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| Welsh Uprising of 1211 | |||||||
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| Part ofList of Anglo-Welsh wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Kingdom of Gwynedd Kingdom of Deheubarth | Kingdom of England | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Llywelyn the Great William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber Robert of Shrewsbury | King John Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor Peter des Roches Thomas Moulton (knight) | ||||||
TheWelsh uprising of 1211 was a rebellion by several Welsh princes, orchestrated byLlywelyn ap Iorwerth with primary support fromGwenwynwyn of Powys,Maelgwn ap Rhys, andMadog ap Gruffydd Maelor againstKing John of England.[1] Although technically defeated, this uprising resulted in increased independence from England for the Welsh.
In theNorman Conquest of 1066, theNorman army ofWilliam the Conqueror conqueredEngland, and English earldoms ofChester,Shrewsbury, andHereford were created on England's border with Wales. These strategic political centres served as key points in military action against the Welsh. Despite the strategic advantage these areas gave the Normans, only one Welsh kingdom fell under Norman control during William's reign: the southeastKingdom of Gwent.
By 1100, Norman lords control includedBrecon,Cardigan,Glamorgan andPembroke. This led to the establishment of theMarch of Wales, an area previously ruled by Welsh kings.
The Welsh resisted Norman and Anglo-Saxon control in the twelfth century. The kingdoms ofDeheubarth,Gwynedd andPowys, became a firmly established base for Welsh statehood.Aberffraw (Gwynedd),Dinefwr (Deheubarth), andMathrafal (Powys) had become the centers of Welsh culture and politics. The establishment of these kingdoms started a period of stability and growth for the Welsh, including flourishing agriculture, scholarship and Welsh literature. The Welsh lacked strength as an entity, however, because although allies, the Welsh kings ruled separately, and swore allegiance to England's crown.
The end of the twelfth century marked a period of political unrest due to the contested succession following the deaths of the three Welsh kings. Several factions fought for control of the region.Deheubarth andPowys never did return to stability, but Gwynedd was once again united under the reign ofLlywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn Fawr, the Great), following a rather brief power struggle.
King John was unsettled by the new power gained by Llywelyn, and so he led a military campaign against him which led to Llywelyn's defeat in 1211. Llywelyn, although humiliated, did secure the allegiance of other Welsh leaders, since the Welsh feared total subjugation under King John. Llywelyn led Welsh forces through continued conflict with King John, and successfully united the Welsh politically. The result was John and Llywelyn reached an agreement and a peace treaty was signed in July 1211, but only after Joan, Lady of Wales, Llywelyn's wife, who was also the illegitimate daughter of King John, intervened as a diplomat for her husband. This provided for minimal involvement by the king of England in Welsh affairs.