Gruffudd Fychan I, (also known as Gruffydd Iâl) was a Prince of

Powys Fadog Powys Fadog (English: ''Lower Powys'' or literally ''Madog's Powys'') was the northern portion of the former princely realm of Powys. The princes of Powys Fadog would build their royal seat at Castell Dinas Brân, and their religious center at ...

from 1277 to 1284. He paid homage to

Edward Longshanks Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

for the

Lordship of Yale Ial or Yale () was a commote of medieval Wales within the cantref of Maelor in the Kingdom of Powys. When the Kingdom was divided in 1160, Maelor became part of the Princely realm of Powys Fadog (Lower Powys or Madog's Powys), and belonged to t ...

, and fought the War of 1282–1283.

Biography

Gruffudd Fychan I was the youngest of the four sons of Prince Gruffudd ap Madog, Lord of

Dinas Bran Dinas may refer to: Places England * Dinas, an area of Padstow, Cornwall * Castle an Dinas, St Columb Major, an Iron Age hillfort at the summit of Castle Downs, Cornwall * Treryn Dinas, a headland near Treen, on the Penwith peninsula, Cornwa ...

, and grandson of

Gruffydd Maelor I Gruffydd Maelor (died 1191) was a Prince of Powys Fadog in Wales. He married a daughter of King Owain Gwynedd, first Prince of Wales, and was a brother of Prince Owain Brogyntyn, ancestor of the Barons of Cymmer-yn-Edeirnion. Lineage Maelor ...

, Prince of

with Angharad, daughter of

Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( – 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 () and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales" and th ...

. On his father's death in 1269 (or 1270) his share of inheritance was the Lordship of Iâl (Yale) and

Edeirnion Edeirnion or Edeyrnion is an area of the county of Denbighshire and an ancient commote of medieval Wales in the cantref of Penllyn (cantref), Penllyn. According to tradition, it was named after its eponymous founder Edern ap Nudd, Edern or Edey ...

, which included Glyn Dyfrdwy.Pierce, T. J., (1959)
MADOG ap GRUFFYDD (died 1236) lord of Powys
Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 4 March 2024 He was aligned to

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ( – 11 December 1282), also known as Llywelyn II and Llywelyn the Last (), was List of rulers of Gwynedd, Prince of Gwynedd, and later was recognised as the Prince of Wales (; ) from 1258 until his death at Cilmeri in 128 ...

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, against the

Anglo-Normans The Anglo-Normans (, ) were the medieval ruling class in the Kingdom of England following the Norman Conquest. They were primarily a combination of Normans, Bretons, Flemings, French people, Frenchmen, Anglo-Saxons and Celtic Britons. Afte ...

in the

Conquest of Wales by Edward I The conquest of Wales by Edward I took place between 1277 and 1283. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian conquest of Wales,Examples of historians using the term include Professor J. E. Lloyd, regarded as the founder of the modern academ ...

in 1277. In the

Statute of Rhuddlan The Statute of Rhuddlan (), also known as the Statutes of Wales ( or ''Valliae'') or as the Statute of Wales ( or ''Valliae''), was a royal ordinance by Edward I of England, which gave the constitutional basis for the government of the Principal ...

peace treaty, it was agreed that he would not do homage to Llywelyn for Edeirnion, but to

to keep the commote of Iâl (Yale). He again fought alongside Llywelyn during the War of 1282–1283, and lost his lands to the English following his defeat. Nevertheless, the new

Lord of Bromfield and Yale The Lordship of Bromfield and Yale was formed in 1282Rogers 1992, p. viii. by the merger of the medieval commotes of Marford, Wrexham and Yale. It was part of the Welsh Marches and was within the cantref of Maelor in the former Kingdom of Powys. ...

, the

Earl of Surrey Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. It was first created for William de Warenne, a close companion of William the Conqueror. It is currently held as a subsidiary title by the Dukes of Norfo ...

persuaded the king to allow him possession of his lands, which he held from the king as a tenant at will for the rest of his life.Timothy Venning, The Kings & Queens of Wales, Mill Brimscombe Port Stroud, Amberley Publishing,, 2013 (ISBN 9781445615776), p. 125. He died in 1289 leaving a young son,

Madog Crypl Madog Crypl (or Madog Crippil), also known as Madog ap Gruffydd Fychan (c. 1275–1304/6) was the heir of the sovereign Princes of Powys Fadog and Lords of Dinas Bran. He is sometimes described as Madog III of Powys Fadog. However, he was only lo ...

, who was the heir of the

Lordship of Bromfield and Yale The Lordship of Bromfield and Yale was formed in 1282Rogers 1992, p. viii. by the merger of the medieval commotes of Marford, Wrexham and Yale. It was part of the Welsh Marches and was within the cantref of Maelor in the former Kingdom of Powys. ...

, and the Castle of Dinas Bran, also known as Crow Castle. Madog was put in the

wardship In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court". Overview The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient ju ...

John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, who later started the construction of

Holt Castle Holt Castle () was a medieval castle in the village of Holt, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Work began on the castle, which is on the Welsh–English border by the banks of the River Dee, in the 13th century during the Welsh Wars. In the m ...

in the lordship, and commanded the

Battle of Stirling Bridge The Battle of Stirling Bridge () was fought during the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, a ...

against

Sir William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of S ...

during the English invasion of Scotland during the

First War of Scottish Independence The First War of Scottish Independence was the first of a series of wars between Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland (1296), English invasion of Scotland in 1296 until ...

. Gruffudd Fychan I's son, Lord

, became the great-great-grandfather of Lord

Tudur ap Gruffudd Tudur ap Gruffudd (1365–1405), also known as Tudor de Glendore or Tudor Glendower, was the Gwyddelwern#History, Lord of Gwyddelwern, a junior title of the princely house of Powys Fadog, and was the younger brother of Owain Glyndŵr. His father ...

and

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...

, the last native Prince of Wales.Pedigrees of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire Families, with Their Collateral Branches in Denbighshire, Merionethshire, and Other Parts
John Edwards Griffith, Bridge Books, W. K. Morton & Sons, Loncolnshire, England, January 1914, p. 282

References

* J. E. Lloyd, ''Owen Glendower: Owen Glyn Dŵr'' (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1931), 9-11. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruffudd Fychan 01 1289 deaths Monarchs of Powys 13th-century Welsh monarchs Year of birth unknown