History of North Wales - Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd was born around 1100, the son of Gruffydd ap Cynan and Angharad. In 1137 he succeeded his father as ruler of Gwynedd. By the 1140s Owain was at war with both his brother, Cadwaladr, and Madog ap Maredudd, Prince of Powys. Normally the Normans would have used this Welsh discord to their advantage but England was entrenched in its own civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maude. With no Norman interference Owain was able to defeat both Cadwaladr and Madog. The main rulers in Wales by now were Owain in the north and Rhys ap Gruffydd in the south. Both princes realised that their problems were three fold - rival Welsh dynasties, Marcher Lords and their powerful Norman neighbour.
King Stephen died in 1154 and was succeeded by Henry fitz Empress (Henry II), the son of the Empress Maude and Geoffrey le Belle (Count of Anjou). Henry's first concern was to restore royal authority to both England and his lands in France; he wasn't able to turn his attention to Wales until 1157, when he planned an attack on Gwynedd. He formed an alliance with the powerful men of North Wales - Cadwaladr, Madog ap Maredudd and Madog's brother Iorwerth Goch - leaving Owain cut off from the men who should have been his allies. As the main English force headed to Basingwerk, Henry cut across the wooded country south of Hawarden - here though he was ambushed at Coleshill by Owain's sons and was lucky to escape capture. A second English force attempted to attack Moelfre on Anglesey - this too was unsuccessful. Despite these setbacks, Henry's main army did force Owain to retreat into Gwynedd and then to seek unfavourable terms:-
- He must pay homage to Henry.
- Tegeingl (near the Cheshire border) was to be given to Henry.
- Owain had to receive Cadwaladr back into Gwynedd.
When Madog ap Maredudd died in 1160, Owain attacked Powys and Arwystli. By now he was at odds with King Henry after trying to install his own choice as Bishop of Bangor, against Henry's wishes. In 1165 Henry again tried to bring Owain to submission - the Welsh and English armies gathered at Edeirnion, but the weather was so bad that the English withdrew.
Henry didn't try to attack Gywnedd again, instead he sought a diplomatic solution to his Welsh problems. In 1166, at the Council Of Woodstock, he sought to make them vassals of the English crown, rather like English lords. The Welsh obviously resisted this and a successful uprising was led by Owain and Rhys ap Gruffydd, during which Owain captured Basingwerk and Rhuddlan castles. In 1168 Owain entered into negotiations with Louis VII of France, seeking an alliance against their common enemy, England.
Owain died in 1170, leaving a strong and united Gwynedd, he was remembered as a great statesman, leader and soldier. Following his death though war broke out between his sons; Dafydd and Rhodri killed their half brother Hywel and seized power. Dafydd and Rhodri ruled Gwynedd between them for twenty years, until the rise in power of their nephew Llywelyn ap Iorwerth.
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