Rhys ap Tewdwr (c. 1040 – 1093) was a king of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from

Rhodri the Great Rhodri ap Merfyn, commonly known as , was a Welsh king whose legacy has impacted the history of Wales. Rhodri rose to power during a tumultuous era, where the fate of Welsh kingdoms was often determined by the power of their leaders. Early life ...

. Following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, he had to pay

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

to keep his kingdom, which lasted until the end of William's reign.

Family

Rhys ap Tewdwr was born in the area which is now

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

. As a member of the House of Dinefwr, he claimed the throne of

following the death of his second cousin Rhys ab Owain, who was beheaded after the battle of Gwdig (modern day Goodwick) against

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

in 1078. He was a grandson of Cadell ab Einion ab Owain ab

Hywel Dda Hywel ap Cadell, commonly known as Hywel Dda, which translates to Howel the Good in English, was a Welsh king who ruled the southern Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth and eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllw ...

and a great-grandson of Einion ab Owain, thus a descendant of

king of the Britons The title King of the Britons (, ) was used (often retrospectively) to refer to a ruler, especially one who might be regarded as the most powerful, among the Celtic Britons, both before and after the period of Roman Britain up until the Norman ...

. He married more than once. His first wife was Catrin (or Gwladus) verch Iestyn (b. 1041 in Powys). The name of his last wife was Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon, daughter of Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of the Mathrafal Dynasty of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

. Issue by early alliances: * Goronwy (died 1103) * Hywel * Owain Issue by Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon: * Gruffydd * Gwellian *

Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

who married Gerald de Windsor, Constable of Pembroke,

progenitor In genealogy, a progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; or ''Ahnherr'') is the founder (sometimes one that is legendary) of a family, line of descent, gens, clan, tribe, noble house, or ethnic group.. Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines Geschlec ...

s of the FitzGerald and de Barry dynasties of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. These

Hiberno-Norman Norman Irish or Hiberno-Normans (; ) is a modern term for the descendants of Norman settlers who arrived during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. Most came from England and Wales. They are distinguished from the native ...

, or Cambro-Norman, families have been Peers of Ireland since at least the 14th century. * Efa * Ardden.

Rule

In 1081

invaded

and drove Rhys to seek sanctuary in the Monastery of St David. Rhys, however, made an alliance with

Gruffudd ap Cynan Gruffudd ap Cynan (–1137) was List of rulers of Gwynedd, 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 House of Normandy, Norman rule. As a descen ...

who was seeking to regain the throne of the

Kingdom of Gwynedd The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: ; Middle Welsh: ) was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire Succession of states, successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon ...

, and at the

Battle of Mynydd Carn The Battle of Mynydd Carn took place in 1081, as part of a dynastic struggle for control of the Welsh kingdoms of Gwynedd and Deheubarth. The result of the battle had a radical effect on the history of Wales. The battle is recorded in the nea ...

in the same year they defeated and killed

and his allies Trahaearn ap Caradog of Gwynedd and Meilyr ap Rhiwallon. The same year

visited

, ostensibly on a pilgrimage to

St David's St Davids or St David's (, , "Saint David, David's Welsh toponymy, house”) is a St David's Cathedral, cathedral City status in the United Kingdom, city in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies on the River Alun, Pembrokeshire, River Alun and is ...

, but with a major show of power as well, traversing the width of southern Wales, and it seems likely he came to an arrangement with Rhys, whereby Rhys paid him homage and was confirmed in possession of Deheubarth. Rhys paid William £40 a year for his kingdom, ensuring good future relations with William that lasted until the end of William's lifetime. Rhys was content with the arrangement as it meant that he had to deal only with the jealousy of his fellow Welsh princes. In 1088 Cadwgan ap Bleddyn of

attacked Deheubarth and forced Rhys to flee to

. However, Rhys returned later the same year with a fleet from

and defeated the men of Powys, in a battle in which two of Cadwgan's brothers, Madog and Rhiryd, were killed. The Chronicle of the Princes claims that Cedifor ap Gollwyn, a man who traced his ancestry to the original kings of

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ...

(since the start of the previous century, the usual rulers of Deheubarth had descended from an invader,

Cadell ap Rhodri Cadell ap Rhodri (854–909) was King of Seisyllwg, a minor kingdom in southwestern Wales, from about 872 until his death. The son of Rhodri Mawr, King of Gwynedd, Cadell was in turn the father of Hywel Dda, who eventually came to rule most o ...

)), commanded substantial authority in Dyfed. When Cedifor died in 1091, his sons demanded that Rhys surrender the throne to Gruffudd ap Maredudd, the son of a former king of Deheubarth (and the nephew of Rhys' predecessor).Dr. K. L. Maund, ''Ireland, Wales, and England in the Eleventh Century'', 1991, page 149 This triggered a revolt, but Rhys was able to defeat the rebels in a battle at St. Dogmaels, killing Gruffudd.

Death and succession

Rhys was unable to withstand the increasing Norman pressure. The Welsh ''Bruts'' (chronicles) state that "Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of Deheubarth, was slain by the Frenchmen who were inhabiting Brycheiniog." The '' Brut y Tywysogion'' adds "and with him fell the kingdom of the Britons." This passage lends evidence to the belief that the conquest of Brycheiniog (

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

), led by Bernard de Neufmarche, was mostly finished by Eastertide 1093. The battle of Brecon opened the way to the conquest of Deheubarth. The monastery and village of Penrhys in Rhondda Cynon Taff is said to be named for Rhys, as he was beheaded at the site by Norman forces. The village was originally named, ''Pen-Rhys ap Tewdwr'' (English: Rhys ap Tewdwr's Head). Upon Rhys's death, the Normans seized much of south Wales, and there was fighting over the spoils with the chieftains of Powys and Gwynedd. Eventually, Rhys's eldest son, Gruffydd, was allowed to inherit a small portion of his father's kingdom. Rhys's daughter

was briefly one of the numerous concubines of Henry I, to whom she bore a son, and thereafter the wife of Gerald FitzWalter of Pembroke; their sons and grandsons, the FitzGerald conquerors of Ireland, were known collectively as the "sons of Nest". Through his son Gruffydd, Rhys was an ancestor of the

Tudor dynasty The House of Tudor ( ) was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of England from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family, and Catherine of Valois. The Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of Eng ...

Ancestry

Footnotes

References

*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 t ...