his sons' armies. When Henry's outflanking force advanced into the wood, they wer...

Forces of Henry II of England   Vs  an alliance of Welsh princes led by Owain Gwynedd. Henry II, who planned to conquer Wales and so expand the Angevin Empire, raised an army at Oswestry to march to the Berwyn mountains, via the Ceiriog Valley, in the summer of 1165 King Owain Gwynedd hearing of the invasion, raised an army at Corwen in response, comprising forces from all over Wales. Including his own forces of Gwynedd, led by himself and his brother Cadwaladr, the alliance of princes was made up of men from Deheubarth, under the leadership of Rhys ap Gruffudd, and troops from Powys Henry's army had the advantage of greater numbers, so Owain's tactics were to raid and ambush. When Henry's army advanced into the densely wooded Ceiriog Valley, the Welsh defenders assailed them repeatedly from their positions of cover. Realising the vulnerability of his army, Henry II ordered 2000 woodsmen to clear trees and widen the passage, allowing his forces to move more freel...