Gruffudd ap Rhydderch (d. AD 1055) was a king of
Gwent and part of the kingdom of
Morgannwg in south
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 later king of
Deheubarth.
Gruffudd was the son of
Rhydderch ab Iestyn, who had been able to take over the kingdom of Deheubarth from 1023 to 1033. He received the lordship of
Caerleon in 1031 and strengthened its fortifications.
[Jermyn, Anthony.]
4: Caerleon Through the Centuries to the Year 2000
". 2010 Accessed 13 February 2013. Already king of part of Morgannwg, Gruffudd became involved with Deheubarth when that kingdom was taken over from
Hywel ab Edwin by
Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, already king of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...
, in 1044. Gruffudd ap Rhydderch was, however, able to expel him in 1045 and became king of Deheubarth himself. He was said to be a powerful king who stoutly resisted raids by the Danes and attacks by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. In 1055, however, Gruffudd ap Llywelyn killed him in battle and recaptured Deheubarth.
In 1049 he is reported raiding up the
River Severn
The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
in alliance with an Irish Viking fleet.
His son
Caradog ap Gruffudd (who received Caerleon in 1057
) also attempted to emulate his father and grandfather by gaining control of Deheubarth, but was killed at the
Battle of Mynydd Carn.
References
*
John Edward Lloyd (1911) ''A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest'' (Longmans, Green & Co.)
External links
National Library of Wales Dictionary of Welsh Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruffudd Ap Rhydderch
People from Caerleon
1055 deaths
Monarchs of Gwent
Monarchs of Morgannwg
People of medieval Wales killed in battle
11th-century Welsh monarchs
Year of birth unknown
Monarchs killed in action
Monarchs of Glywysing