Editing Gruffudd ap Llywelyn

{{short description|King of Wales}}
{{about|the 11th-century king of Wales|the 13th-century prince|Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ab Iorwerth}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Gruffudd ap Llywelyn
| caption      = Map of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn's Welsh kingdom
| succession   = [[King of Wales]]
| reign        = 1055–1063
| predecessor  = 
| successor    = 
| succession2  = [[List of rulers of Gwynedd|King of Gwynedd]] and of [[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]]
| reign2       = 1039–1055
| predecessor2 = [[Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig]]
| successor2   = [[Bleddyn ap Cynfyn]]
| birth_date   = c. 1010
| birth_place  = [[Rhuddlan]], [[Wales]]
| death_date   = 5 August 1063 (aged 52–53)
| death_place  = [[Snowdonia]], [[Wales]]
| spouse       = Former wife of [[Hywel ab Edwin]]<br>
[[Edith of Mercia|Ealdgyth]]
| issue        = {{plain list|
* Maredudd ap Gruffudd
* Idwal ap Gruffudd
* Nesta ferch Gruffudd
* Owain ap Gruffudd
* Cynan ap Gruffudd
}}
| father       = [[Llywelyn ap Seisyll]]
| mother       = Angharad ferch Maredudd
}}

'''Gruffudd ap Llywelyn''' ({{circa|lk=no|1010}} – 5 August 1063) was the first and only [[King of Wales|Welsh king]] to unite all of [[Wales]] under his rule from 1055 to 1063. He had also previously been [[List of rulers of Gwynedd|King of Gwynedd]] and [[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]] from 1039 to 1055. Gruffudd was the son of [[Llywelyn ap Seisyll]], King of Gwynedd, and Angharad, daughter of [[Maredudd ab Owain]], King of [[Deheubarth]],<ref name="DWB"/> and the great-great-grandson of [[Hywel Dda]].{{sfnb|Lloyd|1911}}<ref name=Lee/> After his death, Wales was again divided into separate kingdoms.

== Genealogy and early life ==
Gruffudd was the son of Llywelyn ap Seisyll, who had been able to rule both [[Kingdom of Gwynedd|Gwynedd]] and [[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]], and of Angharad ferch Maredudd. On Llywelyn's death in 1023, a member of the [[House of Aberffraw]], [[Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig]], became ruler of Gwynedd and began his rise to power in Powys.<ref name=Lee/>

== King of Gwynedd and Powys (1039–1055) ==
{{anchor|King of Gwynedd|King of Powys|King of Gwynedd and Powys}}

In 1039, Iago, King of Gwynedd, was killed (supposedly by his own men),<ref name="DWB"/> his son [[Cynan ap Iago|Cynan]] was forced into exile in [[Kingdom of Dublin|Dublin]], and Gruffudd was made King. Soon after gaining power, he surprised a [[Mercia]]n army at [[Battle of Rhyd Y Groes|Rhyd y Groes]] near [[Welshpool]] and defeated it,<ref name="DWB"/> killing Edwin, brother of [[Leofric, Earl of Mercia]].<ref name=Lee/> He then attacked [[Deheubarth|Dyfed]], which his father had ruled but which was now under [[Hywel ab Edwin]]. Gruffudd again defeated Hywel in the Battle of [[Pencader, Carmarthenshire|Pencader]] in 1041 (halfway between [[Carmarthen]] and [[Lampeter]] but did not win entirely until 1042 at "Pwlldyfach" (near Carmarthen)<ref name="DWB"/> and carried off Hywel's wife.<ref name=Lee>{{harv|Lee|pages=305–307}}</ref> Gruffudd seems to have been able to drive Hywel (and his Irish fleet of "Black Gentiles / Pagans")<ref name="DWB"/><ref name=Lee/> out of the south, for in 1044 Hywel is again recorded returning to the [[River Towy]] with a fleet from [[Ireland]]; Gruffudd, however, defeated and killed Hywel.<ref name="DWB"/><ref name=Lee/>

[[Gruffudd ap Rhydderch]] of [[Kingdom of Gwent|Gwent]] was able to expel Gruffudd ap Llywelyn from [[Deheubarth]] in 1047 and became [[List of rulers in Wales|King of Deheubarth]] himself.<ref name="DWB"/> Afterwards the nobles of [[Ystrad Tywi]] had attacked and killed 140 of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn's household guards, Gruffudd exacted his revenge in [[River Towy|Towy]] and [[Dyfed]].<ref name=Lee/> Gruffudd ap Llywelyn was active on the Welsh border in 1052 when he attacked [[Herefordshire]] with an army consisting of a fleet of 18 ships from Ireland; they defeated a mixed force of [[Normans]] and [[Anglo-Saxons]] in the [[Leominster|Battle of Leominster]].<ref name="DWB"/><ref name=Lee/>

