Statue of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd at Llandovery Castle (Credit: Tim Heaton, CC BY-SA 2.0)
In Welsh history, one figure stands tall as the last native prince to rule over an independent Wales. That man is Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, who reigned as Prince of Gwynedd and Wales from 1258 until his untimely death in 1282. His rule marked the apogee of medieval Welsh power before its rapid destruction at the hands of Edward I of England.
The Rise of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was born around 1223 as the second son of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn Fawr, the elder son of Llywelyn the Great who had dominated Wales in the early 13th century. In 1240, his uncle Dafydd ap Llywelyn seized power in Gwynedd, but his rule was troubled. Llywelyn‘s elder brother Owain was killed in battle against Dafydd in 1255.
When Dafydd himself died without an heir in 1258, Llywelyn successfully claimed the throne of Gwynedd ahead of his brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd. An ambitious and energetic ruler, Llywelyn soon set about using a combination of diplomacy, alliances, and military force to expand his control over the patchwork of Welsh kingdoms.
Historian J. Beverley Smith in Llywelyn ap Gruffudd: Prince of Wales (1998) argues that Llywelyn "possessed the capacity to embody the aspirations of the native Welsh in a way that none of his predecessors had done." By the 1260s, he had gained direct rule or suzerainty over most of modern Wales.
Llywelyn‘s Unification of Wales
Llywelyn took advantage of an England distracted by the civil wars and baronial unrest of the 1260s during the turbulent reign of Henry III. Welsh chronicles depict Llywelyn as a "most prudent and wise" ruler who brought unity and stability.
According to the Brut y Tywysogion (Chronicle of the Princes):
"All Wales was bowed to his lordship…the prudent and wise prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the flower and splendor of all the Britons."
By 1267, Llywelyn had gained enough power to compel Henry III to recognize him as the pre-eminent ruler in Wales under the Treaty of Montgomery. For the first time, an English king formally acknowledged the title of "Prince of Wales", which Llywelyn now held. He was the master of a largely unified Welsh polity, albeit still under England‘s nominal overlordship.
Wales in the 13th century, with territories directly ruled by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in red (Credit: Hel-hama, CC BY-SA 3.0)
The eminent 20th century Welsh historian John Edward Lloyd praised Llywelyn‘s political and military achievements in his History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest (1911):
"[Llywelyn] brought the Welsh chieftains into a closer union than had ever before been known and taught them to look up to Gwynedd for leadership and protection as they had never done before."
Uneasy Peace and Growing Tensions
However, Llywelyn‘s relationship with England grew increasingly tense after the new king Edward I came to the throne in 1272. A bitter rivalry developed between the two rulers, with Llywelyn rejecting Edward‘s summons to pay him homage and both sides engaging in provocations and armed posturing along the Anglo-Welsh border.
Despite some brief truces and attempts at conciliation, Llywelyn remained defiant towards Edward‘s demands to submit and became estranged from his own younger brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd, who had initially sided with the English king before returning to Wales.
Clashes and Conflicts
Sporadic armed clashes broke out in the borderlands between Llywelyn‘s forces and English Marcher lords throughout the 1270s. Both the Welsh and English engaged in castle-building to fortify their frontiers and project power.
In 1276-77, Edward launched a major invasion of Gwynedd that displaced Llywelyn from his heartland before the Welsh prince submitted under the humiliating Treaty of Aberconwy. It forced Llywelyn to give up claims to territories east of the River Conwy while allowing the construction of new English castles at Flint, Rhuddlan, Builth, and Aberystwyth to encircle Gwynedd.
J. Beverley Smith notes that the Aberconwy settlement reduced Llywelyn "to a petty prince in Gwynedd, confined to the inhospitable districts of Snowdonia and Anglesey." But the Welsh prince remained restless under these restrictive terms and soon began conspiring with others to challenge England‘s increasing dominance over Wales.
The Final War and the Death of Llywelyn
In 1282, simmering tensions between the Welsh and Edward I‘s overbearing rule boiled over into a full-scale revolt. Llywelyn‘s brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd launched surprise attacks on English castles across Wales on Palm Sunday, catching the king off guard.
The charismatic Llywelyn soon threw his full support behind the rising, which spread like wildfire across Welsh territories. Edward declared Llywelyn a traitor and rapidly mobilized a massive army to crush the rebellion.
