Editing Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (section)

== Reign as Prince of Gwynedd ==
=== Consolidation 1200–1209 ===

[[Gruffudd ap Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd]] died in 1200 and left Llywelyn the undisputed ruler of Gwynedd. In 1201, he took [[Eifionydd]] and [[Llŷn Peninsula|Llŷn]] from Maredudd ap Cynan on a charge of treachery.<ref name="Moore"/> In July, the same year Llywelyn concluded a treaty with King John of England. This is the earliest surviving written agreement between an English king and a Welsh ruler, and under its terms, Llywelyn was to swear fealty and do homage to the king. In return, it confirmed Llywelyn's possession of his conquests and allowed cases relating to lands claimed by Llywelyn to be heard under [[Welsh law]].{{sfn|Davies|1992|p=294}}

Llywelyn made his first move beyond the borders of Gwynedd in August 1202 when he raised a force to attack [[Gwenwynwyn|Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog]] of Powys, who was now his main rival in Wales. The clergy intervened to make peace between Llywelyn and Gwenwynwyn and the invasion was called off. Elise ap Madog, lord of Penllyn, had refused to respond to Llywelyn's summons to arms and was stripped of almost all his lands by Llywelyn as punishment.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|pp=613–614}}

Llywelyn consolidated his position in 1205 by marrying [[Joan, Lady of Wales]], the natural daughter of King John.<ref name=DWB/> He had previously been negotiating with [[Pope Innocent III]] for leave to marry his uncle [[Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd|Rhodri's]] widow, daughter of [[Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson|Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles]]. However, this proposal was dropped.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|pp=616–617}}{{#tag:ref|One letter from the Pope suggests that Llywelyn may have been married previously, to an unnamed sister of Earl Ranulph of Chester in about 1192, but there appears to be no confirmation of this.|group=ll}}

In 1208, Gwenwynwyn of Powys fell out with King John who summoned him to [[Shrewsbury]] in October and then arrested him and stripped him of his lands. Llywelyn took the opportunity to annex southern Powys and northern [[Ceredigion]] and rebuild [[Aberystwyth Castle]].{{sfn|Davies|1992|pp=229, 241}} In the summer of 1209 he accompanied John on a campaign against King [[William the Lion]], [[Scotland]].{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|pp=622–623}}

=== Setback and recovery 1210–1217 ===
[[File:LlywelynFawr.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Statue of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, [[Conwy]]]]
[[Image:CymruLlywelyn.PNG|thumb|250px|[[Wales]] c. 1217. Yellow: areas directly ruled by Llywelyn; Grey: areas ruled by Llywelyn's client princes; Green: Anglo-Norman lordships.]]

In 1210, relations between Llywelyn and King John deteriorated. [[John Edward Lloyd]] suggests that the rupture may have been due to Llywelyn forming an alliance with [[William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber]], who had fallen out with the king and had been deprived of his lands.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|p=631}} While John led a campaign against de Braose and his allies in [[Ireland]], an army led by [[Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester]], and [[Peter des Roches]], [[Bishop of Winchester]], invaded Gwynedd. Llywelyn destroyed his own castle at [[Deganwy]] and retreated west of the River Conwy. The Earl of Chester rebuilt Deganwy, and Llywelyn retaliated by ravaging the Earl's lands.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|p=632}}{{sfn|Maund|2006|p=192}} John sent troops to help restore Gwenwynwyn to the rule of southern Powys. In 1211, John invaded Gwynedd with the aid of almost all the other Welsh princes, planning according to ''[[Brut y Tywysogion]]'' "to dispossess Llywelyn and destroy him utterly".{{sfn|Williams|1860|p=154}} The first invasion was forced to retreat, but in August that year John invaded again with a larger army, crossed the River Conwy and penetrated [[Snowdonia]].{{sfn|Maund|2006|p=193}} [[Bangor, Wales|Bangor]] was burnt by a detachment of the royal army and the [[Bishop of Bangor]] captured. Llywelyn was forced to come to terms, and by the advice of his council sent his wife Joan to negotiate with the king, her father.{{sfn|Williams|1860|pp=155–156}} Joan was able to persuade her father not to dispossess her husband completely, but Llywelyn lost all his lands east of the River Conwy.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Battles of Wales |last=Gater |first=Dilys |publisher=Gwasg Carreg Gwalch |location=Llanrwst |edition=1st |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-86381-178-4 |page=62}}</ref> He also had to pay a large tribute in cattle and horses and to hand over hostages, including his illegitimate son Gruffudd and was forced to agree that if he died without a legitimate heir by Joan, all his lands would revert to the king.{{sfn|Davies|1992|p=295}}

