Gruffydd Llewelyn  52 ED28

The second building phase at Criccieth Castle was undertaken by Llywelyn's grandson, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (also known as "the Last") probably in the 1260's. http://www.castlewales.com/criccth.html

King of Powys 1039-1063

~~~~~

King of Gwynedd and Powys 1039-1063
King of Deheubarth 1044-1047, 1055-1063
Son of Llywelyn Seisyll

Seized the throne to Gwynedd when Iago Idwal Meurig was murdered in 1039.
1039 - Won the battle of Rhyd-y-Groes near Welshpool against Mercians where he slew Edwin, brother of Earl Leofric of Mercia, (Godiva's husband). Battle was so fierce Mercian Saxons backed off for a while, allowing Gruffydd to turn to the south attacking Hywel Edwin of Deheubarth.
1044 - Hywel Edwin was killed at battle at estuary of river Towry despite his use of Vikings.
Gruffydd then challenged by Gruffydd Rhydderch (descendant of Rhodri Mawr), battled 2 years.
1047 - Hundred's of Gruffydd soldiers killed by treachery from Rhydderch's brothers.
Gruffydd's revenge was to lay Dyfed and Seisyllwg to waste with alliance to new Earl Svein of Mercia in order to have Saxon support of his claim to Deheubarth. (?) Did not succeed.
Turned to eastern marches and land beyond Offa's Dyke.
Allied with Alfgar, son of Earl Leofric of Mercia who was in dispute with Godwin of Wessex, father of Svein now in exile in Byzantium.
Gruffydd married Eadgyth at 15, daughter of Alfgar, who would later marry Harold II.
1052 - Beginning of a series of raids that gained Gruffydd and Alfgar March territories from the Saxons. Saxon patrolled south to Westbury in Gloucestershire.
1055 - Hereford sacked and burnt. Rhydderch killed by Gruffydd who claimed Deheubarth.
1056 - Leofgar, Bishop of Hereford led army against Gruffydd but defeated.
1057 - English recognized Gruffydd's right to all of Wales, sought treaty with Gruffydd.
Negoiations led by Harold Godwinson and Earl Leofric resulted in Gruffydd swearing fealty to King Edward the Confessor.
1058 - Gruffydd temporarily dispossessed of lands, regained with Alfgar's help
1062 Alfgar died, leaving Gruffydd vulnerable. Harold Godwinson led surprise attack at Rhuddlan, destroying Gruffydd's fleet, Gruffydd escaped.
1063 - Harold Godwinson and brother Tosnig combined in attack, forcing Wales into submission. Harold demanded tributes and hostages, that the Welsh abandon Gruffydd. His own men turned on him and killed him, slain by Cynan Iago (Iago Idwal Meurig's son) August 1063. His head was sent to Harold as a sign of the victory.

His daughter, Nest Verch Gruffydd married Osborn FitzRichard
Maredydd Owain Edwin inherited Deheubarth
(Rhodri Mawr, Cadell, Hywel Dda, Owain, Einon, Edwin, Owain, Maredydd)
Bleddyn Cynfyn and brother Rhiwallon inherited Gwynedd and Powys.
They were Gruffydd's half brothers by Gruffydd's mother after Llywelyn Seisyll's death, and her second husband Cynfyn Gwerstan

Gwynedd's remaining leaders were:
Bleddyn Cynfyn 1063-1075
Trahern Caradog 1075-1081
Gruffydd Cynan 1081-1137
Owain Gywnedd Gruffydd 1137-1170
Maelgwyn Owain 1170-1173
Dafydd Owain 1175-1195
Rhodri Owain 1170-1174,1190
Llywelyn Fawr Iorweth "The Great" 1200-1240
Dafydd Lllywelyn 1240-1246
Llywelyn II Gruffydd "The Last" 1246-1282
Owain Goch Gruffydd 1282
Dafydd Gruffydd 1282, executed for treason

