| Notes |
- Owain Gwynedd
Prince of Gwynedd
King of All Wales
Predecessor Gruffudd ap Cynan
Successor Rhys ap Gruffydd
King of Gwynedd
Reign 1137-1170
Predecessor Gruffudd ap Cynan
Successor Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
Born c. 1100
Gwynedd, Wales?
Died 23 or 28 November 1170 (aged 69–70)
Burial Bangor Cathedral
Spouse Gwladus ferch Llywarch, Cristin ferch
Goronwy
Issue Rhun ab Owain Gwynedd
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
Iorwerth "Drwyndwn" ab
Owain Gwynedd
Maelgwn ab Owain Gwynedd
Gwenllian ferch Owain
Gwynedd
Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd
Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd
Angharad ferch Owain
Gwynedd
Margaret ferch Owain
Gwynedd
Iefan ferch Owain Gwynedd
Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd
Rhirid ab Owain Gwynedd
Rhirid ab Owain Gwynedd
Madoc ab Owain Gwynedd
Cynwrig ab Owain Gwynedd
Gwenllian ferch Owain
Gwynedd
Einion ab Owain Gwynedd
Iago ab Owain Gwynedd
Ffilip ab Owain Gwynedd
Cadell ab Owain Gwynedd
Rotpert ab Owain Gwynedd
Idwal ab Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Owain ap Gruffudd (c. 1100 – 23 or 28 November 1170)
was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his
death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He
was called "Owain the Great" (Welsh: Owain Mawr) [1] and
the first to be styled "Prince of Wales".[2] He is considered to
be the most successful of all the North Welsh princes prior to
his grandson, Llywelyn the Great. He became known as
Owain Gwynedd (Middle Welsh: Owain Gwyned, "Owain
of Gwynedd") to distinguish him from the contemporary
king of Powys Wenwynwyn, Owain ap Gruffydd ap
Maredudd, who became known as Owain Cyfeiliog.[3]
Contents
1 Early life
2 Accession to the throne and early campaigns
3 War with King Henry II
4 Disputes with the church and succession
5 Heirs and successors
6 Ancestry
7 Fiction
8 Titles
9 References
9.1 Sources
Early life
Owain Gwynedd was a member of the House of Aberffraw,
the senior branch of the dynasty of Rhodri the Great. His
father, Gruffudd ap Cynan, was a strong and long-lived ruler
who had made the principality of Gwynedd the most
influential in Wales during the sixty-two years of his reign,
using the island of Anglesey as his power base. His mother,
Angharad ferch Owain, was the daughter of Owain ab Edwin
of Tegeingl. Owain Gwynedd was the second son of
Gruffydd and Angharad. His elder brother, Cadwallon, was
killed in fighting in Powys in 1132.
Owain is thought to have been born on Anglesey about the
year 1100. By about 1120 Gruffydd had grown too old to
lead his forces in battle and Owain and his brothers
Cadwallon and later Cadwaladr led the forces of Gwynedd
against the Normans and against other Welsh princes with
great success. His elder brother Cadwallon was killed in a
battle against the forces of Powys in 1132, leaving Owain as
his father's heir. Owain and Cadwaladr, in alliance with
House Aberffraw
Father Gruffudd ap Cynan
Mother Angharad ferch Owain
Gruffydd ap Rhys of Deheubarth, won a major victory over
the Normans at Crug Mawr near Cardigan in 1136 and
annexed Ceredigion to their father's realm.
Accession to the throne and early
campaigns
On Gruffydd's death in 1137, therefore, Owain inherited a portion of a well-established kingdom, but had to
share it with Cadwaladr. In 1143 Cadwaladr was implicated in the murder of Anarawd ap Gruffydd of
Deheubarth, and Owain responded by sending his son Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd to strip him of his lands in
the north of Ceredigion. Though Owain was later reconciled with Cadwaladr, from 1143, Owain ruled alone
over most of north Wales. In 1155 Cadwaladr was driven into exile.
Owain took advantage of the Anarchy, a civil war between Stephen, King of England, and the Empress
Matilda, to push Gwynedd's boundaries further east than ever before.[4] In 1146 he captured Mold Castle and
about 1150 captured Rhuddlan and encroached on the borders of Powys. The prince of Powys, Madog ap
Maredudd, with assistance from Earl Ranulf of Chester, gave battle at Coleshill, but Owain was victorious.
