6 - The Edwardian conquest

Summary

Llywelyn ap Gruffydd came to power under distinctly unfavourable auspices. He shared power with his eldest brother, Owain Goch, as protégés of the English king. In the interest of re-establishing a strong, unitary kingdom of Gwynedd, he strove to disinherit his brothers. At one point, in 1267, he secured unprecedented recognition from Henry III as prince of Wales. In 1277 he was forced into a defeat which has been universally recognised as a humiliation, his princely standing was deliberately diminished and his power in Wales was truncated. Five years later in 1282, when his brother Dafydd rebelled against English domination, he had no choice but to join the revolt and make himself its leader. He died in a minor skirmish, and no one was able to salvage anything of the independence which he had achieved. Yet this bare record of strife, brief success and ultimate failure does not do full justice to the man. Much as he and the ambitions of his dynasty were feared by rival Welsh families, the force of his personality made its mark. The charm which, in Dafydd, was linked with bold speech and venturesome action, was yoked in him with cooler judgement and greater political acumen. His primary objective was to see Gwynedd strong and independent, but part of the means by which this was to be achieved was to subject other princely dynasties to himself.