Maelienydd, sometimes speltMaeliennydd, was acantref andlordship in east centralWales covering the area from theRiver Teme toRadnor Forest and the area aroundLlandrindod Wells. The area, which is mainly upland, is now inPowys. During the Middle Ages it was part of the region known asRhwng Gwy a Hafren (English:Between theWye and theSevern) and its administrative centre was atCefnllys Castle.
According to historic manuscripts, the region between the Wye and the Severn was once regarded as a unit. Manuscripts use various alternative spellings for this, such as Ferlix, Fferllys, Fferleg, and Fferreg; in hisHanes Cymru, the historianJohn Davies argued, based on these alternatives, that it was probably namedFferyllwg, and that the name may refer to ironworkers (Fferyll in Welsh).
Welsh tradition (as reported for example by the1844 Topographical Dictionary of Wales), claims that Ferlix was part of the realm of KingCaradoc (more usually associated withGwent), but on his death, the realm was divided between his sons; Cawdraf received Ferlix, while Meurig received the rest of the realm, as Gwent. In any case, manuscripts give Tangwydd ap Tegid, an 8th-century ruler of Ferlix, the following pedigree:
Welsh annals claim that during the reign of Tangwydd's father, Tegid, theMercians seized parts of Ferlix, by constructingOffa's Dyke through it. For unclear reasons, Tangwydd also became ruler ofBrycheiniog, which lay adjacent to Ferlix; Elisse ap Rhain, the previous king of Brycheiniog, only had daughters, so it is possible that Tangwydd obtained Brycheiniog by marriage.
Hwgan, Tangwydd's son and successor, attempted to invade Mercia, while KingEdward the Elder was distracted by theViking invasion; Hwgan, however, hadn't reckoned with Edward's sister,Æthelflæd, who lead an army against him. Æthelflæd defeated Hwgan, in battle, then invaded his lands, captured Hwgan's castle (in Brycheiniog). and took his wife prisoner.[1] Hwgan decided to form an alliance with the Vikings, but died soon after, while defendingDerby (at the time held by the Vikings) from the Saxons.
As Hwgan had been an aggressor against the Saxons, his son Dryffin was forced by KingÆthelstan to pay tribute, and was deposed from Ferlix. He was replaced byElystan Glodrydd, Æthelstan's god-son (and namesake), united Ferlix with his existing realm ofBuellt; Dryffin and his heirs would now only rule in Brycheiniog. Elystan was succeeded by his son, Cadwgan, who was succeeded by his eldest son, Idnerth; a younger son gave rise to theCadogan family, who were raised to the nobility many centuries later.
Following theNorman conquest of England in 1066 many Welsh princes, who owed allegiance to the Saxon kings, assisted anti-Norman revolts such as that ofEadric the Wild. Hence, in 1080, when a revolt broke out in Northern England,the Normans pre-emptively occupied Wales to prevent any further Welsh assistance to the Saxons. In turn, this led to a Welsh revolt in 1094, but by the end of the century it was successfully suppressed by a number of Norman magnates; the northern parts of Ferlix were conquered byRanulph de Mortimer.[2] He founded the castles ofDinieithon (near presentLlandrindod Wells) andCymaron (betweenLlanbister andLlangunllo).
Ranulph's daughter (Hawise) had marriedStephen of Aumale, the cousin ofWilliam Rufus, the King. In 1095, Ranulph took part in an unsuccessful conspiracy to replace the king with his son-in-law, and was consequently exiled. Idnerth was able to recover his lands in northern Ferlix; he reached agreement withPhilip de Braose, the conqueror of southern Ferlix, to regain most of the remainder, but had to consent to Braose retaining Buellt and the area aroundNew Radnor. Idnerth passed his lands to his son,Madog, but when Madog died, in 1140, Ferlix was divided between Madog's sons.
The exile of Ranulph and his family had continued throughout this time, due to supporting a rival of William's brother (and successor)Henry (namely,Robert Curthose theDuke of Normandy).[3] After Henry's death, in 1135, Ranulph's family supported the successful invasion of England byStephen of Blois, and were able to return. In 1142, once forces loyal toEmpress Matilda (the legitimate heir of King Henry) managed to capture Stephen, and Stephen's partisans began to abandon his cause,Hugh de Mortimer (grandson of Ranulph) invaded northern Ferlix, killing Hywel and Cadwgan, sons of Madog, in the process. In 1144, Hugh repaired Cymaron Castle, and from this base, two years later, he invaded the south of Ferlix, leading to the death of Maredudd, another of Madog's sons.
After 1148, Matilda's sonHenry gradually weakened Stephen's position, and eventually was acknowledged his heir; in 1155 Henry became king. During this period, Henry's growing political strength enabled him to force Hugh to surrender his Welsh castles. The two remaining sons of Madog had by now re-divided Ferlix between them;Cadwallon received the northern half, which became Maelienydd, while his brother,Einion Clud, ruled the southern half, which becameElfael.
In 1176 Cadwallon foundedCwmhir Abbey. In 1179, Cadwallon visited KingHenry II of England (for reasons which do not survive). Upon his return, on 22 September, he was killed by some retainers of Hugh de Mortimer's son,Roger; the king was outraged, and imprisoned Roger for 3 years.
Maelienydd was inherited by Cadwallon's son,Maelgwn ap Cadwallon (not to be confused with Maelgwn ap Cadwallon ofGwynedd, also known as Maelgwn Gwynedd, who lived centuries before), but King Henry seized Cymaron castle, to use the income from its lands to pay back large debts that Cadwallon owed him.[4] When Roger Mortimer was released, he seized much of Maelienydd, including Cymaron, though Maelgwn was able to recover it with the help ofRhys ap Gruffydd, prince ofDeheubarth, his cousin's father-in-law; Maelgwn had opted to become a vassal of Rhys, in order to increase his ability to resist Mortimer. One of the main versions ofWelsh law, theCyfnerth Redaction, is thought to originate from Maelienydd during this time.
