Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd
Encyclopedia
Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd was the third son of Gruffydd ap Cynan
Gruffydd ap Cynan
Gruffydd ap Cynan was a King of Gwynedd. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was remembered as King of all Wales...

, King of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...

, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and younger brother of Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd ap Gruffydd , in English also known as Owen the Great, was King of Gwynedd from 1137 until his death in 1170. He is occasionally referred to as "Owain I of Gwynedd"; and as "Owain I of Wales" on account of his claim to be King of Wales. He is considered to be the most successful of...

.

Appearance in history

Cadwaladr first appears in the historical record in 1136, when following the killing of the lord of Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...

, Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare, he accompanied his brother Owain Gwynedd in an invasion of Ceredigion. They captured five castles in the north of Ceredigion then later in the year launched a second invasion, inflicting a heavy defeat on the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 at the Battle of Crug Mawr
Battle of Crug Mawr
The Battle of Crug Mawr took place in September or October 1136, as part of a struggle for control of Ceredigion which had been captured by the Normans....

, just outside Cardigan
Cardigan, Ceredigion
Cardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Mid Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire. It is the second largest town in Ceredigion. The town's population was 4,203...

. In 1137 they captured Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....

. He later married Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare's daughter Alice (Adelize) de Clare and had issue with her.

Gruffydd ap Cynan died in 1137 and was succeeded by Owain Gwynedd, his eldest surviving son. Cadwaladr was given lands in northern Ceredigion. Cadwaladr joined with Ranulph, Earl of Chester
Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester
Ranulf II was an Anglo-Norman potentate who inherited the honour of the palatine county of Chester upon the death of his father Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester...

 in the attack on Lincoln
Battle of Lincoln (1141)
The Battle of Lincoln or First Battle of Lincoln occurred on 2 February 1141. In it Stephen of England was captured, imprisoned and effectively deposed while Empress Matilda ruled for a short time.-Account:...

 in 1141, when King Stephen of England was taken prisoner. This alliance was probably linked to Cadwaladr's marriage to Alice de Clare, daughter of Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare.

In 1143 Cadwaladr's men killed Anarawd ap Gruffydd
Anarawd ap Gruffydd
- Lineage :Anarawd was the eldest son of Gruffydd ap Rhys. On the death of his father in 1137 Anarawd took over the rule of Deheubarth.- Resistance :...

 of Deheubarth by treachery, apparently on Cadwaladr's orders. Owain Gwynedd responded by sending his son Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd Wales Prince of Gwynedd in 1170, a Welsh poet and military leader. Hywel was the son of Owain Gwynedd, prince of Gwynedd, and an Irishwoman named Pyfog. In recognition of this, he was also known as Hywel ap Gwyddeles...

 to deprive Cadwaladr of his lands in Ceredigion. Cadwaladr fled to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 where he hired a fleet from Óttar
Óttar of Dublin
Óttar of Dublin , in Irish Oitir Mac mic Oitir , was a Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin. Alternative names used in modern scholarship include: Óttar of the Isles and Óttar Óttarsson.-Life:...

 the Norse-Gael king of Dublin and landed at Abermenai in 1144 in an attempt to force Owain to return his lands. Cadwaladr apparently abandoned or escaped from his allies and made peace with his brother, who obliged the Dubliners to leave.

In 1147 Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd and his brother Cynan drove Cadwaladr from his remaining lands in Meirionnydd
Meirionnydd
Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a cantref, a district and, as Merionethshire, a county.-Kingdom:...

. A further quarrel with his brother Owain led to Cadwaladr being driven into exile in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, where King Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

 later gave him lands at Hess in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

.

Henry II's time

When Henry II invaded Gwynedd in 1157 the terms of the peace agreement between him and Owain Gwynedd included the stipulation that Cadwaladr should be given back his lands. From this time on Cadwaladr was careful to cooperate closely with his brother, helping him to capture Rhuddlan
Rhuddlan Castle
Rhuddlan Castle is a castle located in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, Wales. It was erected by Edward I in 1277 following the First Welsh War.-Construction:Rhuddlan was planned as a concentric castle...

 and Prestatyn
Prestatyn Castle
An earth mound, visible in fields to the south of the Prestatyn railway station, near Nant Hall, marks the site of an early wooden motte and bailey castle. Prestatyn Castle occupies a low-lying position, but still commands a view across much of the flat coastal plain and guarded the coast road...

 castles in 1167.

Cadwaladr survived his brother by two years, dying in 1172. He was buried alongside Owain in Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral is an ancient place of Christian worship situated in Bangor, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol....

.

Children

Cadwaladr had seven sons with three different wives;
  • Cadfan ap Cadwaladr (with first wife)
  • Cunedda ap Cadwaladr (with second wife)
  • Rhicert ap Cadwaladr (with second wife)
  • Ralph ap Cadwaladr (with second wife)
  • Cadwgan ap Cadwaladr (with third wife Tangwystl)
  • Maredudd ap Cadwaladr (with third wife)
  • Cadwallon ap Cadwaladr (with third wife)

Fiction

Cadwaladr's attempt to reclaim his lands with the help of a Danish fleet in 1144 forms the background to The summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters in the Brother Cadfael series.
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