Maredid ap Bleddin ( Wall. Maredudd ap Bleddyn ; died in 1132 ) - King of Powys (1075–1102 and 1116–1132).
| Maredid Ap Bleddin | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| wall. Maredudd ap Bleddyn | |||||||
| |||||||
| Together with | Kadugan ap Bledin , Iorvert Ap Bledin | ||||||
| Predecessor | Bledin up Quinvin | ||||||
| |||||||
| Predecessor | Owain up Cadugan | ||||||
| Successor | Madog ap Maredid | ||||||
| Birth | |||||||
| Death | 1132 | ||||||
| Kind | House of Matravala | ||||||
| Father | Bledin up Quinvin | ||||||
| Mother | Khair Top Kilin | ||||||
| Spouse | 1st marriage: Khinid top Einid 2nd marriage: Eva top Bletthurs | ||||||
| Children | from the 1st marriage: Madog , Grifid and Daffyd from the 2nd marriage: Iorvert Red and Hevel | ||||||
| Religion | Christianity | ||||||
Biography
Maredid was the son of King Powys Bleddin and his wife Khair Ferkh Kilin.
In 1075, Bleddin, king of Powys, died. His three sons divided the country among themselves. Maredid first ruled Powys along with his brothers Iorvert and Kadugan . He was the weakest of the brothers and the least information was preserved about him in the chronicles. Iorvert, Kadugan, and Maredid swore allegiance to Robert Shrewsbury . When he was put on trial in 1102 on charges of treason to Henry I , the brothers decided to come to his aid and attacked Shropshire . However, soon Iorvert went over to the side of the king of England, arrested Maredid and gave him to Henry. Maredid managed to escape from captivity in 1107, but he failed to regain power. In any case, in 1113 he served as captain of the guard of his nephew Owain . While in this position, Maredid captured his nephew, Madog , the murderer of two brothers, and handed over to Owain, who blinded him.
When Henry I invaded Wales in 1114, Maredid quickly made peace with him, while Owain entered into an alliance with Grifid ap Keenan and resisted the British. In 1116, Owain died, and Maredid was able to become the ruler of all Powys. Some time later, he could not restrain Ros and Ruvoniog . Khivel ap Itel , who ruled these areas, received mortal wounds in the battle with the sons of Owain ap Edwin, who was a descendant of Owain Deheybart , and Grifid ap Keenan seized lands left without a defender.
In 1121, Maredid raided Cheshire , which caused the wrath of Henry I. Under the pressure of the British, Maredid retreated to Snowdonia and turned to Grifid for help. However, he refused to defend his recent enemy, and Maredid was forced to pay off the British by ten thousand cows. Gwynedd continued to increase pressure on Powys and seize new lands. But still, in 1132, at the battle of Llangollen, the Poissians managed to defeat the enemies and kill their leader Cadwallon, who was the son of Griffith of Guinea. Maredid did not participate in this battle. He died the same year, leaving the throne to the son of Madog .
Literature
- John Edward Lloyd. A history of Wales: from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest. - Longmans, Green & Co, 1911.