War with King Henry II
All went well until the accession of King Henry II of England in 1154. Henry invaded Gwynedd in 1157 with
the support of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys and Owain's brother Cadwaladr. The invasion met with mixed
fortunes. Henry's forces ravaged eastern Gwynedd and destroyed many churches thus enraging the local
population. The two armies met at Ewloe. Owain's men ambushed the royal army in a narrow, wooded valley,
routing it completely with King Henry himself narrowly avoiding capture.[5] The fleet accompanying the
invasion made a landing on Anglesey where it was defeated. Ultimately, at the end of the campaign, Owain was
forced to come to terms with Henry, being obliged to surrender Rhuddlan and other conquests in the east.
Forty years after these events, the scholar, Gerald of Wales, in a rare quote from these times, wrote what Owain
Gwynedd said to his troops on the eve of battle:
"My opinion, indeed, by no means agrees with yours, for we ought to rejoice at this conduct of our
adversary; for, unless supported by divine assistance, we are far inferior to the English; and they,
by their behaviour, have made God their enemy, who is able most powerfully to avenge both
himself and us. We therefore most devoutly promise God that we will henceforth pay greater
reverence than ever to churches and holy places."[5]
Madog ap Maredudd died in 1160, enabling Owain to regain territory in the east. In 1163 he formed an alliance
with Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth to challenge English rule. King Henry again invaded Gwynedd in 1165,
but instead of taking the usual route along the northern coastal plain, the king's army invaded from Oswestry
and took a route over the Berwyn hills. The invasion was met by an alliance of all the Welsh princes, with
Owain as the undisputed leader. However, apart from a small melee at the Battle of Crogen there was little
fighting, for the Welsh weather came to Owain's assistance as torrential rain forced Henry to retreat in disorder.
The infuriated Henry mutilated a number of Welsh hostages, including two of Owain's sons.
Henry did not invade Gwynedd again and Owain was able to regain his eastern conquests, recapturing
Rhuddlan castle in 1167 after a siege of three months.
Disputes with the church and succession
There is no evidence
Owain used a coat of
arms during his life, but
later antiquarians
retroactively attributed to
Owain Gwynedd the
blazon: Vert, three eagles
displayed in fess Or.
The last years of Owain's life were spent in disputes with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, over
the appointment of a new Bishop of Bangor. When the see became vacant Owain had his nominee, Arthur of
Bardsey, elected. The archbishop refused to accept this, so Owain had Arthur consecrated in Ireland. The
dispute continued, and the see remained officially vacant until well after Owain's death. He was also put under
pressure by the Archbishop and the Pope to put aside his second wife, Cristin, who was his first cousin, this
relationship making the marriage invalid under church law. Despite being excommunicated for his defiance,
Owain steadfastly refused to put Cristin aside. Owain died in 1170, and despite having been excommunicated
was buried in Bangor Cathedral by the local clergy. The annalist writing Brut y Tywysogion recorded his death
"after innumerable victories, and unconquered from his youth".
He is believed to have commissionedThe Life of Gruffydd ap Cynan, an account of his father's life. Following
his death, civil war broke out between his sons. Owain was married twice, first to Gwladus ferch Llywarch ap
Trahaearn, by whom he had two sons, Maelgwn ab Owain Gwynedd and Iorwerth Drwyndwn, the father of
Llywelyn the Great, then to Cristin, by whom he had three sons including Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd and
Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd. He also had a number of illegitimate sons, who by Welsh law had an equal claim
on the inheritance if acknowledged by their father.
Heirs and successors
Owain had originally designated Rhun ab Owain Gwynedd as his successor. Rhun
was Owain's favourite son, and his premature death in 1146 plunged his father into
a deep melancholy, from which he was only roused by the news that his forces had
captured Mold castle. Owain then designated Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd as his
successor, but after his death Hywel was first driven to seek refuge in Ireland by
Cristina's sons, Dafydd and Rhodri, then killed at the battle of Pentraeth when he
returned with an Irish army. Dafydd and Rhodri split Gwynedd between them, but
a generation passed before Gwynedd was restored to its former glory under
Owain's grandson Llywelyn the Great.
