Gwladus Ddu, ("Gwladus the Dark Eyes"), full nameGwladus ferch Llywelyn (died 1251) was a member of the Royal House of Gwynedd. She was a daughter ofLlywelyn the Great ofGwynedd and probablyJoan Plantagenet, Lady of Wales, the only known illegitemate daughter ofJohn, King of England.[1] Gwladus Ddu married twoMarcher lords.[2][3]
Gwladus Ddu | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gwladus ferch Llywelyn |
| Died | 1251 (1252) Windsor, Berkshire, Kingdom of England |
| Spouse(s) | Reginald de Braose (c. 1215-1228) Ralph de Mortimer (c. 1230-1246) |
| Children | 3, includingRoger |
| Parent(s) | Llywelyn the Great andJoan Plantagenet |
| Relatives | John, King of England (grandfather) Maud de Braose (daughter-in-law) |
Sources differ as to whether Gwladus was Llywelyn's legitimate daughter by his wifeJoan or an illegitimate daughter by his longterm mistressTangwystl Goch, daughter of Llywarch Goch[1] and whilst she is widely regarded to be the daughter of Joan, this may be problematic when considering the date of Llywelyn and Joan’s marriage (around 1204-05) and the date of Gwladus’ first marriage (1215).[4] Gwladus is recorded inBrut y Tywysogion as having died atWindsor in 1251.[5]
Marriage
editGwladus married firstly,Reginald de Braose, Lord ofBrecon andAbergavenny in about 1215.[4][1] After Reginald's death in 1228, she was probably the sister recorded as accompanyingDafydd ap Llywelyn toLondon in 1229.
She married secondly,Ralph de Mortimer ofWigmore in about June 1230.[6] Ralph died in 1246, and their son,Roger de Mortimer, inherited the lordship.[7][1]
Children
editGwladus had at least three sons and a daughter with her second husband Ralph de Mortimer. The current English royal family claims descent from Llywelyn the Great through this line via their son Roger.[1][8]
Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer (c. 1231 – 27 October 1282). In 1247 he marriedMaud de Braose, daughter ofWilliam de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny andEva Marshal, with whom he had seven children.[7]
Hugh de Mortimer (d. 1273), lord of Chelmarsh.[2]
Peter John Mortimer, a Franciscan friar inShrewsbury.[2]
Joan Mortimer, who c. 1253 married Piers Corbet (d. 1300), lord of Caus, Shropshire, and had two sons, Thomas andPeter Corbet, 2nd Baron Corbet.[2][9]
Legacy
editIn the 1380s, whenRoger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March was considered a possible heir to KingRichard II, Welsh bardIolo Goch referred to his descent from Welsh royalty through Gwladus Ddu as a potential prophecy.[10]
During theWars of the Roses, both theHouse of Lancaster andHouse of York used Welsh mythological traditions to strengthen their cause.Edward IV claimed descent from the Kings of Gwynedd and Llewellyn the Great via the line of Gwladus Ddu through his grandmotherAnne Mortimer to bolster his claim to the English throne.[8][10][11]
References
edit- ^abcde"Llywelyn ab Iorwerth [called Llywelyn Fawr] (c. 1173–1240), prince of Gwynedd".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/16874. Retrieved26 April 2025.
- ^abcdMortimer, Ian."Outline Lineage of the Medieval Mortimer family"(PDF).mortimer.co.uk. Retrieved12 July 2020.
- ^Hurlock, Kathryn (2009)."The Welsh wife of Malcolm, Earl of Fife (d. 1266): An Alternative Suggestion".The Scottish Historical Review.88 (226):352–355.ISSN 0036-9241.
- ^ab"JOAN (SIWAN) (died 1237), princess and diplomat | Dictionary of Welsh Biography".biography.wales. Retrieved26 April 2025.
- ^"Chronicle of the Princes - National Library of Wales".www.library.wales. Retrieved26 April 2025.
- ^Matonis, A. T. E. (1988)."The Harley Lyrics: English and Welsh Convergences".Modern Philology.86 (1):1–21.ISSN 0026-8232.
- ^ab"Mortimer, Roger de, lord of Wigmore (1231–1282), magnate".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19352. Retrieved26 April 2025.
- ^abMatonis, A. T. E. (1978)."Traditions of Panegyric in Welsh Poetry: The Heroic and the Chivalric".Speculum.53 (4):667–687.doi:10.2307/2849780.ISSN 0038-7134.
- ^Burke, John. A genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, enjoying territorial possessions or high official rank: but uninvested with heritable honours, Volume 3, Publ. for Henry Colburn, by R. Bentley, 1836
- ^abFlood, Victoria (2014)."Henry Tudor and Lancastrian Prophecy in Wales".Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium.34:67–86.ISSN 1545-0155.
- ^Gray, Madeleine (2007)."Welsh Saints in Westminster Abbey - Transcations of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion"(PDF).cymmrodorion.org.
Notes
edit- Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis; Lines 132-C-29, 176B-28
- John Edward Lloyd (1911) A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest (Longmans, Green & Co.)