Tomas ap Rhodri or Thomas Rothery () was the only known son of

Rhodri ap Gruffudd Rhodri ap Gruffudd (or Prince Rhodri or Roderick Fitz Griffin) (c. 1230 – c. 1315) was the third or fourth son of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr. He was the younger brother of both Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd, Prince of Wales) and of Owain Goc ...

, the youngest son of Prince

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (c. 1196 – 1 March 1244) was a Wales, Welsh prince, and the first-born son of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great). His mother Tangwystl (c. 1180/1185 – c. 1210) probably died in childbirth. Hostage As ...

and younger brother to both

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 ...

and

Dafydd ap Gruffydd Dafydd ap Gruffudd, also known as ''Dafydd III'' (11 July 1238 – 3 October 1283), was a Prince of Gwynedd until after the death of his brother, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, when he proclaimed himself as the Prince of Wales from 11 December 1282. H ...

. After the deaths of Llywelyn, Dafydd, and their eldest brother Owain the Red between 1282 and 1283, Rhodri became the most senior member of the Aberffraw Dynasty to retain his liberty because he had sold his rights of succession to his brother Llywelyn around 1270 before he had had any children of his own. Tomas did not make any claim himself to the throne of Gwynedd. Tomas was born in England sometime around 1300 and is thought to have died in 1363. His sister, Katherine, married into the former ruling family of

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 ...

, now Earls of Powis. Tomas inherited his father's lands in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

(Tatfield). However, he parted from his Cheshire estates in favour of lands at Bidfield in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

and Dinas in Mechain Is Coed (

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

). This is not the only evidence of an enduring interest in re-establishing a base in Wales because he appears to have made an unsuccessful claim on the Lordship of Llŷn on the basis that he was the closest male heir of Owain Goch. He married one Cecilia"OWAIN ap THOMAS ap RHODRI (' Owain Lawgoch '; died 1378), a soldier of fortune and pretender to the principality of Wales"
The National Library of Wales :: Dictionary of Welsh Biography and was the father of Owain ap Tomas—more commonly known as

Owain Lawgoch Owain ap Thomas ap Rhodri (, July 1378), commonly known as Owain Lawgoch (, ), was a Welsh soldier who served in Lombardy, France, Alsace, and Switzerland. He led a Free Company fighting for the French against the English in the Hundred Year ...

—who in 1369 proclaimed himself

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 ...

. Owain was assassinated in 1378.

References

Welsh Biography Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomas Ap Rhodri 1300s births 1363 deaths