According to legend, one of Owain's sons was Prince Madoc, who is popularly
supposed to have fled across the Atlantic and colonised America.
Altogether, the prolific Owain Gwynedd is said to have had the following children
from two wives and at least four mistresses:
Rhun ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate in Catholic custom, but legitimate
successor in Welsh law)
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate in Catholic custom, but legitimate
successor in Welsh law)
Iorwerth ab Owain Gwynedd (the "flat nose", also called Edward in some sources, from first wife
Gwladys (Gladys) ferch Llywarch)
Maelgwn ab Owain Gwynedd,(from first wife Gwladys (Gladys) ferch Llywarch) Lord of Môn (1169–
1173)
Gwenllian ferch Owain Gwynedd
Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd (from second wife Cristina (Christina) ferch Gronw)
Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd, Lord of Môn (1175–1193) (from second wife Cristina (Christina) ferch
Gronw)
Angharad ferch Owain Gwynedd
Margaret ferch Owain Gwynedd
Iefan ab Owain Gwynedd
Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd, Lord of Meirionnydd (illegitimate)
Rhirid ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate)
Madoc ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate) (speculative/legendary)
Cynwrig ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate)
Gwenllian II ferch Owain Gwynedd (also shared the same name with a sister)
Einion ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate)
Iago ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate)
Ffilip ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate)
Cadell ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate)
Rotpert ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate)
Idwal ab Owain Gwynedd (illegitimate)
Other daughters
Ancestry
16. Idwal ap Meurig ap Idwal Foel
8. Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig
4. Cynan ab Iago
2. Gruffudd ap Cynan
20. Sigtrygg Silkbeard
10. Amlaíb mac Sitriuc
21. Sláine daughter of Brian Boru
5. Ragnhilda of Ireland
1. Owain
Gwynedd
24. Einion ab Owain
12. Edwin ab Einion
6. Owain ab Edwin
3. Angharad ferch Owain
Fiction
Owain is a recurring character in the Brother Cadfael series of novels by Ellis Peters, often referred to, and
appearing in the novels Dead Man's Ransom and The Summer of the Danes. He acts shrewdly to keep Wales's
borders secure, and sometimes to expand them, during the civil war between King Stephen and Matilda, and
sometimes acts as an ally to Cadfael and his friend, Sheriff Hugh Beringar. Cadwaladr also appears in both
these novels as a source of grief for his brother. Owain appears as a minor character in novels of Sharon Kay
Penman concerning Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine (When Christ and His Saints Slept and Time and
Chance). Her focus with respect to Owain is on the fluctuating and factious relationship between England and
Wales.
He also appears in the Sarah Woodbury 'Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mystery Series' of books.
Titles
Owain Gwynedd
House of Aberffraw
Cadet branch of the House of Gwynedd
Born: c. 1100 Died: 23 or 28 November 1 170
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Gruffudd ap Cynan
Prince of Gwynedd
1137–1169
Succeeded by
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
References
Sources
Lloyd, John Edward (2004). A History of Wales: From the Norman Invasion to the Edwardian Conquest.
Barnes & Noble. ISBN 978-0-7607-5241-8.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Owain_Gwynedd&oldid=786302027"
Categories: House of Aberffraw Monarchs of Gwynedd
People excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church 1100s births 1170 deaths
12th-century Welsh monarchs Welsh princes Welsh people of Irish descent
This page was last edited on 18 June 2017, at 15:41.
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1. Lloyd 2004, p. 94.
2. Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel; Baines, Menna; Lynch,
Peredur I., eds. (2008). The Welsh Academy
Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales
Press. p. 636. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
3. Lloyd 2004, p. 93.
4. R. R. Davies, Conquest, Coexistence and Change.
4. R. R. Davies, Conquest, Coexistence and Change.
Wales 1063-1415 (Oxford, 1987), p. 229.
5. "Gerald of Wales, Itinirum Cambrae" (http://www.buil
dinghistory.org/primary/gerald2.shtml).
Buildinghistory.org. 2010-03-16. Retrieved
2013-03-01.
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1100 - 1170 (70 years)
