Editing Rhys ap Tewdwr

{{Short description|King of Deheubarth (died 1093)}}
{{Welsh name|Rhys|Tewdwr}}{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Rhys ap Tedwr
| title        = 
| image        = 
| succession   = [[Deheubarth|Prince of Deheubarth]]
| reign        = 1078–1093
| predecessor  = [[Rhys ab Owain]]
| successor    = [[Gruffydd ap Rhys]]
| birth_date   = 1040
| birth_place  = [[Carmarthenshire]], [[Wales]]
| death_date   = April 1093
| death_place  = [[Brecon]], [[Powys]], [[Wales]]
| spouse       = Catrin (or Gwladus) verch Lestyn<br>Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon
| issue        = Goronwy<br>Hywel<br>Owain<br>[[Owain]]<br>Gwellian<br>[[Nest ferch Rhys]]<br>Efa<br>Ardden
| house        = [[House of Dinefwr|Dinefwr]]
| father       = Tewdwr ap Cadell
| mother       = Gwenllian ferch Gwyn of Dyfed
}}
'''Rhys ap Tewdwr''' (c. 1040 – 1093) was a king of [[Deheubarth]] in [[Wales]] and member of the [[House of Dinefwr|Dinefwr dynasty]], a branch descended from [[Rhodri the Great]]. Following the [[Norman Conquest]], he had to pay [[William the Conqueror]] to keep his kingdom, which lasted until the end of William's reign.<ref>Pierce, T. J., (1959). RHYS ap TEWDWR (died 1093), king of Deheubarth. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 22 Aug 2023, from https://biography.wales/article/arc_s-RHYS-APT-1093</ref>

{{stack|[[Image:Medieval Wales.JPG|thumb|upright|Medieval [[Wales]], showing [[Deheubarth]] in the southwest]]}}
==Family==
Rhys ap Tewdwr was born in the area which is now [[Carmarthenshire]]. As a member of the [[House of Dinefwr]], he claimed the throne of [[Deheubarth]] following the death of his second cousin [[Rhys ab Owain]], who was beheaded after the battle of Gwdig (modern day [[Goodwick]]) against [[Caradog ap Gruffydd]] in 1078.

He was a grandson of [[Cadell ab Einion ab Owain]] ab [[Hywel Dda]] and a great-grandson of [[Einion ab Owain]], thus a descendant of [[Hywel Dda]], [[king of the Britons]].<ref>A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest, Volume 2</ref>

He married more than once. His first wife was Catrin (or Gwladus) verch Iestyn (b. 1041 in Powys). The name of his last wife was Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon, daughter of [[Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn]] of the [[House of Mathrafal|Mathrafal Dynasty]] of [[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Welsh Founders of Pennsylvania|last=Glenn|first=Thomas Allen|year=1913|isbn=0806304308|location=Oxford, England}}</ref>

Issue by early alliances:<ref name=":0" />
* Goronwy (died 1103)
* Hywel
* Owain

Issue by Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon:<ref name=":0" />

* [[Gruffydd ap Rhys|Gruffydd]]
* Gwellian
* [[Nest ferch Rhys|Nest]] who married [[Gerald de Windsor]], [[Constable of Pembroke]], [[progenitor]]s of the [[FitzGerald]] and [[de Barry]] dynasties of [[Ireland]]. These [[Hiberno-Norman]], or [[Cambro-Norman]], families have been [[Peerage of Ireland|Peers of Ireland]] since at least the 14th century.
* Efa
* Ardden.

==Rule==
[[Image:StDavidsCathedral Tower&SouthTransept.JPG|200px|thumb|right|[[St. David's Cathedral]] today]]
In 1081 [[Caradog ap Gruffydd]] invaded [[Deheubarth]] and drove Rhys to seek sanctuary in the [[Monastery of Saint David, Wales|Monastery of St David]].

Rhys, however, made an alliance with [[Gruffudd ap Cynan]] who was seeking to regain the throne of the [[Kingdom of Gwynedd]], and at the [[Battle of Mynydd Carn]] in the same year they defeated and killed [[Caradog ap Gruffydd]] and his allies [[Trahaearn ap Caradog]] of Gwynedd and [[Meilyr ap Rhiwallon]].

The same year [[William the Conqueror]] visited [[Deheubarth]], ostensibly on a pilgrimage to [[St David's]], but with a major show of power as well, traversing the width of southern Wales, and it seems likely he came to an arrangement with Rhys, whereby Rhys paid him homage and was confirmed in possession of Deheubarth.<ref>Pierce, T. J., (1959). RHYS ap TEWDWR (died 1093), king of Deheubarth. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 22 Aug 2023, from https://biography.wales/article/arc_s-RHYS-APT-1093</ref> Rhys paid William £40 a year for his kingdom, ensuring good future relations with William that lasted until the end of William's lifetime.<ref>Pierce, T. J., (1959). RHYS ap TEWDWR (died 1093), king of Deheubarth. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 22 Aug 2023, from https://biography.wales/article/arc_s-RHYS-APT-1093</ref> Rhys was content with the arrangement as it meant that he had to deal only with the jealousy of his fellow Welsh princes.