== Ruler of all Wales (1055–1063) ==
[[File:Wales 1039-63 (Gruffudd ap Llywelyn).svg|thumb|right|200px|Map of the extent of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn's Conquest{{legend|#87de87|Gwynedd, Gruffudd ap Llywelyn's kingdom}}]]

According to ''[[Brut y Tywysogion]]'', [[Sweyn Godwinson]] was called in to help Gruffudd's brother Rhys against [[Gruffudd ap Rhydderch]] in 1045 to keep hold of Deheubarth. Gruffudd raided Leominster in 1052, resulting in the [[Leominster|Battle of Llanllieni]], the Welsh fighting against Normans and Anglo-Saxons.<ref name="DWB"/>

In 1055 Gruffudd ap Llywelyn killed his rival Gruffudd ap Rhydderch in battle and recaptured Deheubarth. Gruffudd allied himself with [[Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia|Ælfgar]], son of [[Leofric, Earl of Mercia]], who had been deprived of his earldom of [[East Anglia]] by [[Harold Godwinson]] and his brothers. They marched on [[Hereford]] and were opposed by a force led by the [[Earl of Hereford]], [[Ralph the Timid]], then set Hereford on fire.<ref name="DWB"/> This force was mounted and armed in the Norman fashion, but on 24 October 1055 Gruffudd and Ælfgar defeated it. They then sacked the city and destroyed its [[motte-and-bailey castle]].<ref name=Lee/> Earl Harold was given the task of counter-attacking, but Gruffudd and Ælfgar had retreated to 
[[South Wales]] whilst Harold ventured no further than Hereford.<ref name=Lee/> He seems here to have built a fortification at [[Longtown, Herefordshire|Longtown]] in [[Herefordshire]] before refortifying Hereford. Shortly afterwards, Ælfgar was restored to his earldom and a peace treaty concluded.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Around this time Gruffudd was also able to seize [[Kingdom of Morgannwg|Morgannwg]] and [[Kingdom of Gwent|Gwent]], along with extensive territories along the border with [[England]].

The historian [[John Davies (historian)|John Davies]] stated that Gruffudd was

:"The only Welsh king ever to rule over the entire territory of Wales... Thus, from about 1057 until his death in 1063, the whole of Wales recognised the kingship of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. For about seven brief years, Wales was one, under one ruler, a feat with neither precedent nor successor".<ref name=Davies/>

During this time, between 1053 and 1063, Wales lacked any internal strife and was at peace.<ref name="Maund1991"/> The later ''[[Brut y Tywysogion]]'' described him as being "the head and shield of the Britons".<ref name="Maund1991">{{harv|Maund|1991|pp=64–67}}</ref> [[John of Worcester]] referred to him, several decades later, as ''Rex Walensium'', '[[King of Wales|King of the Welsh]]'.<ref name="Maund1991"/>

== Death and aftermath ==
Gruffudd reached an agreement with [[Edward the Confessor]], but the death of his ally Ælfgar in 1062 left him more vulnerable. In late 1062 [[Harold Godwinson]] obtained the English king's approval for a surprise attack on Gruffudd's court at [[Rhuddlan]]. Gruffudd was nearly captured,<ref name="DWB"/><ref name=Lee/> but was warned in time to escape out to sea in one of his ships, though his other ships were destroyed.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} In the spring of 1063 Harold's brother [[Tostig Godwinson]] led an army into [[North Wales]] while Harold led the fleet first to south Wales and then north to meet his brother's army. Gruffudd was forced to take refuge in [[Snowdonia]], where he met his death. Gruffudd's head and the figurehead of his ship were sent to Harold.<ref name=Lee/> The [[Annals of Ulster|Ulster Chronicle]] states that he was killed in 1064 by Cynan, whose father Iago had been put to death by Gruffudd in 1039.<ref name=Davies/>{{#tag:ref|Compare Remfry, P. M.; [[Annales Cambriae]], 68 and notes|group=lly}} Gruffudd had probably made enemies in the course of uniting Wales under his rule. According to [[Walter Map]], Gruffudd said of this:{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

:"Speak not of killing; I but blunt the horns of the offspring of Wales lest they should injure their dam."

