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Prince Llywelyn Fawr ap Iorwerth, "The Great"

Prince Llywelyn Fawr ap Iorwerth, "The Great"

Male 1173 - 1240  (67 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Llywelyn Fawr ap Iorwerth  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    Prefix Prince 
    Suffix "The Great" 
    Birth 1173  Caernarvonshire, Wales Find all individuals with events at this location  [6, 7
    Gender Male 
    Death 11 Apr 1240  Aberconwy, Arllechwedd Uchaf, Caernarvonshire, Wales Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Burial Conway Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Siblings 1 Sibling 
    Person ID I41154  Geneagraphie | Ahnen BvS
    Last Modified 19 Mar 2010 

    Father Prince Iorwerth Drwyndwn ap Owain Gwynedd, "the Broken-Nosed",   b. 1125-1145, Aberffraw Castle, Aberffraw, Anglesey, Wales Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1174-1184, Pennant Mehangell Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 39 years) 
    Mother Maraded ferch Madoc,   b. Abt 1130, Montgomeryshire, Wales Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Marriage Abt 1163 
    Family ID F17582  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Tangwystl Goch ferch Llywarch Goch,   b. Abt 1168, Rhos, Denbighshire, Wales Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1201-1209 (Age 41 years) 
    Marriage 1194-1198 
    Children 
    +1. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr,   b. 1196-1207, Caernarvonshire, Wales Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1 Mar 1243-1244, Tower of London, Tower Hill, London, Middlesex, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 37 years)
    Family ID F17575  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 19 Mar 2010 

    Family 2 Joan Plantagenet,   b. 1188-1191, London, Middlesex, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 2 Feb 1236-1237, Aberconwy, Arllechwedd Uchaf, Caernarvonshire, Wales Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 46 years) 
    Marriage 1204-1205 
    Children 
    +1. Tegwared-y-Bais Wen ap Llywelyn Fawr,   b. May 1205   d. Abt Apr 1235 (Age 29 years)
    +2. Angharad ferch Llywelyn Fawr,   b. May 1205   d. Yes, date unknown
    +3. Marared Drwyndon ferch Llywelyn Fawr,   b. 1205-1208   d. 1263 (Age 55 years)
     4. Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn Fawr,   b. 1206-1210   d. Éire Find all individuals with events at this location
    +5. Elen ferch Llywelyn Fawr,   b. 1 Nov 1207, Gwynedd, Wales Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 24 Oct 1253, Stevington, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 45 years)
    +6. Dafydd ap Llywelyn Fawr,   b. Nov 1208, Gwynedd, Wales Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Feb 1245-1246, Aberconwy, Arllechwedd Uchaf, Caernarvonshire, Wales Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 37 years)
    +7. Gwladys Ddu ferch Llywelyn Fawr, "the Dark Eyed",   b. Aft 1205, Gwynedd, Wales Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1251-1260, Windsor, Berkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 54 years)
    Family ID F17573  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 19 Mar 2010 

    Family 3 Isabel Plantagenet,   b. Abt 1170   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Family ID F96901  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 1 Mar 2008 

  • Notes 
    • Brian Tompsett - University of Hull

      Prince of Aberffraw
      The "Great Prince, " united all of Wales under his tumulteous rule. Acceded: 1194 as Prince of Gwynedd. Prince of Gwynedd & Aberffraw, Lord Snowdon. Began siezing Gwynedd from his paternal uncles at age 14. Brilliant battle commander & long range strategist. Broke Welsh tradition by naming son Dafydd his sole heir to his titles. 1212 Forged Welsh Princes into alliance against John. Jul 1216 Refused John's call for support to defend throne against Louis Capet. 1218 Aft years of enmity, allied with Ranulf de Blundeville Earl of Chester. Mar 1239-1240 Took Holy vows; knew he was dying.
      May 1215, Captured Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

      He built on the renewed confidence and emerging national consciousness inspired by the lord Rhys and became prince of Wales in all but name. His grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffydd almost mirrored his achievements but died having lost all to king Edward I.
      Gwenwynwyn of southern Powys made a bid for dominance after the eclipse of Deheubarth in 1197. King John wanted to curtail such ambitions. He offered conditional tolerance of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth's expansion and gave the prince his illegitimate daughter Joan in marriage.
      Like Rhys, Llywelyn could play the supreme diplomat and he introduced Norman ways to his people when it suited the purposes of survival.
      The power vacuum created by the fall of William de Braose was the making of Llywelyn. He skillfully manipulated the rebellions against king John and welded six successive de Braose heirs to his interest. William and Giles fought alongside him as allies. Reginald and John de Braose both married daughters of Llywelyn. Reginald's son William pledged his daughter Isabella to Dafydd ap Llywelyn and she in turn became a de Braose heiress.
      Reginald de Braose also allied with prince Rhys Mechyll of Deheubarth when his relationship with Llywelyn deteriorated in 1217.