In 1088 [[Cadwgan ap Bleddyn]] of [[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]] attacked Deheubarth and forced Rhys to flee to [[Ireland]]. However, Rhys returned later the same year with a fleet from [[Ireland]] and defeated the men of Powys, in a battle in which two of Cadwgan's brothers, Madog and Rhiryd, were killed.

The [[Brut y Tywysogion|Chronicle of the Princes]] claims that Cedifor ap Gollwyn, a man who traced his ancestry to the original kings of [[Dyfed]] (since the start of the previous century, the usual rulers of Deheubarth had descended from an invader, [[Cadell ap Rhodri]])), commanded substantial authority in Dyfed.<ref>R. R. Davies, ''The Age of Conquest: Wales, 1063-1415'', 2001, [[Oxford University Press]], page 70</ref> When Cedifor died in 1091, his sons demanded that Rhys surrender the throne to Gruffudd ap [[Maredudd ab Owain ab Edwin|Maredudd]], the son of a former king of Deheubarth (and the nephew of Rhys' predecessor).<ref>Dr. K. L. Maund, ''Ireland, Wales, and England in the Eleventh Century'', 1991, page 149</ref> This triggered a revolt, but Rhys was able to defeat the rebels in a battle at [[St. Dogmaels]], killing Gruffudd.

==Death and succession==
[[File:Llyfr Coch Hergest 240-241.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Part of the Welsh version of ''[[Brut y Tywysogion]]'' found in the [[Red Book of Hergest]]]]
Rhys was unable to withstand the increasing Norman pressure. The Welsh ''Bruts'' (chronicles) state that "Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of Deheubarth, was slain by the Frenchmen who were inhabiting Brycheiniog." The ''[[Brut y Tywysogion]]'' adds "and with him fell the [[King of the Britons|kingdom of the Britons]]." This passage lends evidence to the belief that the conquest of Brycheiniog ([[Brecon]]), led by [[Bernard de Neufmarche]], was mostly finished by Eastertide 1093. The battle of Brecon opened the way to the conquest of Deheubarth.

The monastery and village of [[Penrhys]] in [[Rhondda Cynon Taff]] is said to be named for Rhys, as he was beheaded at the site by Norman forces. The village was originally named, ''Pen-Rhys ap Tewdwr'' (English: Rhys ap Tewdwr's Head). Upon Rhys's death, the Normans seized much of south Wales, and there was fighting over the spoils with the chieftains of Powys and Gwynedd. Eventually, Rhys's eldest son, Gruffydd, was allowed to inherit a small portion of his father's kingdom. Rhys's daughter [[Nest ferch Rhys|Nest]] was briefly one of the numerous concubines of Henry I, to whom she bore a son, and thereafter the wife of [[Gerald of Windsor|Gerald FitzWalter]] of Pembroke; their sons and grandsons, the FitzGerald conquerors of Ireland, were known collectively as the "sons of Nest". Through his son Gruffydd, Rhys was an ancestor of the [[Tudor dynasty]].

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;, Lord of O'Connelloe
|1= '''Rhys ap Tewdwr''', King of [[Deheubarth]]
|2= Tewdwr ap Cadell
|3= Gwenllian ferch Gwyn of Dyfed
|4= Cadell ab Einion of Deheubarth
|6= Gwyn ap Rhydderch of Dyfed
|8= [[Einion ab Owain|Einion ab Owain of Deheubarth]]
|9= Elen ferch Gwerstan ap Gwaethfoed of Powys
|12= Rhydderch ab Eiludd ap Cynan of Dyfed
}}

==See also==
*[[Kings of Wales family trees]]

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
*The Welsh Academy [[Encyclopaedia of Wales]], University of Wales Press, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-7083-1953-6}}
*Remfry, P.M., ''A Political Chronology of Wales 1066 to 1282'' ({{ISBN|1-899376-46-1}})
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=EYwNAAAAIAAJ&dq=Rhys+ap+Tewdwr&pg=PA392 A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest, Volume 2, John Edward Lloyd, 1911]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|before=[[Rhys ab Owain]]|title=[[Deheubarth|Prince of Deheubarth]]|years=1078–1093|after=[[Gruffydd ap Rhys]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhys ap Tewdwr, Prince of Deheubarth}}
[[Category:1093 deaths]]
[[Category:House of Dinefwr]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Deheubarth]]
[[Category:People from Carmarthenshire]]
[[Category:People of medieval Wales killed in battle]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:11th-century Welsh monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Welsh princes]]