~~~~~~~~~~~

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was undoubtedly the outstanding Welsh ruler of the 11th century and the most distinguished prince to emerge since the days of Hywel Dda. He reigned from 1039 to 1063, but was an unexpected contender for power. By 1039 he was probably established in Powys, and in that year Iago ap Idwal of Gwynedd was murdered by his own men, perhaps with Gruffydd as an accomplice, and emerged as the claimant for the northern kingdom. He was totally ruthless, his hands stained with the blood of rivals and opponents, but in retrospect his reign was seen as a period of outstanding achievement. For fifteen years he fought a hard struggle to make himself ruler of the southern kingdom of Wales, but he was thwarted by two determined kings, and not until 1055 could he claim to dominate the whole of Wales. His first target was Deheubarth, and in 1039 he drove Hywel ap Edwin in flight from the kingdom.

When Gruffydd took over south Wales he assumed an aggressive policy towards the English. In 1055, Aelfgar, son of the earl of Mercia, was the victim of a political attack, and an attempt was made to have him exiled. He found Gruffydd ap Llywelyn a valuable ally, and supported by a Scandinavian force, he was reinstated. A successful combined attack on the English forces at Herefordshire, contributed much to Aelfgar's' success. That defeat caused Harold, earl of Wessex (later King Harold I), to intervene directly, mustering a large army and arranging a settlement. Harold at that stage did not produce any permanent defence for the frontier, but instead used a number of different tactics over the next few years. A new bishop of Hereford was appointed, Loefgar, one of Harold's priests, a chaplain with a strong taste for military matters. He attempted a surprise attack in Wales which went disastrously wrong, and which Gruffydd ap Llywelyn repulsed, leaving the English army with heavy losses.

To re-establish peace on the frontier was no easy task, and defence was entrusted for the time being to Aldred, bishop of Worcester, a more diplomatic and more pugnacious churchman. in 1058 the personal conflict between earl Harold and Aelfgar, who by then had succeeded as earl of Mercia, was renewed, and the pattern of 1055 was repeated, but Aelfgar could not be removed from the scene. Slowly events moved to a crisis point. Harold assumed responsibility for the earldom of Hereford and for the problems of border defence, and by the winter of 1062-63 he was ready to strike. A swift attack launched in mid-winter was made on Rhuddlan where Gruffydd had an llys, a substantial residence. Surprised by the land force, he managed to escape by sea. In the summer of 1063 a second attack was made, with a fleet supporting the army. This time, Gruffydd could not escape by sea, and he had to move into central Wales, and there he was killed by his enemies. He had paid a heavy price for his alliance with the Mercian dynasty, an alliance which always promised more for Earl Aelfgar than it could promise for the Welsh prince.

