Frontier town · Gwynedd · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Rhuddlan

Domesday's 'new borough' of Robert of Rhuddlan, Welsh since 1167; the Norman motte of Twthill stands empty or Welsh-held.

Who holds it

Name
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth
Title
Lord of the town
Since
See lord_1200
Confidence
medium

Lord in 1200

Llywelyn ap Iorwerth

How things stand that morning

As in the summary.

Walls and castle

See summary.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Minor place; details not researched.

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

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia: Rhuddlan

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.