History of North Wales - Llywelyn Fawr (ab Iorwerth)
Llywelyn was born in 1173, the eldest son of Iorwerth Drwyndwn ap Owain, one of Owain Gwynedd's sons, and Marrared ferch Madog. Little is known of Iorwerth, but it's thought he died when his son was very young, leaving Llywelyn to be raised in the household of his mother's family in Powys.
When Llywelyn was 14, he tried to claim his rightful inheritance, but his uncles, Dafydd and Rhodri, refused to recognise his claim to a part of Gwynedd.
In 1194, Llywelyn joined forces with other family members. They attacked Dafydd, forcing him to make large concessions including ceding land in the Perfeddwlad (the part of Gwynedd east of the River Conwy). Rhodri died in 1195 and by 1197, Dafydd was Llywelyn's prisoner and Llywelyn was ruling the whole Perfeddwlad and starting to gain control over the rest of Gwynedd. Dafydd spent the last 6 years of his life in English exile on land in Ellesmere given to him by King Henry II. When Llywelyn's cousin, Gruffydd ap Cynan, died in 1200 Llywelyn seized his lands. In 1201, Llywelyn took lands on Lleyn from another cousin, Maredudd, this final conquest made him ruler of all Gwynedd at the age of 28.
Llywelyn married Joan, the illegitimate daughter of King John, in 1205. The marriage was intended to forge an alliance between Gwynedd and England and for a short time it did.
In 1208, William de Broase, a Norman lord with lands in Powys, was declared a traitor by King John. Prince Gwenwynwyn of Powys took advantage of de Broase's problems by raiding his lands. King John onviously didn't want the land falling back into Welsh hands, he responded with force and imprisoned Gwenwynwyn. Llywelyn saw an opportunity to increase his power and invaded Powys, taking control of Gwenwynwyn's lands. A move which angered both his royal father-in-law and Prince Gwenwynwyn.
In 1209, Llwyelyn and Joan's son, Dafydd, was born. Dafydd was Llywelyn fist legitimate child, though he did have an older illegimate son, Gruffydd.
Like all Welsh princes, Llywelyn paid homage to the English king as his liege lord and as such he owed him military service if called upon. Later that year Llywelyn rode with King John against the Scottish.
John meanwhile was refusing to accept the Pope's choice of Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury and the pope excommunicated him and placed both England and Wales under interdict. This meant that no sacraments could be administered and no church services given.
By 1211, Llywelyn's power was starting to worry the English and King John decided it was time to reign in his son-in-law's. He released Gwenwynwyn, gave him the funds to reclaim his lost lands in Powys and led his own army into Gwynedd. He got as far as Deganwy, but was unable cross the River Conwy. Llywelyn swung round behind the English army and cut off their supplies, forcing them to retreat.
The Welsh victory was brief and John soon attacked again from Blancminster (today's Oswestry). This time he carried enough supplies to feed his army and brought along carpenters to erect wooden castles and secure the land they crossed. John had soon captured Rhuddlan and Deganwy and this time crossed the River Conwy. His army plundered Aberconwy Abbey, then burnt Llywelyn's plas at Aber and the cathedral and town at Bangor. Llywelyn's cousins Hywel of Meirionydd and Madog changed to the English side and Llywelyn found himself fighting a lone and losing battle.
Once it became apparent that Llywelyn was facing defeat, Joan went to her father to and managed to arrange a truce. Llywelyn surrendered to John at Aberconwy and was forced to cede all land east of the Conwy (the Perfeddwlad) to the English Crown. John also demanded 30 highborn hostages, including Llywelyn's eldest son, Gruffydd.
The following year, King John gave Prince Maelgwyn the funds to invade Ceredigion, the lands of Llywelyn nephews, Owain and Rhys. But John kept the lands for himself rather than allowing Maelgwyn to keep them. Maelgwyn was, obviously, angered bu this and he attacked John's new castle at Aberystwyth, burning it to the ground. John made an enemy of Prince Gwenwynwyn by giving an English lord, Robert de Vieuxpont, a freehand in Powys. With both Maelgwyn and Rhys Gryg in open rebellion against him and Gwenwynwyn about to follow suit, John provoked Llywelyn by starting to rebuild his castles in the Perfeddwlad in stone.
During this, the Pope was still in conflict with the English Crown and he now took advantage of the situation in Wales. He lifted the interdict from the Welsh and removed the oaths of allegiance of the Welsh princes to King John, urging the Welsh to attack John in a Holy War. While John was fighting in Scotland, Llywelyn and the other Welsh princes rebelled. Within a month they had retaken the Perfeddwlad (except the castles at Rhuddlan and Deganwy). By August John had returned and was gathering an army at Chester.
Llywelyn then took a leaf from his grandfather, Owain Gwynedd's, book and entered into a Treaty of Alliance with the French king. This proved to be the final straw for John. He hung 28 of the Welsh hostages (most of them children and teenagers) at Nottingham - Llywelyn's son Gruffydd was spared. At the same time Joan sent a message to her father warning him that some of his barons meant to rebel if he invaded Wales, leading John to call off the invasion.