This was the low point of Llywelyn's reign, but he quickly recovered his position. The other Welsh princes, who had supported King John against Llywelyn, soon became disillusioned with John's rule and changed sides. Llywelyn formed an alliance with Gwenwynwyn of Powys and the two main rulers of Deheubarth, [[Maelgwn ap Rhys]] and [[Rhys Gryg]], and rose against John. They had the support of [[Pope Innocent III]], who had been engaged in a dispute with John for several years and had placed his kingdom under an [[interdict]]. Innocent III released Llywelyn, Gwenwynwyn and Maelgwn from all oaths of loyalty to John and lifted the interdict in the territories which they controlled. Llywelyn was able to recover all Gwynedd apart from the castles of Deganwy and [[Rhuddlan Castle|Rhuddlan]] within two months in 1212.{{sfn|Williams|1860|pp=158–159}}

John planned another invasion of Gwynedd in August 1212. According to one account, he had just commenced by hanging some of the Welsh hostages given the previous year when he received two letters. One was from his daughter Joan, Llywelyn's wife, the other from William I of Scotland ([[William the Lion]]), and both warned him in similar terms that if he invaded Wales his magnates would seize the opportunity to kill him or hand him over to his enemies.{{sfn|Pryce|2005|p=445}} The invasion was abandoned, and in 1213, Llywelyn took the castles of Deganwy and Rhuddlan.{{sfn|Williams|1860|p=162}} Llywelyn made an alliance with [[Philip II of France|Philip II Augustus]] of [[France]],{{sfn|Moore|2005|pp=112–113}} then allied himself with the barons who were in rebellion against John, marching on [[Shrewsbury]] and capturing it without resistance in 1215.{{sfn|Williams|1860|p=165}} When John was forced to sign [[Magna Carta]],<ref name=DWB/> Llywelyn was rewarded with several favourable provisions relating to Wales, including the release of his son, Gruffudd, who had been a hostage since 1211.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|p=646}} The same year, [[Ednyfed Fychan]] was appointed [[seneschal|seneschal of Gwynedd]] and was to work closely with Llywelyn for the remainder of his reign.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/heraldicvisitati_01dwnn/page/n23/mode/2up |title=The Heraldic Visitation of Wales, Vol. I, |page=xiv|author-last=Dwnn |author-first=Lewys |author-link=Lewys Dwnn|editor=[[Samuel Rush Meyrick]] |date=1846}}</ref>

Llywelyn had now established himself as the leader of the independent princes of Wales, and in December 1215, led an army which included all the lesser princes to capture the castles of [[Carmarthen]], [[Kidwelly Castle|Kidwelly]], [[Llansteffan Castle|Llanstephan]], [[Cardigan Castle|Cardigan]] and [[Cilgerran Castle|Cilgerran]]. Another indication of his growing power was that he was able to insist on the consecration of Welshmen to two vacant sees that year, Iorwerth, as [[Bishop of St Davids]], and [[Cadwgan of Llandyfai]], as [[Bishop of Bangor]].{{sfn|Williams|1860|p=167}}

In 1216, Llywelyn held a council at [[Aberdyfi]] to adjudicate on the territorial claims of the lesser princes, who affirmed their homage and allegiance to Llywelyn. [[J. Beverley Smith]] comments: "The leader in military alliance assumed the role of lord, his erstwhile allies were now his vassals."<ref>{{cite book |first=J. Beverley |last=Smith |year=1998 |author-link=J. Beverley Smith |title=Llywelyn ap Gruffudd: Prince of Wales |publisher=University of Wales Press |location=Cardiff |isbn=978-0-7083-1474-6 |page=19}}</ref> Gwenwynwyn of Powys changed sides again that year and allied himself with King John. Llywelyn called up the other princes for a campaign against him and drove him out of southern Powys once more.<ref name=DWB/> Gwenwynwyn died in England later that year, leaving an underage heir. King John also died that year, and he also left an underage heir in King [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] with a minority government set up in England.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|pp=649–651}}

In 1217, [[Reginald de Braose]] of [[Brecon]] and [[Abergavenny]], who had been allied to Llywelyn and married his daughter, [[Gwladus Ddu]], was induced by the English crown to change sides. Llywelyn responded by invading his lands, first threatening [[Brecon]], where the burgesses offered hostages for the payment of 100 marks, then heading for [[Swansea]] where Reginald de Braose met him to offer submission and to surrender the town. He then continued westwards to threaten [[Haverfordwest]] where the burgesses offered hostages for their submission to his rule or the payment of a fine of 1,000 marks.{{sfn|Davies|1992|p=242}}{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|pp=652–653}}

=== Treaty of Worcester and border campaigns 1218–1229 ===
[[File:Criccieth beach.JPG|thumb|[[Criccieth Castle|Criccieth]] is one of a number of castles built by Llywelyn.]]

Following King John's death Llywelyn concluded the [[Worcester, England|Treaty of Worcester]] with his successor Henry III in 1218.<ref name=DWB/> This treaty confirmed him in possession of all his recent conquests. From then until his death Llywelyn was the dominant force in Wales, though there were further outbreaks of hostilities with [[marcher lord]]s, particularly the [[Marshal family]] and [[Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent]], and sometimes with the king. Llywelyn built up marriage alliances with several of the Marcher families. One daughter, [[Gwladus Ddu]] ("Gwladus the Dark"), was already married to [[Reginald de Braose]] of Brecon and Abergavenny, but with Reginald an unreliable ally Llywelyn married another daughter, Marared, to [[John de Braose]] of [[Gower Peninsula|Gower]], Reginald's nephew. He found a loyal ally in [[Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester]], whose nephew and heir, [[John of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon]], married Llywelyn's daughter [[Elen ferch Llywelyn]] in about 1222. Following Reginald de Braose's death in 1228, Llywelyn also made an alliance with the powerful [[Roger Mortimer of Wigmore]] when Gwladus Ddu married as her second husband [[Ralph de Mortimer]].{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|pp=645, 657–658}}

Llywelyn was careful not to provoke unnecessary hostilities with the crown or the Marcher lords; for example, in 1220, he compelled [[Rhys Gryg]] to return four [[commote]]s in [[South Wales]] to their previous Anglo-Norman owners.{{sfn|Davies|1992|p=298}} He built a number of castles to defend his borders, most thought to have been built between 1220 and 1230. These were the first sophisticated stone castles in [[Wales]]; his castles at [[Criccieth Castle|Criccieth]], [[Deganwy Castle|Deganwy]], [[Dolbadarn Castle|Dolbadarn]], [[Dolwyddelan Castle|Dolwyddelan]] and [[Castell y Bere]] are among the best examples.{{sfn|Lynch|1995|p=135}} Llywelyn also appears to have fostered the development of quasi-urban settlements in Gwynedd to act as centres of trade.<ref>{{cite book |title=A History of Wales |last=Davies |first=John |author-link=John Davies (historian) |year=1994 |publisher=Penguin Books |edition=Reprint |isbn=978-0-140-14581-6 |page=142}}</ref>

Hostilities broke out with [[William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke]] in 1220. Llywelyn destroyed the castles of [[Narberth Castle|Narberth]] and [[Wiston Castle|Wiston]], burnt the town of [[Haverfordwest]] and threatened [[Pembroke Castle]], but agreed to abandon the attack on payment of £100. In early 1223, Llywelyn crossed the border into [[Shropshire]] and captured [[Kinnerley]] and [[Whittington Castle|Whittington]] castles. The Marshals took advantage of Llywelyn's involvement here to land near [[St David's]] in April with an army raised in [[Ireland]] and recaptured [[Cardigan, Ceredigion|Cardigan]] and [[Carmarthen]] without opposition. The Marshals' campaign was supported by a royal army which took possession of [[Montgomery, Powys|Montgomery]].<ref name=DWB/> Llywelyn came to an agreement with the king at Montgomery in October that year. Llywelyn's allies in South Wales were given back lands taken from them by the Marshals and Llywelyn himself gave up his conquests in Shropshire.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|pp=661–663}}