Following Gruffudd's death, Harold married his widow [[Edith the Fair|Ealdgyth]], who was to be widowed again three years later. Gruffudd's realm was divided again into the traditional kingdoms. [[Bleddyn ap Cynfyn]] and his brother [[Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn|Rhiwallon]] came to an agreement with Harold and were given the rule of Gwynedd and Powys. Thus when Harold was defeated and killed at the [[Battle of Hastings]] in 1066, the Normans reaching the borders of Wales were confronted by the traditional kingdoms rather than a single king. Gruffudd left two sons who in 1069 challenged Bleddyn and Rhiwallon at the [[Battle of Mechain]] in an attempt to win back part of their father's kingdom. However, they were defeated, one being killed and the other dying of exposure after the battle.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

== Family ==
Gruffudd married [[Edith of Mercia|Ealdgyth]],{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} daughter of [[Earl of Mercia|Earl Ælfgar of Mercia]] after he abducted, and married, the wife (name unknown) of [[Hywel ab Edwin]] in 1041.<ref name="Maund1991"/> Gruffudd had at least three children: two sons called Maredudd and Idwal,<ref name="DWB"/> both of whom died at the Battle of Mechain in 1069,<ref name="Maund1991"/> and a daughter, Nest ferch Gruffudd, who married [[Osbern fitzRichard]] of [[Richard's Castle]].<ref name="DWB"/><ref name=Lee/> Their daughter Nest ferch Osbern (Nesta of Hereford) married [[Bernard de Neufmarché]]. Gruffudd may have had another son, Owain ap Gruffudd, who died in 1059.<ref name="Maund1991"/>

== Note ==
{{Reflist|group=lly}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2|refs=<ref name="DWB">{{harv|Jones|1959}}</ref><ref name=Davies>{{harv|Davies|1993|page=100}}</ref>}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jtC1mWM86AC&pg=PA156 |page=156 |title=Land of My Fathers: 2000 Years of Welsh History |first=Gwynfor |last=Evans |publisher=Y Lolfa |year=1974 |isbn=9780862432652 |ref={{harvid|DWB}}}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/periods/dark_ages05.shtml |title=BBC Wales - History - Themes - Welsh unity |ref={{harvid|BBC}}}}
* {{cite DNB | wstitle=Gruffydd ab Llewelyn (d.1063) |volume=23 |pages=305–307 |ref={{harvid|Lee|pages=305–307}}}}
* {{cite book |title=A History of Wales, from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest |volume=II |last=Lloyd |first=John Edward |author-link=John Edward Lloyd |year=1911 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofwalesfr01lloyuoft |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |isbn=978-1-334-06136-3 |edition=Reprint Vol. 2 of 2}}
* {{cite DWB |id=arc_s-GRUF-APL-1063 |title=GRUFFUDD ap LLYWELYN (died 1063), king of Gwynedd and Powys, and after 1055 king of all Wales |first=Thomas |last=Jones |year=1959}}
* {{cite DWB |id=s12-GRUF-APL-1063 |title=GRUFFUDD AP LLYWELYN (died 1064), king of Gwynedd 1039-1064 and overlord of all the Welsh 1055-1064 |first=Benjamin |last=Hudson |date=1959}}
* {{cite book |first=K. L. |last=Maund |url=https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/727664 |title=Ireland, Wales, and England in the Eleventh Century |year=1991 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd |isbn=978-0-85115-533-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Davies |first=John |author-link=John Davies (historian) |title=A History of Wales |publisher=Penguin |year=1993 |location=London |page=100 |isbn=0-14-014581-8}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/utk/wales/welsh.htm |title=The National Archives - Exhibitions - Uniting the Kingdoms? |ref={{harvid|TNA}}}}

== External links ==
* {{PASE|151882|Gruffudd 1}}
* {{cite journal |url=https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n78040215.html |website=id.loc.gov |title=Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, King of Wales, -1063}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.owain-glyndwr.wales/age_of_the_princes/gruffudd_ap_llywelyn.html |website=owain-glyndwr.wales 
|title=Gruffudd ap Llywelyn}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruffudd ap Llywelyn}}
[[Category:1010s births]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:1063 deaths]]
[[Category:House of Aberffraw]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Gwynedd]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Gwent]]
[[Category:11th-century Welsh monarchs]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Glywysing]]