History of North Wales - Dafydd ap Llywelyn
Dafydd was born in 1208, the son of Llywelyn Fawr and his wife Joan, the daughter of John, King of England.
In 1220 Llywelyn Fawr broke with Welsh laws and traditions (which stated that a man's property passed to all his sons equally, regardless of legitimacy) and named Dafydd as his heir, raising him up over his elder half brother, Gruffydd. Many of Llywelyn's subjects were unhappy about this break with tradition and supported Gruffydd, though most were unwilling to rebel against Llywelyn Fawr. King Henry III however did support Llywelyn's choice and took Dafydd (his nephew) under the protection of the English Crown, acknowledging him as heir to Gwynedd.
While fighting in Ceri in 1228, Dafydd and his father captured Will de Braose, grandson of William de Braose, the infamous Lord of Abergavenny. During the ransom negotiations it was agreed that Dafydd would be betrothed to de Braose's daughter, Isabella, they married in 1230. As part of the marriage agreement Dafydd received the strategically important Buellt Castle from de Broase.
Llywelyn had always accepted oaths of homage from the other Welsh princes. However, in 1238, when the time came for the princes to swear to Dafydd, the English Crown would only allow the lesser oath of fealty to be sworn. This was a disturbing indication of the change in attitude the English were having towards the Welsh.
In 1240 Llywelyn Fawr died and Dafydd became Prince Of Gwynedd. There were plenty who believed that Gwynedd should have been split between both of Llywelyn's sons and when Gruffydd rebelled later that year he had many supporters. Owain Goch, Gruffydd's eldest son, led an army into Dafydd's lands and Gwynedd was at war. In September the Church arranged for Dafydd, Gruffydd and Owain to meet to discuss terms to end the war. Dafydd broke the truce, capturing and imprisoning his brother and nephew at Criccieth Castle. As Gruffydd had met with Dafydd under the church's protection, Dafydd was excommunicated.
Gruffydd's wife, Senena, and the Welsh who supported Gruffydd, asked Henry III for help in overthrowing Dafydd. This was a great opportunity for the English and Henry assembled an army of invasion at Shrewsbury. Dafydd could not hope to defeat both the English and his fellow Welsh lords. He retreated into Eryri, after first destroying Deganwy Castle to prevent it falling into English hands.
Invading forces were usually hampered by both the great marsh at Rhuddlan and the mountains. That summer though had been very dry and the English had no trouble crossing the marsh. Dafydd's retreat was blocked by Gruffydd's supporters and he was forced to yield to King Henry. The terms of his surrender (the Treaty of Gwern Eigron) included the handing over of Mold Castle, Lower Powys, Meirionydd, Buellt Castle & Ellesmere (which had been his mother's). He also had to release Gruffydd and Owain into Henry's custody. The Welsh expected Henry to free Gruffydd and Owain, instead he ordered them sent to The Tower Of London.
In October 1241 Dafydd paid homage to Henry in London to ratify the Treaty of Gwern Eigron. He was also forced to agree that if he died without "heirs of his body" Gwynedd would pass to the English Crown.
In 1244 Gruffydd fell to his death while trying to escape from The Tower Of London. The Welsh princes began to realise that King Henry intended to turn Wales into an English shire and Dafydd's support from his countrymen grew. Among those who came to terms with Dafydd was Gruffydd's son Llywelyn. Dafydd's excommunication had now been lifted and he used his father's idea of placing Wales under the protection of the Pope. The Pope however soon needed England's support in his dispute with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick, and withdrew his protection from Wales. Henry reaction to this news was to send an army to invade Gwynedd and to release Owain Goch. If Henry had hoped that Owain would draw support away from Dafydd he was to be disappointed, Owain went only as far as Cheshire.
In 1245 Henry reached Deganwy and started to rebuild the castle, but he couldn't cross the river Conwy and in October, with their supply lines being ambushed by the Welsh, the English withdraw.
Dafydd died in 1246. He had no children and, regardless of the Treaty Of Gwern Eigron, he was succeeded by his nephew, Gruffydd's son, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd.