Llywelyn

Who he is

Name

Llywelyn ap Iorwerth

Title

Prince of North Wales (totius Norwallie princeps in his charter of 7 January 1199)

Since

1194 (east of the Conwy, shared), 1197 (east of the Conwy, alone), Epiphany 1199 (Anglesey, Arfon, Arllechwedd)

Born

About 1173

Family

See Gwynedd. Son Gruffudd born about 1196 to Tangwystl; unmarried.

Confidence

high

Wikipedia and DWB; Pryce, Acts of Welsh Rulers (no. 218) for the charter of 7 January 1199.

Overlord

None in practice (homage to John only from July 1201)

What it holds

• Anglesey: cantrefs of Aberffraw, Rhosyr and Cemais (commotes Malltraeth, Llifon, Menai, Dindaethwy, Talybolion, Twrcelyn), llys at Aberffraw and Rhosyr
• Arfon (commotes Uwch Gwyrfai and Is Gwyrfai) and Arllechwedd (Uwch and Isaf, with Nant Conwy and Dolwyddelan), llys at Aber
• Rhos (Creuddyn with Degannwy, Rhos Uwch Dulas, Rhos Is Dulas)
• Rhufoniog (Uwch Aled, Is Aled) and Dyffryn Clwyd (Ruthin and the Vale)
• Tegeingl (Englefield) with Rhuddlan, Prestatyn and Basingwerk's neighbourhood
• The castle of Mold in Ystrad Alun (Moldsdale), taken at Epiphany 1199

How it was acquired

By war: Aberconwy 1194, Dafydd's imprisonment 1197, the battle in Arfon and Mold at Epiphany 1199.

Allies and rivals

Rivals: the sons of Cynan (Gruffudd ap Cynan, Maredudd ap Cynan); Ranulf of Chester; Gwenwynwyn. Friends: his first cousin Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor of northern Powys (Powys Fadog), close to him in these years; the Cistercians of Aberconwy; Archbishop Hubert Walter mediated in 1198.

How things stand that morning

Holds all the ground drawn here without challenge from inside Wales. The earl of Chester's men hold Hawarden and the Dee crossing; whether they are trying to retake Mold that winter is not recorded.

Wealth

The grain of Anglesey (Mon mam Cymru), cattle, the dues and food-renders of the bond townships, ferries, fisheries and wreck.

Military

His teulu and the levy of the cantrefs; earth-and-timber castles at Degannwy, Rhuddlan (Twthill) and Mold. No figures survive.

Threats

• Ranulf of Chester at Mold and in Tegeingl
• The sons of Cynan
• Dafydd ab Owain and his son in England

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1200 (day not pinned)On Gruffudd ap Cynan's death Llyn passes first to his brother Maredudd; Llywelyn takes it from him in 1201.Depends on: Gruffudd's death Stopped by: Llywelyn seizing Llyn at once

Places of note

• Aberconwy: Cistercian abbey and the prince's church
• Degannwy: Old castle of the princes on the Creuddyn, in Welsh hands
• Aber (Garth Celyn): Llys of Arllechwedd
• Rhuddlan (Twthill): Old Norman motte, Welsh since 1167
• Mold: Montalt castle taken Epiphany 1199
• Dolwyddelan: Birthplace, in Nant Conwy

Where the sources disagree

• The Mold date rests on reading 'Epiphany 1199' as January 1199; see Gwynedd.

Evidence: Years from the Brut, the Epiphany date from the 1199 charter; the commote list is the standard medieval division, not a 1200 survey.

On the map: Commote boundaries are traced from the later shire lines of Anglesey, Caernarfon, Denbigh and Flint; the Clwydian ridge is taken as the edge with Ystrad Alun and Ial.

Primary sources for Gwynedd

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Annals of Wales, Anonymous (St Davids and other Welsh houses) (10th to 13th centuries; the B and C texts continue to 1286 and 1288). Short Latin annals whose later versions are kept at St Davids and Cistercian houses. Read online
• Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
• Chronicle of the Princes, Anonymous (Welsh translation of a lost Latin chronicle kept at Strata Florida) (Latin original to about 1282, compiled from contemporary annals; Welsh versions about 1300 and later). The native Welsh record of the year. Read online
• The Patent Rolls and Close Rolls of King John (1201 to 1216 (patent), 1204 to 1227 (close), at the royal chancery). Not direct witnesses to 1200: the surviving patent rolls begin in May 1201 (3 John) and the close rolls in 1204. Read online
• The Journey through Wales; The Description of Wales, Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis) (Itinerarium 1191, revised to about 1214; Descriptio 1194). The standing description of Wales a decade before 1200: the cantrefs and their lords, the castles of the March, the bishoprics, the Welsh way of fighting and living, and Gerald's advice on how the Welsh might be conquered and how they might resist. Read online