The Lord Rhys's ablest and most violent son and Gruffydd's bitterest enemy.
With Gwenwynwyn's help he took Aberystwyth and captured Gruffydd in 1197. When Gruffydd came back in 1198 he lost everything but the castles of Cardigan and Ystrad Meurig, and in 1199, about the feast of St Mary Magdalene (22 July) by the chronicle, he sold Cardigan, 'the key of all Wales', to the English for little profit, out of fear and hatred of his brother, in return for John's recognition of his right to Ceredigion. By 3 December 1199 the king was granting charters to the burgesses of Cardigan.
Who he is
- Name
- Maelgwn ap Rhys
- Title
- Lord in Ceredigion (by John's grant)
- Since
- Returned from exile in 1197; held Cardigan and Ystrad Meurig against Gruffydd from 1198; sold Cardigan to John in 1199
- Born
- About 1170
- Family
- Son of the Lord Rhys and Gwenllian; son Maelgwn Fychan. Wife not pinned. A prisoner 1189-94 (handed by Gruffydd to William de Braose in 1189); with his brother Hywel he imprisoned their father at Nevern in 1194.
- Confidence
- high
Wikipedia (Maelgwn ap Rhys); DWB; the Cardigan burgess charter of 3 December 1199; the Strata Florida confirmation naming the commote of Cardigan as remitted by Maelgwn to the king.
Overlord
King John (he is the king's man since the Cardigan bargain)
What it holds
- Ystrad Meurig castle in mid-Ceredigion
- John's grant of the lordship of Ceredigion (a title he must win from Gruffydd)
How it was acquired
By war (1197) and by the bargain with John (1199).
Allies and rivals
Allies: Gwenwynwyn of Powys; King John. Rival: Gruffydd; later his nephews Rhys Ieuanc and Owain.
How things stand that morning
Holds Ystrad Meurig and little else; Cardigan has passed to the king.
Wealth
Little in hand; the dues of the commotes round Ystrad Meurig.
Military
His own war-band and Gwenwynwyn's help.
Threats
- Gruffydd
- The Welsh of Ceredigion, who resent the sale of Cardigan
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.
- July 1201 onwardOn Gruffydd's death Maelgwn seizes Cilgerran and much of Deheubarth.Depends on: Gruffydd's death on 25 July 1201 Stopped by: Gruffydd surviving
- 1204William Marshal takes Cilgerran from him; his men mortally wound his brother Hywel Sais.Depends on: Marshal's campaign Stopped by: Peace with Marshal
Places of note
- Ystrad Meurig: His castle
Where the sources disagree
- The year of the Cardigan sale: Wikipedia's Maelgwn article puts the chronicle passage in its 1198 narrative; the Gruffydd article and the DWB give 1199; John's charter to the burgesses of Cardigan of 3 December 1199 shows the town in the king's hand by then. This record follows 1199.
Evidence: Chronicle plus two royal documents of 1199-1200.
On the map: His real hold beyond Ystrad Meurig is unknown.
Primary sources for Deheubarth
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 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
- Monastic Annals (Margam, Tewkesbury, Burton, Winchester, Waverley, Dunstable, Bermondsey, Worcester, Osney) (12th to 14th centuries). Nine sets of house annals, each with a short entry for 1200. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. 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
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.