      Rhys Mechyll married Reginald's daughter Matilda but by 1248 her hatred of her son exacerbated the family feud which finally destroyed the princes of Deheubarth. Matilda had handed Carreg Cennen over to the English and Rhys Fychan seized the castle back again in fury at his mother's treachery.

      It has been speculated that Llywelyn's wife Joan was the grand daughter of Sibyl de Braose. Sibyl's daughter, Agatha Ferrers, was certainly king John's mistress and possibly Joan's mother.
      The couple may have met when Sibyl's brother William was the king's favoured companion. Another affair, between Joan and William de Braose (son of Reginald), underlines the intriguing complexity of family links between Llywelyn and the de Braoses.

      The king's chancellor received a report on William de Braose's death. It said: "At that manor which is called Crokein he was made to croak. He was hanged from a certain tree and not secretly or by night but openly and in broad daylight in front of eight hundred people and more, called together to view this pitiable and woeful spectacle, and especially those to whom William de Braose senior and his sons were hostile by reason of injury inflicted on their ancestors whether recent or otherwise."
      Men shouted out: "Now the Welsh blood which William de Braose and his own spilled on the ground has been avenged". The blood feud dating back to Seisyll ap Dyfnwal's death in 1175 was still seething.

      Llywelyn wrote to Eva de Braose and her powerful brother William Marshal. He warned Eva that he could not restrain his men because of the scandal and outrage. Lest any worse harm might happen, would she still be willing for the marriage of Dafydd and Isabel to proceed? The little girl was apparently at his court, his son wanted Builth and his men were in the mood to take it, and more, if the betrothal was not honoured. Amid this appalling hostility, the marriage of Dafydd and Isabel went ahead.
      Llywelyn's letter to William Marshal, his "friend and dearest brother", said: "Your grace will know that the magnates of our land might in no way control what they will do regarding William de Braose, in view of the judgement which they will have made as to how he engineered our deceit by entering our chamber, bringing shame to us in the highest way. Whereby we ask your grace resolutely, concerning which we show the greatest trust, in so far as you may wish to show to us your will, whether you might have wished the alliance made between your niece and our son David, which if you might have wished it, on our part that alliance steadfastly and persistently stands firm."
      Henry III, William Marshall and an English army were just embarking for Poitou. There was little inclination to react to Welsh aggression.

      Llywelyn's ascendancy in his last years owed much to a brief alliance with Richard Marshal, Eva's younger brother.
      Richard inherited fantastic wealth and power. His hostility to Henry III had major repercussions and Llywelyn benefited from a peace treaty negotiated with the king at this time. As always, Llywelyn took advantage of English disunity. Richard died in Ireland in 1234 and the king was suspected of treachery.

  • Sources 
    1. [S4] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families, (rev. ed, Pimlico Random House, London 1989, 1996 , , Repository: J.H. Garner), p 71 (Reliability: 0).

    2. [S10] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America bef 1760, (7th ed Genealogical Publishing, Baltimore 1992 , , Repository: J.H. Garner), line 236 p 201, line 176 p 151 (Reliability: 0).

    3. [S332] John C. Wurts, Magna Charta, (copyright 1945 ,).

    4. [S333] Charles H. Browning, Magna Charta Barons, (copyright 1969 ,).

    5. [S122] Sharon Kay Penman, Here Be Dragons, (Ballantine Books, New York 1985 , , Repository: Library of J.H. Garner).

    6. [S14] Brian Tompsett, University of Hull Royal Database (England), (copyright 1994, 1995, 1996 , , Repository: WWW, University of Hull, Hull, UK HU6 7RX bct@tardis.ed.ac.uk).

    7. [S10] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America bef 1760, (7th ed Genealogical Publishing, Baltimore 1992 , , Repository: J.H. Garner), line 176 p 151 (Reliability: 0).



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