This is part 2 of my video on the history of the Kingdom of Gwynedd,
one of the most important states in the history of Wales.
You don't have to watch these parts in order, but if you like this video I would definitely recommend part 1.
[Music: Air Hockey Saloon - Chris Zabriskie]
When we last left off, the Kingdom of Gwynedd under Rhodri Mawr had just been divided upon his death.
His eldest son, Anarawd, inherited this newly partitioned Gwynedd, and avenged his father's death in 881 by crushing the Saxons in a battle near Conwy.
Speaking of the Anglo-Saxons, Æthelstan had just become their first king!
The new king of Gwynedd, Idwal, and his neighbour to the south, Hywel Dda, accepted the overlordship of Æthelstan.
This was until 942, following his death, Idwal Foel rebelled against the new king of England, Edmund I.
Idwal and his brother met Edmund in battle and were killed.
His sons, Iago and Ieuaf, were supposed to inherit the throne, but they were driven out by the king of Deheubarth, Hywel Dda.
Hywel died around 950, giving the perfect opportunity for the exiled sons of the previous king to retake Gwynedd.
Iago and Ieuaf met the sons of Hywel Dda in a battle at Nant Carno, defeated them and took back Gwynedd and Powys.
They ruled their new kingdom as co-kings until 969, when Iago imprisoned Ieuaf and ruled Gwynedd by himself.
This lasted for 10 years, after which Hywel, the son of the imprisoned king Ieuaf, captured his uncle Iago and became the sole king of Gwynedd.
Hywel died in 985, his throne was contested by his brother, Cadwallon, and his cousin, Ionafal.
Cadwallon managed to defeat Ionafal in battle, but only a year later he himself would be killed by the new ruler of Deheubarth, Maredudd ab Owain.
Maredudd died in the year 999, and sometime later his kingdom was taken over by Aeddan,
a man who's ancestry is completely unknown and probably wasn't related to any of the royal families.
Back in Gwynedd, the son of the former king Hywel, Cynan, had managed to retake his lands.
However, he only ruled it for 3 years before being defeated by Aeddan, bringing Gwynedd under the rule of Deheubarth once again.
Despite ruling over most of Wales, Aeddan's rule would be ultimately inconsequential.
He and his four sons would be killed in the year 1018, by Llywelyn ap Seisyll, who was the great-grandson of the previously mentioned king Anarawd.
Llywelyn decided to break the long-standing tradition of dying violently to external forces,
and instead seemingly died peacefully after a short rule in the year 1023.
His succession was interrupted however, as king Maredudd's cousin, Rhydderch, managed to seize the throne following his death.
That was until 1033, when he was killed by the Irish,
which allowed Iago ab Idwal, the great-grandson of the previous king Idwal, to take the throne.
The Irish chronicles tell us that he was killed by his own soldiers a mere 6 years later.
This allowed the ambitious son of Llywelyn ap Seisyll, Gruffydd, to finally claim his inheritance, and become the king of Gwynedd.
Gruffydd acted upon his ambition almost immediately, and by the year 1043 he had successfully conquered all of Deheubarth from Gruffydd ap Rhydderch.
Sometime later, most likely between 1045 and 1052, Gruffydd successfully conquered Morgannwg,
and became the first Welsh king to rule over ALL of Wales.
In 1052, Gruffydd attacked England and succeeded in taking Hereford.
This victory would mark the beginning of 10 years of peace in Wales,
but it would all come to an end when Harold Godwinson, the future disputed king of England, got permission from the king to invade Gruffydd's realm.
The king of Wales was pushed back to Snowdonia, where he was killed by his own soldiers, who hoped that his death would bring peace with England.
Harold Godwinson divided Wales once again, Gwynedd was given to a man named Bleddyn ap Cynfyn,
who was the son of the second husband of the daughter of King Maredudd ab Owain (who herself was the first wife to king Llywelyn ap Seisyll).
He agreed to submit to Harold Godwinson, the most powerful man in England,
Securing his position with a powerful ally, who will surely be around for a long time...
He apparently ruled as a dutiful and just king, and his murder by the king of Deheubarth would be seen as a brutal crime.
He would be succeeded by Trahaearn ap Caradog, a man from Arwystli who claimed to be Bleddyn's cousin,
even though... he wasnt.
However, he was very unpopular in western Gwynedd, which gave an excellent opportunity for a new king to enter the scene.
Gruffydd ŵyr Iago was the son of Cynan and Ragnhildr, the daughter of the king of Dublin.
Gruffydd's father was completely unknown, but HIS father, Iago, was a king! Leading Gruffydd to style himself in a very unique way:
rather than being: "Gruffydd son of Cynan", he called himself "Gruffydd grandson of Iago".
Although he successfully drove Trahaearn back to Arwystli, he would be defeated when attempting to retake Rhuddlan.
He was also unpopular due to his Irish soldiers, who apparently had very foreign customs,
leading him to eventually being overthrown by Trahaearn and driven back to Wexford.
