Owain ap Griefid ( val. Owain ap Gruffydd ), also known as Owain Gwyned ( val. Owain Gwynedd ) or Owain Gwindur ( val. Owain Gwyndwr ) (c. 1100 - 28 November 1170 ) - ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Gwyned . Sometimes also called Owain I of Gwynedi or Owain I of Welsh . Sometimes it is considered the most successful ruler of North Wales among all those who ruled before his grandson, Llywelyn the Great . Owain Gwynedd (or, more precisely, Gwynedi) is called to distinguish him from his contemporaries, the ruler of Powys Owain ap Griffides, also known as Owain Kivailiog . Owain Gwynedd belonged to the house of Aberfrau , the eldest branch of the descendants of Rodri the Great .
Owain an Grifid | |||||||
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vallo Owain ap Gruffydd | |||||||
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Together with | Kadvaladr an Grifid ( 1137 - 1143 ) | ||||||
Predecessor | Grifid ap Keenan | ||||||
Successor | David ap Owain Mailgun ap Owain Rodrie ap Owain | ||||||
Birth | OK. 1100 | ||||||
Death | November 28, 1170 | ||||||
Burial place | Bangor Cathedral | ||||||
Rod | |||||||
Father | Grifid ap Keenan | ||||||
Mother | Angharad top Owain | ||||||
Spouse | Gvladis top Llivarh, Christine top Hron | ||||||
Children | , , , , , , , , and | ||||||
Religion | Christianity | ||||||
Content
Early years
Father Owain Grifidus ap Keenan was a strong ruler who, over 62 years of his reign, succeeded in making the Kingdom of Gwynedd a leading player on the Welsh political scene. The center of power of his kingdom was the island of Anglesey . Owain's mother, Angharad, was daughter of Owain ap Edwina . Owain was the second of the three sons of Griffid and Angharad.
It is assumed that Owain was born in Anglesey around 1100. By 1120, the Grifid was already old and could not lead the troops into battle, so that the role of commanders was already played by his children: Cadwallon , Owain and Cadvaladr . They successfully fought with the Normans, and with other Welsh rulers. The eldest son of Gruffyd Cadwallon died in a battle with Powys in 1132 , after which Owain became the heir to the Gwyneda throne. Owain and Kadvaladr entered into an alliance with the Griffed ap Rhys, the ruler of Deheubartes, and inflicted a heavy defeat on the Norwegian Krieg-Mour near Cardigan in 1136 . After this, Ceredigion was annexed to the possession of Griffid ap Kinan.
Coming to the throne and the early wars
After the death of Griffid in 1137, Owain inherited his possessions, but was forced to share them with his brother Cadvaladr. In 1143, Cadvaladr was implicated in the murder of the ruler of Deheybart Anaraud ap Griffides , and Owain sent his son Hivel to deprive Kadvaladra of all lands in the north of Ceredigion. Although Owain and Cadvaladr later reconciled, Owain remained the sole ruler of most of north Wales. In 1155, Cadvaladr went into exile.
Owain took advantage of the civil war in England between supporters of Stephen and Matilda to push the eastern border of Gwynedd as far as possible. In 1146, he captured the castle in Molde , and in 1150 , the castle of Rudlan and approached the borders of Powys. The ruler of Pouisa Madog ap Maredid, with the help of Ranulf, Count of Chester, gave him the battle of Coleshill, but Owain won the victory.
War with Henry II
In 1154, Henry II joined the English throne. In 1157, he invaded Gwynedd with the support of Madog ap Maredid and Owain's brother, Cadaladra. Initially, Heinrich was persecuted by failures: he almost died in a skirmish near Basingwerk , and the fleet he sent landed on Anglesey, but was defeated. However, Owain was forced to conclude an agreement with Henry and cede Rudlan and other lands in the east to him.
In 1160, Madog ap Maredid died, which enabled Owain to return the eastern lands. In 1163, in alliance with Rhys ap the Grifid , the ruler of Deheibart, he came out against the British. In 1165, Heinrich again invaded Gwynedd, but set off not by the usual route along the northern shore, but left Oswestry and headed over the Berwyn Hills . He was met by the Allied forces of the Welsh rulers, at the head of which was Owain. Nevertheless, the big battle did not happen, as the severe weather conditions and supply difficulties forced Heinrich to retreat. In retaliation, the English king ordered the crippling of several Welsh hostages, among whom were two sons of Owain.
Heinrich no longer invaded Gwynedd, and Owain succeeded in restoring his conquests in the east. In 1167, he regained Rudlan after a three-month siege.
Church disputes and heirs
The last years of Owain's life were in disputes with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Beckett , over the appointment of a new bishop of Bangor . When this pulpit was freed, Owain succeeded in having its protege of Arthur Bardsey chosen for it. The archbishop refused to make this decision, and Arthur was ordained in Ireland. The dispute continued, and officially the department continued to be empty for a long time after the death of Owain. In addition, Owain was forced to fight the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope because they refused to recognize his marriage to his second wife, Christine, who was his cousin, which was not allowed by canon law . Owain died in 1170 , and although he was excommunicated , he was buried in the Cathedral of Bangor . In The Princes Chronicle ( Brut y Tywysogion ), it is noted that he died "after countless victories, undefeated from his youth."
It is believed that by the request of Owain, the propaganda Life of Grifid ap Quinan was written, his father. After the death of Owain, war broke out between his sons. Owain was married twice. His first wife was Gvladis top Llivarh ap Trahayarn. They had two sons: Milgun ap Owain Gwynedd and Iorvert Druindun , father of Llywelyn the Great . Christine gave Owain three sons, including David and Rhodri . In addition, Owain had several illegal sons who, according to Welsh laws, also had the right to the throne, if their father had recognized them.
Heirs
Owain appointed his beloved son Rin his successor, but he died in 1147 , which plunged his father into great sorrow. After that, Khivel became the heir, but after Owain's death, he was expelled to Ireland by the sons Christine David and Rhodri. He later returned to Wales with the Irish army, but was killed in the battle of Parenty . David and Rhodri shared Gwynedd among themselves, but Owain's grandson Llywelyn the Great reunited the country.
- Children
- Rin (died in 1147)
- Hivel (died in 1170)
- Yorkvert Druindun (died 1177)
- Mailgun
- Gwenlyan top Owain
- David
- Rodrie
- Anharad top Owain
- Margaret top Owain
- Yufan
- Keenan
- Riride
- Madaug
- Kinurig
- Gwenlian The Younger
- Ecion
- Iago
- Fhilip
- Cadell
- Roppert
- Was going
See also
- Madog ap Owain Gwynedd , Owain ’s legendary son, allegedly discovered America and settled there.
Literature
- John Edward Lloyd. The history of the Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest . London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1911.
- KL Maund (ed.). Gruffudd ap Cynan: a collaborative biography . Boydell Press, 1996. ISBN 0-85115-389-5
Links
- Jones Pierce, Thomas Owain Gwynedd (English) . Welsh Biography Online . The National Library of Wales. The appeal date is February 14, 2010. Archived on February 23, 2012.