Llywelyn the Large one

Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (sometimes spelled the , or in French Léolin , 1173? - April 11th 1240) was a king of Gwynedd and a good part of the Wales.

Although one often allots to him the title of “Prince de Galles” and that it would have used the title of “Prince of all Wales of North” ( the tocius norwallie princeps or princeps Norwalliæ ), its official title was “Prince d' Aberffraw and Seigneur of Snowdonie”, first true prince de Galles being his son, Dafydd. It is also known under the name of Llywelyn Fawr (“the Large one”).

Beginnings

Llywelyn was born in 1173, probably with Dolwyddelan. He was the grandson of Owain Gwynedd. One knows almost nothing of his father, Iorwerth Drwyndwn which could die when Llywelyn was still child. His/her mother was Margaret, the girl of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys. Gwynedd was regent by his uncles, Dafydd and Rhodri, but in 1188, Llywelyn, still adolescent assembled an army against them. In 1194, helped by his/her cousins, Gruffydd and Mardudd ap Cynan, it beat Dafydd with the mouth of the river Conwy. Rhodri died in 1195, then Llywelyn ends up capturing Dafydd and expelled it out of Gwynedd. In 1199, it took the castle of Mold.

Reinforcement

In 1205, it reinforced its political position by marrying Jeanne of England, girl illegitimate of the king Jean of England. It had before negotiated with the Pape Innocent III its marriage with the widow of its uncle Rhodri, the girl of Reginald, the king of the island of Man. But when the occasion arised to marry Jeanne, it will give up this project.

Its principal rival of the time in Wales was then Gwenwynwyn ab Owain of Powys. When this one scrambled with king Jean in 1208, Llywelyn benefitted from it to attach to its kingdom southernmost Powys as well as the septentrional Ceredigion. In 1210 the relations between Llywelyn and king Jean envenimèrent themselves and this last restored the authority of Gwenwynwyn. In 1211, Jean invades Gwynedd and Llywelyn lost all its grounds of the east of the Conwy river.

In 1212, it was combined with other Welsh kings and managed to recover the majority of these territories. In 1213 it took the castles of Deganwy and Rhuddlan. Llywelyn was combined then with the barons who had constrained Jean to sign the Magna Carta. It captured Shrewsbury in 1215. This same year, Ednyfed Fychan was named seneshal of Gwynedd and collaborated in a very narrow way with the reign of Llywelyn.

Llywelyn was placed like the sovereign of the independent Welsh kings and captured Carmarthen, Cardigan and Cligerran. In Aberdyfi in 1216 it raised what one could call a Welsh Parliament in which claims territorial of each lord of less importance were considered to be. During the same year, Gwenwynwn was combined to king Jean, but was again expelled, this time definitively, of southernmost Powys.

With died from king Jean in 1218, Llywelyn concludes with its successor, Henri III, the peace treaty of Worcester, which ensured the legitimacy of its conquests to him.

In 1220 started the hostilities with Guillaume Marshall, baron of Pembroke. Llywelyn shaved the castles of Narberth and Wiston and burned the town of Haverfordwest. It besieged the castle of Pembroke, but agreed to give up in the exchange of 100 pounds. At the time of a counter-attack of Marshalls, it lost Cardigan and Carmarthen in 1223.

In 1228, Hubert de Burgh accepted the seigniory and the castle of Montgomery of the hands of Henri III and started to threaten the grounds of Llywelyn. Henri III raised an army to help Hubert while this last made build a castle in the county of Ceri. Nevertheless, in October, the royal army had to beat a retreat and Henry III made destroy the castle with half built in exchange of 2000 pounds paid by Llywelyn. Llywelyn required exactly the same amount for the ransom of Guillaume de Braose, lord of Abergavenny, that it had captured during the battle.

In 1231, Llywelynn started to worry about the increase in capacity in Hubert de Burgh. Some of its men had been done prisoners and decapitated by the garrison of Montgomery. Llywelyn burned Montgomery, Hay, Radnor and Brecon as reprisals before turning to the west and capturing the castles of Neath and Kidwelly. It completed its countryside by taking the castle of Cardigan. Henri III counteracted while launching an invasion and by building a castle Painscastle, but he did not manage to penetrate very deeply in Wales. The negotiations continued until in 1232, then in 1233 an argument burst between Richard Marshall, which had succeeded Guillaume as baron de Pembroke, and Henri III. Llywelyn benefitted from it to be combined with him against the crown.

In 1234, Henri III made a two years truce with Llywelyn by signing the treaty of Middle. Llywelyn kept Cardigan and Builth and the treaty was renewed year by year until the end of its reign.

Llywelyn was a famous manufacturer of castles. Among its chiefs of work appear the castle of Deganwy and Castell there Bere.

Matrimonial problems

The marriage of Llywelyn and Jeanne was not common. After the birth of the legitimate heir, Dafydd ap Llywelyn and of a girl, Elen (which married the baron Normand of Chester), Jeanne misled Llywelyn with Guillaume de Braose (or Breos) noble Norman of the south of Wales which had been combined with Llywelyn by offering his/her Isabella daughter to the son of Llywelyn, Dafydd. When of Braose was surprised in the room of Jeanne in 1230, Llywelyn made it hang. This punishment was deliberately humiliating insofar as it were reserved for the Roturier S or the cases of high-treason. Jeanne was imprisoned, but she was forgiven and found her row of princess. She died in 1237.

Preparations with the succession

In its last years, Llywelyn did many efforts in order to make sure that his/her only legitimate son, Dafydd, inherit Gwynedd, and to prevent that the kingdom is not divided between him and his/her half-brother, Gruffydd, which according to the Welsh law had equal rights on the heritage. Llywelyn was opposed to this tradition by naming Dafydd its single heir. He considered that the Welsh habit ensuring of the rights equal to the heritage for the male heirs prevented a policy of union of effective Wales. In 1238, it held a council with the abbey of Strata Florida where it enjoignit the other Welsh kings to swear fidelity with Dafydd. It enjoignit also with the Pope Honorius III to declare his wife Jeanne girl legitimates of king Jean, always in a concern of sitting the position of Dafydd.

Died and succession

Llywelyn died in 1240 with the abbey of Aberconwy which it had founded. This one was then moved in Maenan, close to Llanrwst and the funerary stele of Llywelyn can be seen with the parish church of Llanrwst.

His/her bastard son, Gruffydd committed suicide while trying to escape from the tower of London in 1244, thus leaving the free field to Dafydd, but this last died without heir in 1246. Its nephew Llywelyn the Last, the son of Gruffydd, succeeded to him.

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