- Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd
Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd (c.
1096 -1172 ) was the third son ofGruffydd ap Cynan , King of Gwynedd,Wales and younger brother ofOwain Gwynedd .Appearance in history
Cadwaladr first appears in the historical record in
1136 , when following the killing of the lord ofCeredigion ,Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare , he accompanied his brother Owain Gwynedd in an invasion of Ceredigion. They captured five castles in the north of Ceredigion then later in the year launched a second invasion, inflicting a heavy defeat on theNormans at theBattle of Crug Mawr , just outside Cardigan. In1137 they capturedCarmarthen .Gruffydd ap Cynan died in 1137 and was succeeded by Owain Gwynedd, his eldest surviving son. Cadwaladr was given lands in northern Ceredigion. Cadwaladr joined with Ranulph, Earl of Chester in the attack on Lincoln in
1141 , whenKing Stephen of England was taken prisoner. This alliance was probably linked to Cadwaladr's marriage to Alice de Clare, daughter of Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare.In
1143 Cadwaladr's men killedAnarawd ap Gruffydd ofDeheubarth by treachery, apparently on Cadwaladr's orders. Owain Gwynedd responded by sending his sonHywel ab Owain Gwynedd to deprive Cadwaladr of his lands in Ceredigion. Cadwaladr fled toIreland where he hired a fleet from the Danish settlement inDublin and landed atAbermenai in1144 in an attempt to force Owain to return his lands. Cadwaladr apparently abandoned or escaped from his allies and made peace with his brother, who obliged the Danes to leave.In
1147 Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd and his brother Cynan drove Cadwaladr from his remaining lands inMeirionnydd . A further quarrel with his brother Owain led to Cadwaladr being driven into exile inEngland , where King Henry II later gave him lands at Hess inShropshire .Henry II's time
When Henry II invaded Gwynedd in
1157 the terms of the peace agreement between him and Owain Gwynedd included the stipulation that Cadwaladr should be given back his lands. From this time on Cadwaladr was careful to cooperate closely with his brother, helping him to capture Rhuddlan and Prestatyn castles in1167 .Cadwaladr survived his brother by two years, dying in
1172 . He was buried alongside Owain inBangor Cathedral .Children
Cadwaladr had seven sons with three different wives;
*
Cadfan ap Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd (with first wife)
*Cunedda ap Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd (with second wife)
*Rhicert ap Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd (with second wife)
*Ralph ap Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd (with second wife)
*Cadwgan ap Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd (with third wife)
*Maredudd ap Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd (with third wife)
*Cadwallon ap Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd (with third wife)Fiction
Cadwaladr's attempt to reclaim his lands with the help of a Danish fleet in 1144 forms the background to "The summer of the Danes" by
Ellis Peters in theBrother Cadfael series.References
John Edward Lloyd (1911) "The history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest" (Longmans, Green & Co.)* http://www.peterwestern.f9.co.uk/maximilia/pafg289.htm#3719
* http://www.keithblayney.com/Blayney/Dyddgu.html
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