| Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ab Iorwerth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | c. 1196 |
| Died | 1 March 1244 Tower of London,England |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Senana ferch Caradog |
| Issue | |
| House | Aberffraw |
| Father | Llywelyn ab Iorwerth |
| Mother | Tangwystl |
Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (c. 1196 – 1 March 1244) was aWelsh prince, the first-born son ofLlywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great). His mother Tangwystl (c. 1180/1185 – c. 1210) probably died in childbirth.
As a boy, Gruffudd was one of the hostages taken by KingJohn of England as a pledge for his father's continued good faith. A clause inMagna Carta (1215) compelled his release. On his father's death in 1240, underWelsh law, he would have been entitled to consideration as his father's successor. Llywelyn, however, had excluded him from the succession and had declaredDafydd, his son by his wifeJoan, to be heir to the kingdom. Llywelyn went to great lengths to strengthen Dafydd's position, probably aware that there would be considerable Welsh support for Gruffudd against the half-English Dafydd.
Gruffudd was given lands inArdudwy andMeirionnydd by his father, though in 1221 he was removed for maladministration of those lands. In 1223 he commanded a force of his father's army, againstWilliam Marshal. His father then imprisoned him between 1228 and 1234. On his release he was again given lands, this time controlling much of thecommotes ofLlŷn,Ceri,Cyfeiliog,Mawddwy,Mochnant andCaereinion.[1]
.png)
Gruffudd was held prisoner by his brother Dafydd when the latter took overGwynedd. Following a successful invasion of the Welsh borders by KingHenry III of England in 1241, Dafydd was obliged to hand over Gruffudd into the King's custody; he was then taken toLondon and imprisoned in theTower of London. Gruffudd's wife,Senana[2] (possibly a daughter ofCaradog ap Thomas ofAnglesey), agreed to pay Henry 600marks for the release of her husband and their eldest son, Owain, and to hand over her two youngest sons, Dafydd and Rhodri, to the King as hostages to ensure that she kept her part of the bargain. Henry did not keep his part, however, and kept Gruffudd and his son imprisoned as "guests" because this continued to give him the possibility of using Gruffudd as a weapon against his brother.
However, Gruffudd died while attempting to escape from the Tower in 1244.[3] He is said to have used an improvised rope made from sheets and clothes to lower himself from his window, but as he was a heavy man, the rope broke and he fell to his death.[4]
In 1248, the abbots ofStrata Florida andAberconwy arranged for the return of his body to Wales, where he was buried at Aberconwy with his father.[5][6]
After his death Gruffudd's four sons—Owain,Llywelyn,Dafydd andRhodri—would come into their own, and after much fraternal discord, Llywelyn ended up ruling most of Wales.[7] He also had three daughters, Gwladus, Catrin and Margred.
According to several non-contemporary Welsh genealogical tracts, the mother of Llywelyn was Rhanullt, an otherwise unknown daughter ofRǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles. If correct, these sources could indicate that Gruffudd married a daughter of Rǫgnvaldr in about 1220. Contemporary sources, however, show that Llywelyn's mother was Senana, an undoubted wife of Gruffudd.