Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf c.1225-1282
Who was Llywelyn ein Llyw Olaf?...
One could look at the history of “Llywelyn y llyw olaf” or to use his correct name of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, as sad and harsh. Everyone remembers the significant event at Cilmeri in December 1282, but the story is complex and has taken the past seven centuries to become clear. Llywelyn was one of four sons and tracing the history of the last princes of Gwynedd does not end in Wales, but in front of Montagne Castle near Bordeaux, France nearly a hundred years after Llywelyn’s death.
The stories of the brothers Owain, Llywelyn, Dafydd and Rhodri show how the English under Henry III and Edward I unsettled the principality of Gwynedd through a mixture of lawful and unlawful means.
The evidence for Dafydd ap Gruffudd is not very clear and therefore his character is the most complex of all the brothers to interpret. There is not a lot known of Dafydd’s personal motives or his vision of Wales and Gwynedd. But he cooperated with Owain to attempt to depose Llywelyn but after Owain’s 20 year imprisonment, Dafydd changed allegiance to help Llywelyn, although he still had a personal agenda.
One brother who has not had a lot of attention is Rhodri ap Gruffudd. He spent most of his childhood and teenage years as a political prisoner and was used as a bargaining tool. After 1272, he married into an english family in Cheshire and lived as an english nobleman.
The son of Rhodri, Thomas built a new house at Tatsfield, Surrey and lived there with his family. His cousin Owain, son of Dafydd ap Gruffudd did not fair so well. He was kept as a prisoner in Bristol Castle until his death.
The son of Thomas, Owain Lawgoch chose to fight against the english crown. He lost his estates in England and all the property on one of the them was completely demolished, to show the power of the English Crown. In 1378, Owain Lawgoch was murdered after leading an attack against the Montagne Sur Gironde castle. Although the skulls of Llywelyn and Dafydd were on show at London Bridge, it is the banks of the Gironde river that is the end of story.