Nest FERCH RHYS ( -aft1136)

Individual Events and Attributes

Marriage

Individual Note

Nest ferch Rhys (died after 1136) was a Welsh princess of Deheubarth who was renowned for her beauty. Nest was the daughter of Prince Rhys ap Tewdwr by his wife, Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon. Her brother was Gruffydd ap Rhys - Prince of Deheubarth. After her father's death in 1093, Deheubarth was conquered by the Normans and King Henry I of England appointed himself her protector. Nest is thought to have borne him a son, Henry FitzRoy (1103–1158).[1]

She is also known to some historians as Nesta.[2][3]

Marriage and issue

Around 1095 King Henry decided to marry Nest to one of his followers, Gerald de Windsor, whom he appointed Constable of Pembroke. Consequently, Nest is the maternal progenitor of the FitzGerald dynasty, one of the most celebrated families of Ireland and Great Britain (they are a Hiberno-Norman or Cambro-Norman dynasty, and have been Peers of Ireland since at least the 14th Century).

Nest and Gerald had five children:

William FitzGerald (died 1173) who was the father of

Raymond FitzGerald

Isabella Le Gros who married William De Haya Wallenisis.

Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llansteffan (died 1 September 1177) who was the father of

Thomas FitzMaurice

Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly

David FitzGerald, Archdeacon of Cardigan and Bishop of St David's

Angharad de Windsor, who married William FitzOdo de Barry (William de Barry) and was the mother of

Philip de Barry who founded Ballybeg Abbey at Buttevant in Ireland

Robert de Barry

Edmond de Barry

Gerald of Wales the historian

A daughter (possibly Gwladys), who was the mother of

Milo de Cogan

Nest's granddaughter Isabella Le Gros married William De Haya Wallenisis and had David Walensis and Philip Walensis. David and Philip where considered The Welshman and the founders of the family Walsh/Welsh of Kilkenny where they built a Castle known as Castle hale of Kilkenny, Ireland.

Abduction and illegitimate issue

During Christmas 1109, Nest and her husband were visited by her cousin, Owain ap Cadwgan, son of Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, Prince of Powys. The story goes that Owain was so taken with Nest's beauty that he and fifteen companions attacked the castle of Cenarth Bychan (possibly Cilgerran Castle or Carew Castle, both in Pembrokeshire), seized Nest, and carried her and her children off. Tradition also has it that Gerald escaped by jumping down the garderobe (i.e. the lavatory chute) to get away. The children were later returned to Gerald. Nest is said to have borne Owain two sons, Llywelyn and Einion, before finally being returned to her husband.

This abduction earned Nest the nickname "Helen of Wales" because it led to civil war on a small scale. Owain ap Cadwgan left the country to avoid retribution, whilst Owain's father, Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, lost his own lands. Gerald waited for Owain to return to Wales, then ambushed and killed him in combat as retribution for kidnapping his wife and children.

Second liaison and illegitimate issue

After Gerald's death, Nest became the lover of Stephen, Constable of Cardigan, by whom she had another son, Robert Fitz-Stephen who died in 1182. With his half-brother Maurice, he captured the town of Wexford (see Siege of Wexford). They were granted joint custody of the town.

NOTES:

1 A History of Wales

2 http://thepeerage.com/p10468.htm#i104677

3 "Nesta, the story of a Welsh Princess", ISBN 978-0953014118

SOURCES:

Davies, John, "A History of Wales", p. 110, 123, 128, ISBN 978-0-14-028475-1, Penguin Books, 2007

Dictionary of National Biography, p. 228-229

Bartrum, Peter, Welsh Genealogies: 300-1400, 941 pages, University of Wales Press (December 1976)

Maund, Kari, Princess Nest of Wales: Seductress of the English (Stroud: Tempus, 2007)²

Sources