Gruffydd ap Rhys II (died 25 July 1201) was a prince of
Deheubarth in south-west
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
.
Lineage
He was the son of
Rhys ap Gruffydd (The Lord Rhys) and grandson of
Gruffydd ap Rhys. Gruffydd was the eldest son of Rhys ap Gruffydd by his wife Gwenllian, daughter of
Madog ap Maredudd
Madog ap Maredudd ( wlm, Madawg mab Maredud, ; died 1160) was the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales and for a time held the Fitzalan Lordship of Oswestry.
Madog was the son of King Maredudd ap Bleddyn and grandson of King Bledd ...
prince of
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
. Rhys intended Gruffydd to be his main heir, and in 1189 he married Maud de Braose, the daughter of
Maud de St Valery and of
William de Braose. They had two sons, Rhys and Owain.
Family feud
In Rhys' last years a feud developed between Gruffydd and his brother
Maelgwn ap Rhys, both supported by some of their other brothers. In 1189 Rhys was persuaded to imprison Maelgwn, and he was given into Gruffydd's keeping at
Dinefwr. Gruffydd handed him over to his father in law, William de Braose. In 1192 Rhys secured Maelgwn's release, but by now he and Gruffydd were bitter enemies. In 1194 Maelgwn and another brother Hywel defeated their father and imprisoned him, though he was later released by Hywel.
Rhys ap Gruffydd died in 1197. Gruffydd was recognised as his successor after an interview with
Archbishop Hubert the
justiciar. But Maelgwn used troops supplied by
Gwenwynwyn ab Owain of Powys to attack
Aberystwyth. He captured the town and the castle, and took Gruffydd himself prisoner, later handing him over to Gwenwynwyn who in turn transferred him to the English who imprisoned him in
Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11th century and commands a gap in the ...
.
In 1198 Gwenwynwyn threatened the English holdings at
Painscastle
Painscastle (Welsh: ''Castell-paen'') is a village and community in Powys (formerly Radnorshire), Wales which takes its name from the castle at its heart. It lies between Builth and Hay-on-Wye, approximately 3 miles from the Wales-England bord ...
and Elfael, and Gruffydd was released from captivity to try to mediate in the dispute. His efforts failed, and in the ensuing battle Gwenwynwyn was defeated.
Gruffydd retained his liberty and by the end of the year had captured all of
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. C ...
from Maelgwn except for the castles of
Cardigan and Ystrad Meurig. In 1199 he took
Cilgerran Castle. Maelgwn made an agreement with King
John of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin E ...
, selling Cardigan castle to him in exchange for the possession of the remainder of Ceredigion.
In July 1201 another brother, Maredudd ap Rhys, was killed, and Gruffydd took over his lands.
Death and burial
On 25 July 1201 Gruffydd himself died of an illness and was buried in
Strata Florida Abbey.
References
*
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 ...
(1911) ''A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest'' (Longmans, Green & Co.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruffydd ap Rhys 02
1201 deaths
Monarchs of Deheubarth
12th-century Welsh monarchs
Year of birth unknown