In 1228, Llywelyn was engaged in a campaign against [[Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent|Hubert de Burgh]], who was [[Justiciar]] of England and Ireland and one of the most powerful men in the kingdom. Hubert had been given the lordship and castle of Montgomery by the king and was encroaching on Llywelyn's lands nearby. The king raised an army to help Hubert, who began to build another castle in the [[commote]] of Ceri. However, in October the royal army was obliged to retreat and Henry agreed to destroy the half-built castle in exchange for the payment of £2,000 by Llywelyn. Llywelyn raised the money by demanding the same sum as the ransom of [[William de Braose (died 1230)|William de Braose]], [[Abergavenny|Lord of Abergavenny]], whom he had captured in the fighting.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|pp=667–670}}

=== Marital problems 1230 ===
Following his capture, William de Braose decided to ally himself to Llywelyn, and a marriage was arranged between his daughter Isabella and Llywelyn's heir, Dafydd ap Llywelyn. At Easter 1230, William visited Llywelyn's court. During this visit, he was found in Llywelyn's chamber together with Llywelyn's wife Joan. On 2 May, de Braose was hanged; Joan was placed under house arrest for a year. The ''[[Brut y Tywysogion]]'' chronicler commented: 
:"That year William de Braose the Younger, Lord of Abergavenny, was hanged by the lord Llywelyn in Gwynedd after he had been caught in Llywelyn's chamber with the king of England's daughter, Llywelyn's wife."{{sfn|Williams|1860|pp=190–191}}

A letter from Llywelyn to William's wife, [[Eva Marshal]], written shortly after the execution enquires whether she still wishes the marriage between Dafydd and Isabella to take place.{{sfn|Pryce|2005|pp=428–429}} The marriage did go ahead, and the following year Joan was forgiven and restored to her position as princess.

Until 1230, Llywelyn had used the title ''princeps Norwalliæ'' "Prince of North Wales", but from that year he changed his title to "Prince of Aberffraw and Lord of Snowdon".<ref name=DWB/>{{#tag:ref|The version of the Welsh laws preserved in ''Llyfr Iorwerth'', compiled in Gwynedd during Llywelyn's reign, claims precedence for the ruler of Aberffraw, the ancient court, over the rulers of the other Welsh kingdoms. See Aled Rhys William (1960) ''Llyfr Iorwerth: a critical text of the Venedotian code of mediaeval Welsh law''|group=ll}} He was, however, more concerned with the reality of power rather than its appearance. He never claimed or used the title "Prince of Wales" despite his authority extending over other rulers in Wales.{{sfn|Carpenter|2020|pp=232–233}}

=== Final campaigns and the Peace of Middle 1231–1240 ===
In 1231, there was further fighting. Llywelyn was becoming concerned about the growing power of Hubert de Burgh. Some of his men had been taken prisoner by the garrison of Montgomery and beheaded, and Llywelyn responded by burning [[Montgomery, Powys]], [[New Radnor]], [[Hay-on-Wye|Hay]], and [[Brecon]] before turning west to capture the castles of [[Neath Castle|Neath]] and [[Kidwelly Castle|Kidwelly]]. He completed the campaign by recapturing [[Cardigan Castle]].{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|pp=673–675}} King Henry retaliated by launching an invasion and built a new castle at [[Painscastle Castle|Painscastle]], but was unable to penetrate far into Wales.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|pp=675–676}}

Negotiations continued into 1232 when Hubert was removed from office and later imprisoned. Much of his power passed to [[Peter de Rivaux]], including control of several castles in south Wales. William Marshal had died in 1231, and his brother [[Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke|Richard]] had succeeded him as Earl of Pembroke. In 1233, hostilities broke out between Richard Marshal and Peter de Rivaux, who was supported by the king. Llywelyn made an alliance with Richard, and in January 1234 the earl and Llywelyn seized [[Shrewsbury]].<ref name=DWB/> Richard was killed in Ireland in April, but the king agreed to make peace with the insurgents.{{sfn|Powicke|1962|pp=51–55}} The Peace of Middle, agreed on 21 June, established a truce of two years with Llywelyn, who was allowed to retain Cardigan and [[Builth Castle|Builth]].<ref name=DWB/> This truce was renewed year by year for the remainder of Llywelyn's reign.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911|p=681}}