In 1213, at the urging of the pope, Philip of France planned an invasion of England, forcing John to finally come to terms with Rome - John in fact went so far as to place England under the pope's protection. Philip still invaded. He was joined by many of John's barons, who were demanding a lessening of the kings power, in line with the ancient laws of Edward the Confessor and the charter of Henry I.
By 1215 the rebel barons held London, Lincoln, Exeter and South Wales, and Llywelyn had captured Shrewsbury. In June 1215, John agreed to the rebels demands and signed the Magna Carta at Runnymeade. One of the provisions of the charter was the release of all Welsh hostages, including Llywelyn's son, Gruffydd.
Later the same year, John summoned his barons and the Welsh princes to Oxford to renew their oaths of homage. In September the Pope issued 'Et Si Carissimus', declaring the Magna Carta void. In December Llywelyn and other princes besieged Camarthen, capturing it in 5 days. They then went on to take Cydweli, Llanstephen, St Clears, Laugharne, Narberth and Newport. On Christmas day Cardigan and Cilgerran fell to them.
In 1216, the Welsh princes paid homage to Llywelyn at Aberdyfi - effectively making him Prince of Wales. By September, some of the barons had made their peace with their king. This came too late for John though, in October 1216 he died while in Linconshire quelling a rebel uprising.
King John was succeeded by his 9 year old son Henry. Most of the rebel barons acknowledged Henry III as king. Wales though was still in rebellion and the Pope again placed it under interdict. Also in this year, Prince Gwenwynwyn of Powys died. Llywelyn finally made his peace with Henry III in 1218.
Llywelyn could now turn his attention to matters at home. It is known that he had at least two sons. Dafydd was his only legitimate son, but Welsh law stated that both Dafydd and his older illegitimate half-brother, Gruffydd, had an equal right to inherit Gwynedd. Llywelyn would have to make a choice if Gwynedd wasn't to be split upon his death. In 1220, he named Dafydd as his sole heir. England's King Henry took Dafydd, his nephew, under the Crown's protection and acknowledged him as Llwyelyn's heir. Gruffydd was angered by his father's decision and by 1221 was in rebellion against him, before long though they called a truce.
In 1222, Llywelyn and Joan's daughter, Elen, married John The Scot, heir to the Earldom of Chester, forging an alliance between Gwynedd and Chester, one of the most powerful lordships in England. When Llywelyn raided lands in Pembroke in 1223, and Henry gathered an army to invade Gwynedd, the Earl of Chester intervened and managed to get the two sides to come to terms. At this time the Earl of Pembroke was besieging Cardigan and Camarthen, Gruffydd led an army against Pembroke's forces. This time the Archbishop of Canterbury intervened and Llywelyn and Henry met at Ludlow. Llywelyn could not agree Henry's terms and Wales was once again at war. When the English armies entered Wales from the south and the north, the lands of Llywelyn's allies were threatened along with his own. Llywelyn sought terms from Henry and they met at Montgommery in October.
In 1228 Gruffydd's son, Llywelyn, was born. By now Wales was once again at war with England and Joan negotiated another truce, this time with her brother Henry at Shrewsbury. Relations between Llywelyn and his son Gruffydd were once again frayed and Llywelyn confined him to Deganwy Castle.
Llywelyn and Dafydd led an army into Ceri to defend it against Hubert de Burgh's invasion. During the campaign, Will de Broase was captured by Llywelyn and they agreed that Will's daughter, Isabella, should marry Dafydd. Will agreed to give Dafydd Beullt Castle as part of Isabella's marriage portion.
In 1230 Llywelyn discovered that his wife, Joan, and de Broase were having an affair. De Broase was hanged and Joan imprisoned. Over 800 people watched de Broase's hanging - many of them Norman lords.
During this time Llywelyn started to call himself 'Prince Of Aberffraw and Lord Of Eryri'. (Aberffraw was the ancient capital of Gwynedd and its prince was traditionally the dominate prince in Wales). In September that year, Dafydd and Isabella married.
Llywelyn's greatest ally, the Earl of Chester, died in 1232. Llywelyn's son-in-law, John the Scot, became the Earl of Chester.
In 1233, King Henry declared Richard Marshall (Earl of Pembroke) a traitor and war broke out - Llywelyn sided with Marshall. Together they ravaged the Marches as far as Shrewsbury, in 1234, Henry sought a truce. Marshall was killed later that year while visiting his lands in Ireland. In June the Peace of Middle was negotiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Middle in Shropshire, between Llywelyn and Henry. Also in this year Llywelyn released Gruffydd from Deganwy castle.
Princess Joan died in 1237, she was buried at Llanfaes on Angelsey where Llywelyn had a friary built in her memory. In June John the Scot, Earl of Chester also died. Later that year his widow, Elen, married Rob de Quincy -- this must have caused a scandal at the time, she was a Welsh princess and the widow of one of the most powerful lords in England, de Quincy was a knight with no title and no lands.
In 1238 the Welsh princes pledged fealty to Dafydd - the English forbade him to accept homage as his father had always done, which appeared to indicate that once Llywelyn died the English intended taking a different approach to its relationship with Wales, this did not bode well for Dafydd. Also that year, Joan & Henry's youngest sister, Eleanor, married Simon de Monfort, Earl of Leicester.
In 1240 Llywelyn took holy vows and in April he died. He was buried at Aberconwy Abbey and succeeded by his younger son Dafydd.