Madog ap Maredudd (, ; died 1160) was the last prince of the entire

Kingdom of Powys The Kingdom of Powys (; ) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern two-thirds of the modern county of Pow ...

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 ...

. He held for a time, the

FitzAlan FitzAlan is an English patronymic surname of Anglo-Norman origin, descending from the Breton knight Alan fitz Flaad (died 1120), who accompanied King Henry I to England on his succession. He was grandson of the Seneschal of the Bishop of Dol. ...

Lordship of

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

, family of the Earls of Arundel, of

Arundel Castle Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established by Roger de Montgomery in the 11th century. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and earl ...

. His daughter married Lord Rhys, prince of Wales.

Early life

Madog was the son of King Maredudd ap Bleddyn and grandson of King Bleddyn ap Cynfyn. He followed his father on the throne of Powys in 1132. He is recorded as taking part in the Battle of Lincoln in 1141 in support of Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester, along with

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 ...

's brother

Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd (c. 1100 – 1172) was the third son of Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, and brother of Owain Gwynedd. Appearance in history Cadwaladr first appears in the historical record in 1136, when following the killing of the ...

and a large army of Welshmen. In 1149 he is recorded giving the

commote A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...

of Cyfeiliog to his nephews

Owain Cyfeiliog Owain ap Gruffydd (c. 1130–1197) was a prince of the southern part of Powys and a poet. He is usually known as Owain Cyfeiliog to distinguish him from other rulers named Owain, particularly his contemporary, Owain ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd, who is ...

and Meurig. The same year Madog was able to rebuild Oswestry Castle, a fortress of William Fitzalan. It would seem likely that he had gained both the fortresses of Oswestry and Whittington in 1146 of Fitzalan, the great-grandfather of the

Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and it is used (along with the earldom of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title ...

, John Fitzalan.

Defeat by Gwynedd

At this time the 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 ...

, between 1149 and 1150,

was exerting pressure on the borders of Powys, despite the fact that Madog was married to Susanna, Owain's sister. Around 1150, Madog made an alliance with Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester, but Owain defeated them near Ewloe/Coleshill and took possession of Madog's lands in the Lordship of Iâl (). In 1157 King

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

invaded Gwynedd. Though he was defeated at the

Battle of Ewloe The Battle of Ewloe (also known as the Battle of Coleshill, Flintshire, Coleshill, or Counsylth, or Coleshille, or Cennadlog) was fought in July 1157 between the Anglo-Norman forces of King Henry II of England and an army led by the Welsh peopl ...

(Coleshill), he was supported by Madog, who was able to regain many of his Welsh lands. Even so, he retained the lordships of

and Whittington. In 1159 Madog would seem to have been the Welsh prince who accompanied King Henry II in his campaign to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

which ended in failure. Returning home to Wales Madog died about 9 February 1160 in Whittington Castle. He was buried soon afterwards in the church of St Tysilio at

Meifod Meifod, formerly also written Meivod (), is a small village, Community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward north-west of Welshpool in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, on the A495 road and loca ...

, the mother church of Powys. Whittington Castle Gatehouse - geograph

Succession Shared

Madog's eldest son, Llywelyn, was killed soon after his father's death in 1160; Powys was then shared between Madog's sons

Gruffydd Maelor 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 ...

Owain Fychan Owain Fychan ap Madog (alternatively ''Owain Vychan ap Madoc''; c. 1125 – 1187) was styled Lord of Mechain, Mechain Is Coed and one of the sons of Madog ap Maredudd. His mother was Susanna, daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan. Division of the Kingd ...

and Owain Brogyntyn, his nephew

and half-brother Iorwerth Goch. Powys was never subsequently reunited, being separated into two parts; Powys Fadog (Lower Powys) and

Powys Wenwynwyn Powys Wenwynwyn or Powys Cyfeiliog was a Welsh kingdom which existed during the high Middle Ages. The realm was the southern portion of the former princely state of Kingdom of Powys, Powys which split following the death of Madog ap Maredudd of P ...

(Upper Powys). Madog's death enabled

to force the homage of Owain Brogyntyn, Madog's youngest son, and effectively annex part of northern Powys. The poet Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr in his elegy on Madog said: :''While Madog lived there was no man'' :''Dared ravage his fair borders'' :''Yet nought of all he held'' :''Esteemed he his save by God's might…'' :''If my noble lord were alive'' :''Gwynedd would not now be encamped in the heart of Edeyrnion'' Edeyrnion (or Edeirnion) was a

inherited by Owain Brogyntyn and had been the home of his mother (who was not married to his father). Owain may also have been raised there. It was annexed to Gwynedd during Owain's time.

Children

* Llywelyn ap Madog, died 1160 * Gruffydd Maelor ap Madog, died 1191 * Owain Fychan ap Madog, c. 1125–1187 * Owain Brogyntyn ap Madog (illegitimate) * Gwenllian ferch Madog, married

Rhys ap Gruffydd Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd (often anglicised to "Griffith"; c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys' ...

, prince 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 ...

and Carreg Cennen Castle * Marared ferch Madog, married Iorwerth ab Owain Gwynedd and was the mother of

Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (, – 11 April 1240), also known as Llywelyn the Great (, ; ), was a medieval Welsh ruler. He succeeded his uncle, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, as King of Gwynedd in 1195. By a combination of war and diplomacy, he dominate ...

* Efa ferch Madog, married Cadwallon ap Madog ap Idnerth, prince of Maelienydd

The Mabinogion

The ''

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () is a collection of the earliest Welsh prose stories, compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created –1410, as well as a few earlier frag ...

'' tale '' The Dream of Rhonabwy'' is set during Madog's reign. The central character, Rhonabwy, is one of Madog's retainers sent to bring in Madog's rebellious brother Iorwerth Goch ap Maredudd. His titular dream contrasts his own time with the grandeur of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

's period.Gantz, Jeffrey (translator; 1987). ''The Mabinogion'', pp. 177–91. New York: Penguin. .

Fiction

Madog's intervention in the Battle of Lincoln in 1141 forms an important plot element in the detective novel Dead Man's Ransom, part of the Brother Cadfael chronicles by Edith Pargeter (writing as Ellis Peters).

Citations

References

* *Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Line 176B-26 {{DEFAULTSORT:Madog ap Maredudd 1160 deaths Monarchs of Powys House of Mathrafal 12th-century Welsh monarchs Year of birth unknown Welsh princes People of The Anarchy