King Henry was succeeded byRichard the Lionheart, who soon decided to drive forward theThird Crusade. On 5 March 1188,Gerald of Wales visited Ferlix with Baldwin, the Archbishop of Canterbury, seeking soldiers for theThird Crusade; they met Maelgwn at his castle ofCrug Eryr (described by Gerald as 'Cruker'), and convinced him totake the cross (i.e. join the crusade) like his cousin Einion o'r Porth (ruler of Elfael and son of Einion Clud) had done a few days earlier.[5]
Richard's absence during the crusade allowed Rhys to increase his already great dominance over other Welsh princes, establishing effective hegemony; when Richard returned he was determined to restrain Rhys. Shortly thereafter, the murder of Einion (himself recently returned from Crusade) by Gwalter, his own brother, lead to military intervention by the Sheriff of Hereford (William de Braose); when Rhys opposed this, the king had the excuse he needed to suppress the power of Deheubarth. Local Norman magnates were provided with troops by the king, to invade lands under the sway of Deheubarth; Roger Mortimer was the magnate who attacked Maelienydd, and by 1200 had conquered it. In that year, Roger granted a charter of liberties to Cwmhir Abbey.
Maelgwn and his brother, Hywel, found refuge in Gwynedd. Maelgwn died in exile, two years later.
In 1210, Hywel, and Maelgwn's eldest son, Madog, came to an accommodation with Roger Mortimer. However, two years later, they murdered William de Mora, soKing John had them executed (by hanging) at Bridgnorth. Maelgwn's remaining sons – Cadwallon and Maredudd – inherited the land, and vengefully became vassals of Gwynedd, the dominant state in North Wales, ruled byLlywelyn Fawr. In 1230,Ralph Mortimer, Roger's son and heir, married Llywelyn's daughter. Ten years later, however, following the repudiation of theTreaty of Gwerneigron by Llywelyn's son and successor,Dafydd, Ralph invaded Maelienydd. In 1242, he constructedCefnllys Castle at the former site of Dineithon.
In 1247, the grievances of Gwynedd were settled by theTreaty of Woodstock. Two years later, Maelgwn's grandsons (Maredudd ap Maelgwn, and Hywel ap Cadwallon, not to be confused with the hanged Hywel), petitioned the king to be restored to part of Maelienydd –Ceri; despite the advice of the king's advisors, who pointed out Maredudd and Hywel's past support for Gwynedd's rebellion, this seems to have been granted.
Nevertheless, a few years later the subsequent Gwyneddian prince,Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (grandson of Llywelyn Fawr), became aggrieved by Henry III's suggestion of adjusting the Treaty of Woodstock to provide for Llywelyn's younger brother, who had now reached adulthood. Llywelyn attacked thePerfeddwlad, which was held by Henry's son,Edward. Henry's problems with his barons (eventually leading to theSecond Barons' War) prevented him from fully resisting Llywelyn's campaign, so Llywelyn took advantage by expanding Gwynedd's power even further. In 1262 Maelienydd fell to Llywelyn.
In 1275, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd marriedEleanor de Montfort, the daughter of Henry's greatest enemy. Aggrieved by this, Edward, the new king, declared Llywelyn a rebel, and in 1277 attacked Gwynedd with an enormous army. Llywelyn was forced to agree, by theTreaty of Aberconwy, to limit his authority to Gwynedd alone. Maelienydd was given to Llywelyn Fawr's other grandson,Roger Mortimer, the son of Ralph; this hence became aMarcher Lordship, outside of either English or Welsh law; Maredudd's son, Madog, however, was confirmed in possession of Ceri, which was detached from Maelienydd as a distinct Marcher Lordship.[6] Madog's son married Einion o r Porth's granddaughter.
In 1282, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd again attacked Edward's lands, and was subsequently killed in Buellt, while attacking the local castle; his headless body was buried in Cwmhir Abbey. As the forces of Ceri had sided with Llywelyn, Ceri was declared forfeit, and handed to Roger. Strictly speaking, however, Ceri was not the last part of Ferlix to be dominated by the family of Elystan Glodrydd. In the 15th century, the descendant and heir of Roger Mortimer,Richard Plantagenet, appointed Ieuan ap Philip as castellan of Cefnllys; Ieuan was a scion of the Cadogan family, and thus a direct male descendant of Elystan Glodrydd, by a cadet branch
In 1277, Elfael had been acquired by theTosny family, apart from the area aroundRadnor, which had been given to Roger Mortimer (in right of his wife, Maud de Braose, heir of Philip de Braose). By the 15th century, the Tosny lordship had been inherited byMargaret Beauchamp of Bletso, whose grandson,Henry, married Richard Plantagenet's granddaughter, and heir,Elizabeth of York. Ferlix was therefore re-united when Maelienydd, Radnor, and the rest of Elfael, was inherited by Henry and Elizabeth's son,King Henry VIII. Following Henry VIII'sLaws in Wales Acts, Ferlix became the main part ofRadnorshire. The name survives for the general area.
Maelienydd was subdivided into fourcommotes:
Elystan Glodrydd & Rhwng Gwy a Hafren:http://www.elystan.co.uk
Mortimer History: The Welsh Marches:https://mortimerhistory.com/medieval-mortimers/chapter-2/
