The Battle of Mynydd Carn took place in 1081, as part of a dynastic struggle for control of the Welsh kingdoms of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, an ...

and

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House o ...

. The result of the battle had a radical effect on the history of Wales. The battle is recorded in the near-contemporary biography of one of the participants, ''The History of Gruffydd ap Cynan''.Paul Russell (ed) (2006). Vita Griffini Filii Conani: The Medieval Latin Life of Gruffudd Ap Cynan. University of Wales Press.

Gruffudd ap Cynan Gruffudd ap Cynan ( 1137), sometimes written as Gruffydd ap Cynan, was King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was rememb ...

was a descendant of the traditional ruling house of Gwynedd, and had previously made an attempt to claim the kingdom in 1075, but had been defeated by

Trahaearn ap Caradog Trahaearn ap Caradog (1044 – 1081) was a King of Gwynedd. Trahaearn was a son of Caradog ap Gwyn, ruler of Arwystli (in the south of present-day Montgomeryshire, Wales), a small state, on the south-western border between Gwynedd and Powys. He ...

and forced to take refuge in Ireland.A history of Wales from the earliest times In 1081, Gruffudd launched an invasion from

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

in Ireland, having gathered a force of

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

and

Irishmen The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has bee ...

to support his claim. He landed not in Gwynedd but further south near

St David's St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, W ...

(in what would become the Paladin of

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...

). At the church of St David's he met with

Rhys ap Tewdwr Rhys ap Tewdwr (c. 1040 – 1093) was a king of Deheubarth in Wales and member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from Rhodri the Great. He was born in the area which is now Carmarthenshire and died at the battle of Brecon in April 1 ...

, king of

who had shortly before been driven from power by

Caradog ap Gruffydd Caradog ap Gruffydd (died 1081) was a Prince of Gwent in south-east Wales in the time of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and the Norman conquest, who reunified his family's inheritance of Morgannwg and made repeated attempts to reunite southern Wales ...

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Mot ...

and Gwent helped by Meilir ap Rhiwallon of

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

and Gruffudd's old nemesis Trahaearn ap Caradog of Gwynedd. Gruffudd and Rhys made a pact and set forth to give battle.

The battle

The battle took place about a day's march north of St David's. In the evening Gruffudd and Rhys came up with the forces led by Trahaearn and Caradog ap Gruffydd, who are reported to have had Norman arbalisters in their army. According to his biography, Gruffudd ap Cynan insisted on an immediate attack, overruling Rhys who wished to wait until the following morning. The result was a complete victory for Gruffudd ap Cynan and Rhys ap Tewdwr, with

, Caradog ap Gruffydd and Meilir ap Rhiwallon all being killed.The Welsh Academy

Encyclopaedia of Wales The ''Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales'', published in January 2008, is a single-volume-publication encyclopaedia about Wales. The Welsh-language edition, entitled ''Gwyddoniadur Cymru'' is regarded as the most ambitious encyclopaedic work ...

Aftermath

Gruffudd ap Cynan gained control of Gwynedd, and despite later being captured and imprisoned by the Normans for some years, escaped and reigned until 1137 becoming one of the most successful leaders of Gwynedd. Rhys ap Tewdwr regained Deheubarth and reigned until 1093. These two were later to play a prominent part in Welsh resistance to the Normans. The immediate aftermath of the battle helped the Normans who took advantage quickly of this internal Welsh struggle which weakened all the major Welsh kingdoms and killed three of their leaders. Later that year

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

became the first Norman King to enter Wales and signalled his power by marching straight through modern day South Wales along to St David's. There he received homage from Rhys ap Tewdwr who accepted William's overlordship. The death of

split his kingdom leaving it in disarray and helped ensure Norman dominance of the lowlands of Gwent and Glamorgan leading to the effective collapse of what had formerly been one of the most powerful Welsh kingdoms.

Notes

References

Bibliography

*''The Welsh Academy

'', University of Wales Press, 2008, *''A history of Wales from the earliest times'', Volume 2, 1911,

John Edward Lloyd Sir John Edward Lloyd (5 May 1861 – 20 June 1947) was a Welsh historian, He was the author of the first serious history of the country's formative years, ''A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest'' (1911). Ano ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Mynydd Carn Mynydd Carn 1081 11th century in Wales Conflicts in 1081 1081 in Europe