Editing Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (section)

== Early life ==
[[File:Dolwyddelan Castle, Conwy, Wales.jpg|thumb|left|[[Dolwyddelan Castle]] was built by Llywelyn; the old castle nearby may have been his birthplace.]]

Llywelyn was born about 1173, the son of [[Iorwerth Drwyndwn]] and the grandson of [[Owain Gwynedd]], who had been ruler of Gwynedd until his death in 1170.{{sfn|Bartrum|1966|pp=95–96}} He was probably born at [[Dolwyddelan]] the royal manor of Nantconwy,<ref name=DWB/> though not in the present [[Dolwyddelan Castle]], which was built by Llywelyn himself. He may have been born in the old castle which occupied a rocky knoll on the valley floor.{{sfn|Lynch|1995|p=156}}{{#tag:ref|According to one genealogy, Llywelyn had a brother named Adda, but there is no other record of him.|group=ll}}

Little is known about his father, Iorwerth Drwyndwn, who died when Llywelyn was an infant. There is no record of Iorwerth having taken part in the power struggle between some of Owain Gwynedd's other sons following Owain's death, although he was the eldest surviving son. There is a tradition that he was disabled or disfigured in some way that excluded him from power.{{sfn|Maund|2006|p=185}}

[[John Edward Lloyd]] states that Iorwerth was killed in battle at [[St Melangell's Church|Pennant Melangell]], in [[Powys]], in 1174 during the wars deciding the succession following the death of his father.<ref name=DWB/><ref>{{cite book |last=Lloyd |first=J. E. |author-link=John Edward Lloyd |title=The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940 |publisher=Blackwell Group |year=1959 |page=417}}</ref>

By 1175, Gwynedd had been divided between two of Llywelyn's uncles. [[Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd|Dafydd ab Owain]] held the area east of the River Conwy and [[Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd|Rhodri ab Owain]] held the west. Dafydd and Rhodri were the sons of Owain by his second marriage to [[Cristin verch Goronwy]]. This marriage was not considered valid by the church as Cristin was Owain's first cousin, a degree of relationship which according to [[Canon law]] prohibited marriage. The chronicler [[Gerald of Wales]] refers to Iorwerth Drwyndwn as the only legitimate son of Owain Gwynedd.<ref name=google>{{google book |id=xToIAAAAQAAJ&rdid |title=The historical works of Giraldus Cambrensis |page=403}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|[[Maelgwn ab Owain Gwynedd]] was Iorwerth's full brother, but presumably he was dead by the time Giraldus wrote.|group=ll}} Following Iorwerth's death, Llywelyn was, at least in the eyes of the church, the legitimate claimant to the throne of Gwynedd.<ref name=google/>

Llywelyn's mother was Marared, occasionally anglicised to Margaret, daughter of [[Madog ap Maredudd]], prince of Powys. There is evidence that after Iorwerth's death Marared married into the [[Corbet family]] of [[Caus Castle|Caux]] in [[Shropshire]], and Llywelyn may have spent part of his childhood there.{{sfn|Maund|2006|p=186}} There is in existence a grant of land from Llywelyn ab Iorwerth to the monastery of [[Wigmore Abbey|Wigmore]], in which Llywelyn indicates his mother was a member of the 
[[Corbet family|house of Corbet]].{{sfn|Caley|1830|pp=497–498}}