The War of 1282-83
The ensuing war saw Edward‘s forces invade Gwynedd from multiple directions while Welsh armies raided English settlements and attempted to disrupt their supply lines. Key events included:
- Capture of English-held Aberystwyth Castle by Llywelyn‘s allies in west Wales
- Burning of Llywelyn‘s Dolwyddelan Castle by the Earl of Lincoln‘s army invading from the east
- English landing on Anglesey and destruction of Llywelyn‘s court at Abergwyngregyn
- Battle of Llandeilo Fawr, where an English cavalry force destroyed by the Welsh
- Siege and capture of Dolforwyn Castle by Edward‘s forces under the Earl of Hereford
But the war turned decisively in Edward‘s favor over the winter of 1282-1283. English armies gradually overran and isolated the Welsh heartlands. Llywelyn himself was killed in a skirmish near Builth Wells on December 11, 1282 while separated from his main army.
With Llywelyn dead, the back of the Welsh resistance was broken. Dafydd ap Gruffudd carried on a guerrilla war in the mountains before his capture in June 1283. He was condemned as a traitor and horrifically executed in the English town of Shrewsbury.
The Significance of Llywelyn‘s Death
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd‘s death at Cilmeri in 1282 marked the beginning of the end of Welsh independence. Without his leadership, the powerful coalition he had built fragmented and could no longer resist Edward I‘s ruthless determination to conquer Wales completely.
The English quickly capitalized on the prince‘s demise, with Edward‘s armies fanning out across Wales to capture the remaining strongholds. Most of the other Welsh rulers quickly submitted or were defeated piecemeal over the following months.
The war was effectively over by the summer of 1283. According to the chronicle Brut y Tywysogion, Llywelyn‘s death caused "the hope of the Welsh perished and they could not contend with the king."
Illuminated manuscript from the late 13th century chronicle of Matthew Paris showing the English conquest of Wales (Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
In the war‘s aftermath, Edward set about permanently eliminating any traces of Welsh political autonomy. The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 imposed English common law and administration. New mighty castles like Caernarfon, Conwy, and Harlech now served as the symbols of the new order.
The title of Prince of Wales was appropriated by Edward for his own son, the future Edward II, in 1301. This began the tradition that continues today of bestowing it on the heir apparent to the English (later British) throne. It was a potent symbol that Wales was now firmly under the English crown‘s thumb.
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd‘s Legacy
For the Welsh people, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd‘s death remains a poignant national tragedy that marks the end of their independence in the Middle Ages. It has been seared into Welsh historical memory as a great "what if" moment.
Historian R.R. Davies in The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415 (2000) argues that Llywelyn‘s reign represented "the political apogee of the independent native principality in Wales" before its rapid destruction at Edward I‘s hands.
Later Welsh rebellions like those of Madog ap Llywelyn in 1294-95 and Owain Glyndwr in the early 15th century looked back to Llywelyn as a national hero and inspiration. His failure was not due to lack of ability, but being overwhelmed by England‘s growing military and economic power.
Memorial to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd near Cilmeri, Powys erected in 1956. A coffin sculpture represents the prince. (Credit: Llywelyn2000 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0)
While ultimately unsuccessful, Llywelyn‘s fierce defense of his lands and titles earned him an enduring place in Welsh culture. Medieval poets like Gruffudd ab yr Ynad Coch wrote elegies lamenting the prince‘s passing. The 19th century French historian Henri Martin dubbed Llywelyn "the Llewellyn, the last hero of Welsh independence."
Today, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd is remembered through memorials and cultural references across Wales. A statue of him was erected in 1985 near the ruins of his Abergwyngregyn court. The Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Memorial Prize is awarded each year for services to Wales.
Perhaps the most poignant remembrance occurs every December 11 at Cilmeri, close to where the prince fell in 1282. A ceremony involving the laying of flowers is held at the monument to mark the sad anniversary of both Llywelyn‘s death and the loss of Welsh statehood.
So while Llywelyn ap Gruffudd‘s fall marked the end of an era in 1282, he has never been forgotten by the Welsh. He remains a powerful symbol of national pride and identity even after all these centuries. His death may have ended the dream of an independent Wales in the medieval era, but not the idea of Wales itself as a nation.
Sources and Further Reading
- Beverley Smith, J. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd: Prince of Wales. University of Wales Press, 1998.
- Davies, R.R. The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415. Oxford University Press, 2000.
- Henken, Elissa R. National Redeemer: Owain Glyndŵr in Welsh Tradition. Cornell University Press, 1996.
- Lloyd, John Edward. History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest. Longmans, Green & Co., 1911.
- Walker, David. Medieval Wales. Cambridge University Press, 1990.