Making him an exile, pretender, king and exile again all in 1 year.
Trahaearn would rule for 6 years, until the peace was disturbed by his ally Caradog ap Gruffydd, king of Morgannwg,
who decided to invade Deheubarth.
Gruffydd ŵyr Iago had returned from Ireland, and landed near St David’s in support of his friend.
Gruffydd, and Rhys ap Tewdwr Mawr of Deheubarth, would face off against Trahaearn ap Caradog of Gwynedd,
Caradog ap Gruffydd of Morgannwg, and Meilyr ap Rhiwallon of Powys, in the battle of Mynydd Carn.
Meilyr, Caradog and Trahaearn would all be killed in the battle, allowing Gruffydd to become the king of Gwynedd once again.
Unfortunately, Gruffydd’s victory would not last long, shortly after the battle he was captured by the Earl of Chester.
The Domesday book, recorded in 1086, shows us the dire situation in Gwynedd at this time,
with the Earldom of Chester being recorded as extending up to the Clwyd, and the Earl of Chester being in control of Rhufoniog and Rhos.
The Normans continued to establish a tighter control over Wales,
until 1094 when Cadwgan ap Bleddyn led a revolt with his brothers and successfully defeated the Norman army at Coed Yspwys.
Gruffydd ŵyr Iago escaped from prison and reestablished himself as the king of Gwynedd.
4 years later the Normans invaded again and pushed all the way to the Menai, until a stroke of good luck happened.
King Magnus of Norway was leading a force to raid the Menai coasts,
he encountered the currently-victorious Norman army, and killed the Earl of Shrewsbury.
Gruffydd would not expand his realm for 20 years, until he eventually retook the land to the Clwyd once again,
he also took Meirionnydd.
Gruffydd appears to have retired the throne in 1120, leaving the kingship of Gwynedd to his two sons,
Cadwallon, who would be killed in Powys in 1132, and Owain Gwynedd.
In 1136, Gruffydd ap Rhys led a great revolt against the Normans.
He and Owain Gwynedd would defeat the house of Clare in the battle of Crug Mawr,
and Owain would annex all of Ceredigion.
England at this time was pretty chaotic, rather… Anarchic you could say.
While they were busy arguing whether or not it’d be a good idea to have a king called *Steve*,
Owain was taking advantage of the new weakness of the marcher lords.
In 1146 he captured Mold castle, not to be confused with my house,
which is more of a mould *fortress*.
3 years later he annexed the commote of Iâl, extending his realm up to the city of Chester.
Ceredigion was lost to Deheubarth in 1153, and in 1157 Henry II, the new king of England, invaded.
Owain managed to rebuff Henry at first, he defeated his army at Basingwerk and his naval landings on Anglesey.
However, it was very apparent to Owain that he could not hold out forever.
He agreed to cede Tegeingl to Henry, but succeeded in keeping all of his other gains.
This setback would only be temporary, in 1163 Henry II would lose widespread public support following his quarrel with Archbishop Beckett,
which gave Owain an opportunity to take back his lost lands.
He joined forces with the kings of Powys and Deheubarth, and met the English army at Corwen.
The Welsh blocked the passage, so Henry decided to march his army straight up the mountainside.
The heavy rain and mud made supply difficult, and the lack of food and abundance of hostile terrain eventually forced Henry to withdraw back to England.
Owain died in 1170, but his eldest surviving son was deemed unfit to succeed him due to his physical deformity.
Instead it appears that Gwynedd was fragmented, with the next son in line, Dafydd, ruling Perfeddwlad (the middle country).
Cynan inherited Dunoding and Meirionnydd, and Maelgwn taking Anglesey.
Dafydd and his brother, Rhodri, took Anglesey in 1173.
And a year later, took further lands to consolidate Gwynedd.
In a bid to centralise his power, Dafydd arrested his brother in 1175.
However, he soon escaped and led a rebellion against him.
Dafydd was forced to agree to another partition of Gwynedd, with Rhodri receiving everything west of the Conwy,
with the exception of Meirionnydd and Dunoding, which went to the previous ruler’s sons.
Dafydd would rule for 20 years, until he was defeated by the son of Iorwerth ab Owain, Llywelyn the Great.
Rhodri would die in 1195, and his lands would be inherited by the sons of Cynan.
Gruffydd ap Cynan died in 1200, his brother took control of some of his lands, but he was defeated only 2 years later by Llywelyn and Hywel ap Gruffydd.
Llywelyn swore allegiance to the new king of England, John, and married his daughter *Joan*.
His neighbour, Powys, had decided to split up,
but unlike my parents, this time it wasn’t my fault.
Powys Wenwynwyn, named after King Gwenwynwyn, decided to enter a win-win scenario.
He decided to attempt to attack the Norman lords to his south and lost.
Llywelyn seized the opportunity to take his lands, and at the same time took the cantref of Penweddig in Ceredigion.
Despite getting along with John, Llywelyn would eventually be invaded by England 1211.
For the first time in over 100 years, the forces of England reached the banks of the Menai straight.
