Rhys ap Maredudd ( 1250 – 2 June 1292) was a senior member of the Welsh royal house 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 ...

, a principality of

Medieval Wales Wales in the Middle Ages covers the history of the country that is now called Wales, from the departure of the Romans in the early fifth century to the annexation of Wales into the Kingdom of England in the early sixteenth century. This period ...

. He was the great grandson of The Lord Rhys (died 1197), prince of south Wales, and the last ruler of a united Deheubarth. He is best known for his leadership of a revolt in south Wales in 1287–88 whilst King Edward I of England was away in

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

. Because Deheubarth fragmented after the Lord Rhys' death in 1197, Rhys ap Maredudd's father had ruled over a truncated portion of the ancient kingdom. Rhys succeeded his father in 1271 as lord of the region of Deheubarth known as the

Cantref Mawr Cantref Mawr was a cantref in southwest Wales. It was of strategic importance in medieval Wales as the location of the main seat of the princes of Deheubarth Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms o ...

, and considered himself custodian of Dinefwr, the royal capital of Deheubarth. He ruled the Cantref Mawr from 1271, though not under the aegis of the

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 ...

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 ...

, as his father had, so relations between the two men appear to have been cold. He was among the first Welsh noblemen to submit to the English crown during the Anglo-Welsh war of 1276–77, on the grounds that his claims to the lands of Maenordeilo, Mallaen, Caeo and Mabelfyw, and Dinefwr Castle – all within Deheubarth and ruled by his great-grandfather – would be properly considered. The agreement has been indicative to some historians of Rhys' ambitions to reconstitute Deheubarth as a unified kingdom within the principality of Wales. He continued to exercise power in the Cantref Mawr after Llywelyn's death in 1282, and the execution of the last native prince of Wales, Dafydd ap Gruffudd, the following year. His failure, alone of all the noblemen of Deheubarth, to adhere to Llywelyn and Dafydd's cause in the war of 1282–3 led to king

Edward I 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 125 ...

of England bestowing additional lands on Rhys for his allegiance to the English crown. Edward, however, refused to deliver to Rhys the long sought-after castle at Dinefwr. This state of affairs led Rhys to make Dryslwyn castle his main residence, and it seems likely that he embarked on a substantial building programme there in the late 1270s and early 1280s. Rhys endeavoured to remain loyal to the English crown in the hope he may be restored to more of his former patrimony, but no such offers were forthcoming from the king – instead, Edward forced Rhys to

quitclaim Generally, a quitclaim is a formal renunciation of a legal claim against some other person, or of a right to land. A person who quitclaims renounces or relinquishes a claim to some legal right, or transfers a legal interest in land. Originally a c ...

the castle to him in October 1283. Taking advantage of Edward’s absence in

in 1287 he rebelled and led the capture of most of

Ystrad Tywi Ystrad Tywi (, ''Valley of the river Towy'') is a region of southwest Wales situated on both banks of the River Towy (), it contained places such as Cedweli, Carnwyllion, Loughor, Llandeilo, and Gwyr (although this is disputed). Although ...

, the heartland of Deheubarth, including the castles at Dinefwr and Carreg Cennen. Though the revolt was quelled by the autumn, it broke out again in November, and was only brought to a conclusion after a ten-day siege of Rhys' final stronghold, the castle at

Newcastle Emlyn Newcastle Emlyn () is a town and Community (Wales), community on the River Teifi, in West Wales. The community is wholly in Carmarthenshire, but the built up area also includes Adpar north of the Teifi, which is in Ceredigion. Adpar was formerl ...

, in January 1288. After Newcastle Emlyn's fall Rhys went into hiding; one tradition has him fleeing to Ireland, but this remains unsubstantiated. He was eventually captured in 1291 and executed for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

in 1292. His son, also named Rhys, was arrested after his execution, and was imprisoned, firstly in

Bristol Castle Bristol Castle was a Norman castle established in the late 11th century on the north bank of the River Avon in Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port. Built during the ...

and then in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

; he was still alive in 1340. Late genealogical sources also give a daughter, Morfudd, and an individual occurring in 1289, Maredudd ap Richard icap Maredudd, may also have been his son. The next Welshman to lead a revolt against the English crown was

Madog ap Llywelyn Madog ap Llywelyn (died after 1312) was the leader of the Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule in Wales. The revolt was surpassed in longevity only by the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr in the 15th century. Madog belonged to a junior branch ...

in Gwynedd.

References

* Ashley, Mike. ''The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens'', Robinson Publishing (1999), p. 344–345 * Griffiths, Ralph. 'The revolt of Rhys ap Maredudd, 1287–88', ''Welsh History Review'' 3, No. 2 (December 1966), pp. 121–143. * Rhys ap Maredudd in th
Dictionary of Welsh Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhys Ap Maredudd 1250s births 1292 deaths House of Dinefwr 13th-century Welsh nobility