The defeat and death of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn were a disaster for Gwynedd and for Wales, and it might be expected that ten or fifteen years would pass before the damage had been contained, and before the next leading figure among the Welsh princes could be identified. The fact that the Normans (above) would land in England, and that an entirely new factor would be introduced into Welsh history, could not be foreseen; nor could the unhappy fact that the death and eclipse of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1063 had left Wales weak and fragmented only a few years before this new and very dangerous enemy appeared on the scene.

~~~~~~~~~~~Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (c. 1000 – August 5, 1063) was the ruler of all Wales from 1055 until his death, one of very few able to make this boast. He was of a cadet branch of the princely house of Mathrafal of Powys, though himself not described as being royal. Gruffydd was the only son of Llywelyn ap Seisyll, who had been able to seize both Gwynedd and Powys from their traditional dynasties. On Llywelyn's death in 1033, a member of the traditional Aberffraw dynasty, Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig, became ruler of Gwynedd. Gruffydd according to tradition had been a lazy youth, but one New Year's Eve, he was driven out of the house by his exasperated sister. Leaning against the wall of another house, he heard a cook who was boiling pieces of beef in a cauldron complain that there was one piece of meat which kept coming to the top of the cauldron, however often it was thrust down. Gruffydd took the comment to apply to him, and began to work to gain power.

In 1039 Iago ab Idwal was killed by his own men (his son Cynan ap Iago went into exile in Dublin) and Gruffydd, already the usurper-king of Powys, was able to become king of Gwynedd by 1039. Soon after gaining power he surprised a Mercian army at Rhyd y Groes near Welshpool and totally defeated it, killing its leader, Edwin, the brother of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He then attacked the neighbouring principality of Deheubarth which was now ruled by Hywel ab Edwin. Gruffydd defeated Hywel in a battle at Pencader in 1041 and carried off Hywel's wife. Gruffydd seems to have been able to drive Hywel out of Deheubarth in about 1043, for in 1044 Hywel is recorded as returning with a Danish fleet to the mouth of the River Tywi to try to reclaim his kingdom. Gruffydd however defeated and killed him.

Gruffydd ap Rhydderch of Gwent was able to expel Gruffydd ap Llywelyn from Deheubarth in 1047 and became king of Deheubarth himself after the nobles of Ystrad Tywi had suddenly attacked and killed 140 of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn's household guard. He was able to resist several attacks by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in the following years. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was active on the Welsh border in 1052, when he attacked Herefordshire and defeated a mixed force of Normans and English near Leominster.

In 1055 Gruffydd ap Llywelyn killed his rival Gruffydd ap Rhydderch in battle and recaptured Deheubarth. Gruffydd now allied himself with Ælfgar, son of Earl Leofric of Mercia, who had been deprived of his earldom of East Anglia by Harold Godwinson and his brothers. They marched on Hereford and were opposed by a force led by the Earl of Hereford, Ralph the Timid. This force was mounted and armed in the Norman fashion, but on October 24 Gruffydd defeated it. He then sacked the city and destroyed its Norman castle. Earl Harold was given the task of counter attacking, but was not able to penetrate very far. Shortly afterwards Ælfgar was restored to his earldom and a peace treaty concluded. Gruffydd married Ælfgar's daughter, Ealdgyth.

Around this time Gruffydd was also able to seize Morgannwg and Gwent, along with extensive territories along the border with England. In 1056 he won another victory over an English army near Glasbury. He now claimed sovereignty over the whole of Wales - a claim which was recognised by the English.

Gruffydd reached an agreement with Edward the Confessor, but the death of his ally Ælfgar in 1062 left him more vulnerable. In late 1062 Harold Godwinson obtained the king's approval for a surprise attack on Gruffydd's court at Rhuddlan. Gruffydd was nearly captured, but was warned in time to escape out to sea in one of his ships, though his other ships were destroyed. In the spring of 1063 Harold's brother Tostig led an army into north Wales while Harold led to fleet first to south Wales and then north to meet with his brother's army. Gruffydd was forced to take refuge in Snowdonia, but at this stage his own men killed him, on 5 August according to Brut y Tywysogion. The Ulster Chronicle states that he was killed by Cynan ap Iago, whose father Iago ab Idwal had been put to death by Gruffydd in 1039. [1] Gruffydd had probably made enemies in the course of uniting Wales under his rule.

Gruffydd's head and the figurehead of his ship were sent to Harold.

Following Gruffydd's death, Harold married his widow Ealdgyth, though she was to be widowed again three years later. Gruffydd's realm was divided again into the traditional kingdoms. Bleddyn ap Cynfyn and his brother Rhiwallon came to an agreement with Harold and were given the rule of Gwynedd and Powys. Thus when Harold was defeated and killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 the Normans reaching the borders of Wales were confronted by the traditional kingdoms rather than a single king. Gruffydd left two sons who in 1070 challenged Bleddyn and Rhiwallon at the battle of Mechain in an attempt to win back part of their father's kingdom. However they were defeated, one being killed and the other dying of exposure after the battle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruffydd_ap_Llywelyn

Helen Llywelyn

Her second marriage was forced upon her by King Henry III. More commonly known as Elen.