John’s daughter, Joan, persuaded her father to not conquer all of Gwynedd,
leaving Llywelyn in control of all lands west of the Conwy.
This wouldn’t last long however, with the backing of both the Pope and France Llywelyn rebelled against John and retook the Perfeddwlad.
Meanwhile several of Johns *Barons* were getting quite angry with him,
enough to start a war perhaps?
Several times maybe?
Llywelyn participated in the first barons war and played a key part in their victory, particularly with his capture of Shrewsbury.
He marched south and captured most of the Norman castles in Deheubarth,
including Cardigan, Carmarthen and Swansea, and distributed the lands amongst the sons of Rhys ap Gruffydd.
Powys Wenwynwyn was also seized, and Powys Fadog swore fealty to him.
In 1231, in response to mounting border pressure from the Marcher lords, Llywelyn marched his army south,
destroyed neath and annexed the cantrefi of Buellt, Gwrtheyrnion and Maelinydd.
At this time he also adopted a new title “Prince of Aberffraw and Lord of Snowdon”.
Llywelyn successfully petitioned both the Welsh and English rulers to recognise his second son, Dafydd, as his legitimate heir.
And on the 11th of April 1240, Llywelyn Fawr died,
leaving Gwynedd to his son, and an uncertain fate.
Six weeks later, Henry III demanded that Dafydd returned the lands his father had conquered,
reducing his domain to just Gwynedd.
He also demanded that Gwynedd should pass to him, in the event that Dafydd dies without an heir,
and that Dafydd should surrender his elder brother, Gruffydd, to him.
Gruffydd would serve as a potential rival to Dafydd,
but this ended later following Gruffydd’s fall to his death trying to escape from the Tower of London, while lowering himself to the ground using sheets.
Dafydd rebelled against Henry the same year, he allied with the men of Deheubarth and his nephew, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd.
This would all be in vain however, and in 1246 Dafydd would die without an heir,
technically leaving Gwynedd to Henry III.
But Henry could claim Gwynedd in name only, the Welsh acknowledged Dafydd’s nephews, Llywelyn and Owain ap Gruffydd, as Kings.
They made peace with England in 1247 and once again ceded the Perfeddwlad and Meirionnydd in the treaty of Woodstock.
(not *that* one)
In 1255, Llywelyn managed to imprison his brother and became the sole ruler of Gwynedd.
In 1256 he pushed further forwards and retook Perfeddwlad.
By 1258, Llywelyn had defeated Henry III and reconquered Meirionnydd, Powys Wenwynwyn, Buellt, Gwrtheyrnion,
and had established his allies in Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi.
Powys Fadog had also sworn allegiance to him.
And by 1262, Llywelyn had pushed further south into Maelienydd and Brecon.
His conquests were confirmed by Henry III through the treaty of Montgomery in 1267.
Henry acknowledged Llywelyn as the Prince of Wales, and Llywelyn acknowledged Henry as his overlord.
John Davies describes the Principality of Wales as having prospects, and a bright future.
The country was not an underdeveloped backwater but rather a complex and structured society.
There were churches built from English stone and the rich drank French Wine.
Welsh cattle, timber and wool were exported.
There were Welsh administrators, craftsmen, priests, poets, goldsmiths, doctors and Welshmen went to university.
What Wales didn’t have, was time.
Henry the Third was dead, and his son Edward the First, had now returned to England to take his throne.
Llywelyn refused to pay homage to him, arguing that his rights through the treaty of Montgomery were being rejected.
Edward refused to acknowledge the treaty, arguing that Llywelyn had unlawfully imprisoned and taken lands from his brothers.
In 1276 Edward marched into Wales with an army of around 16,000 soldiers, the largest seen on the island since 1066.
He seized Anglesey and surrounded the Welsh in Snowdonia.
With no where else to go, Llywelyn surrendered to Edward.
He would retain the lands West of the Conwy, his brother Dafydd would receive Rhufoniog and Dyffryn Clwyd,
his brother Owain would receive Llŷn, and Edward annexed Rhos and Tegeingl.
Edwards rule was oppressive and unwanted, with one of the major disputes being his dismissal of Welsh Law.
1282, Dafydd ap Gruffydd rose up in rebellion, he was joined by Llywelyn 4 weeks later.
The rebels attacked Hawarden, Ruthin, Aberystwyth and Builth,
they defeated the English both at Dinefwr and at the Menai straits.
This was, however, to be in vain.
On the 11th of December 1282, Llywelyn, Prince of Wales, was leading an army to reinforce Builth.
They encountered the English on the banks of the Irfon, and Llywelyn was killed,
by a soldier from Shrewsbury, who didn't even recognise he was in combat with the prince.
Dafydd would continue the resistance for another 6 months, until he was finally captured, hanged, drawn and quartered.
Edward would annex the principality of Wales, and it would now traditionally be ruled by the heir to the English throne.
Bringing an end to the Kingdom of Gwynedd, after 800 years.
Thank you very much for watching.