Deheubarth, 1 January 1200

The kingdom of the south-west that the Lord Rhys made the strongest power in Wales between 1155 and his death on 28 April 1197.

His sons have torn it apart. Gruffydd, the heir, was captured by Maelgwn and Gwenwynwyn in 1197 and held by the English at Corfe; freed in 1198, he took back Ceredigion and in 1199 Cilgerran. Maelgwn, left with Cardigan and Ystrad Meurig, sold Cardigan to King John in the summer of 1199 in return for the king's recognition of his claim to Ceredigion. On 1 January 1200 Gruffydd holds Dinefwr, Cantref Mawr and most of Ceredigion; Maredudd holds Cantref Bychan; Maelgwn holds Ystrad Meurig; the king holds Cardigan and Carmarthen; the Marcher lords have retaken most of what Rhys held in Dyfed and the middle March.

Who rules

Name: Gruffydd ap Rhys, contested by his brother Maelgwn ap Rhys
Title: Prince of South Wales (the heir's title)
Since: 28 April 1197, the death of their father Rhys ap Gruffydd (the Lord Rhys)
Born: Not pinned
Family: The Lord Rhys left many sons: legitimate Gruffydd (his heir, married to Maud de Braose since 1189, sons Rhys Ieuanc and Owain) and Maelgwn; and Rhys Gryg, Maredudd (lord of Cantref Bychan, killed July 1201), Hywel Sais (died 1204 of wounds from Maelgwn's men) and others; daughters married into the March and Wales, among them Angharad, wife of William FitzMartin of Cemais. The Lord Rhys's sister Gwladus was mother of Morgan ap Caradog of Afan.
Confidence: high

Wikipedia (Gruffydd ap Rhys II; Maelgwn ap Rhys; Rhys Gryg); DWB; the Cardigan charter of 3 December 1199.

Overlord

None in practice; Gruffydd was recognised by the justiciar Hubert Walter in 1197; Maelgwn is John's client

What the realm holds

Cantref Mawr and Dinefwr (Gruffydd)
Ceredigion except Cardigan and Ystrad Meurig (Gruffydd, contested)
Cilgerran (Gruffydd, since 1199)
Cantref Bychan and Llandovery (Maredudd)
Ystrad Meurig (Maelgwn)

How it was acquired

Inheritance and war.

Allies and rivals

Gruffydd: allied with his father-in-law William de Braose and his brother Rhys Gryg; enemy of Maelgwn and Gwenwynwyn. Maelgwn: John and Gwenwynwyn. Gerald of Wales (a grandson of Nest, the Lord Rhys's aunt) names Gruffydd among the princes who back his cause.

The realm that morning

Divided; Gruffydd strongest; Cardigan in royal hands since July 1199.

Wealth

Cattle and the lowland townships of Ystrad Tywi and Ceredigion; the Cistercian abbeys of Strata Florida and Whitland; the Premonstratensians of Talley.

Military

The Deheubarth teulu and levies; stone castles at Dinefwr and Cilgerran.

Threats

Civil war between the brothers
The royal garrisons of Cardigan and Carmarthen
William Marshal's claim to Cilgerran

Officers

Not pinned. The bishops of St Davids were the princes' great churchmen; the see is vacant since July 1198 and the chapter's choice, Gerald of Wales, is fighting at Rome for it.

Court winter 1199 in 1200

Gruffydd at Dinefwr or in Ceredigion (not pinned).

Treaties and truces

Maelgwn's bargain with John over Cardigan (1199). No agreement recorded between Gruffydd and the king for 1199-1200.

Rome and interdict

The princes back St Davids' claim to be an archbishopric (campaign notes). Gerald of Wales, the chapter's choice, was at Rome on 1 January 1200 or on the road there (GM ruling 8): his first visit to Rome is dated 1199-1200; the day of his arrival is not pinned in what we could check.

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 1201Maredudd is killed in Carnwyllion; Gruffydd takes Cantref Bychan.Depends on: A raid Stopped by: Peace
25 July 1201Gruffydd dies; Maelgwn seizes Cilgerran and presses his nephews Rhys and Owain.Depends on: Natural death Stopped by: Play
1204Rhys Gryg and his nephews drive Maelgwn out of Ystrad Tywi; William Marshal takes Cilgerran.Depends on: Maelgwn's overreach Stopped by: A family settlement

Places of note

Dinefwr: Chief seat
Strata Florida: Burial church of the dynasty

Where the sources disagree

GM ruling 8 (Gerald of Wales): Wikipedia dates his first Roman stay to 1199-1200 without a day; we found no source placing him outside Rome on 1 January 1200. Leaning: in Rome.

Evidence: Chronicle years plus two royal acts of 1199-1200.

Primary sources for this realm

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.