Family of Rhys + ap TEWDWR and Gwladus +verch RHIWALLON

Husband:	Rhys + ap TEWDWR (1027-1093)
Wife:	Gwladus +verch RHIWALLON (1041-1139)
Children:	Gruffudd ap RHYS (1071-1137)
	Nest verch RHYS (1073-aft1136)
	Margred + verch RHYS (1075-1130)
	Hywel ap RHYS (c. 1079- )
	Goronwy ap RHYS (c. 1081- )
	Cadwgan ap RHYS (c. 1083- )
Marriage	1073	Dynevor Castle, Llandilo, Carmarthenshire, Wales1

Husband: Rhys + ap TEWDWR

Wife: Gwladus +verch RHIWALLON

Name:	Gwladus +verch RHIWALLON
Sex:	Female
Father:	Rhiwallon + ap CYNFYN (1025-1069)
Mother:	Faelis + verch LLEWLYN (1027-1081)
Birth	1041	Powys, Montgomeryshire, Wales
Death	1139 (age 97-98)	Wales

Child 1: Gruffudd ap RHYS

Name:	Gruffudd ap RHYS
Sex:	Male
Spouse:	Gwenllian (1086-1137)
Birth	1071	Dynevor Castle, Llandilo, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Title	frm 1116 to 1137 (age 44-66)	Prince of Deheubarth
Occupation		Prince of Deheubarth
Death	1137 (age 65-66)

Child 2: Nest verch RHYS

Child 3: Margred + verch RHYS

Name:	Margred + verch RHYS
Sex:	Female
Spouse:	Gwrgeneu + ap HYWEL (1082-1125)
Birth	1075	Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Death	1130 (age 54-55)

Child 4: Hywel ap RHYS

Name:	Hywel ap RHYS
Sex:	Male
Birth	1079 (est)

Child 5: Goronwy ap RHYS

Name:	Goronwy ap RHYS
Sex:	Male
Birth	1081 (est)

Child 6: Cadwgan ap RHYS

Name:	Cadwgan ap RHYS
Sex:	Male
Birth	1083 (est)

Note on Husband: Rhys + ap TEWDWR

Rhys ap Tewdwr (before 1065 – 1093) was a Prince of Deheubarth in south-west Wales and member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from Rhodri the Great. He was born in the area which is now Carmarthenshire and died at the battle of Brecon in April 1093.

 

Rhys ap Tewdwr claimed the throne of Deheubarth following the death of his second cousin Rhys ab Owain in battle against Caradog ap Gruffydd in 1078.

 

He was a grandson of Cadell ab Einion ab Owain ab Hywel Dda, and a great-grandson of Einon ab Owain ap Hywel Dda, who fell in 984.[1] He married Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon daughter of Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of the Mathrafal dynasty of Powys, by whom he had four sons, Gruffudd, Hywel ap Rhys, Goronwy and Cadwgan, and a daughter Nest.

 

The English variant of Tewdwr is Tudor. Henry Tudor, King of England, descended patrilineally from the rulers of the Welsh principality of Deheubarth.

 

In 1081 Caradog ap Gruffydd invaded Deheubarth and drove Rhys to seek sanctuary in the St David's Cathedral.

 

Rhys however made an alliance with Gruffydd ap Cynan who was seeking to regain the throne of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and at the Battle of Mynydd Carn in the same year they defeated and killed Caradog ap Gruffydd and his allies Trahaearn ap Caradog of Gwynedd and Meilyr ap Rhiwallon.

 

The same year William the Conqueror visited Deheubarth, ostensibly on a pilgrimage to St David's, but with a major show of power as well, traversing the width of southern Wales, and it seems likely he came to an arrangement with Rhys, whereby Rhys paid him homage and was confirmed in possession of Deheubarth. Rhys paid William £40 a year for his kingdom, ensuring good future relations with William that lasted until the end of his lifetime. Rhys was content with the arrangement as it meant that he only had to deal with the jealousy of his fellow Welsh princes.

 

In 1088 Cadwgan ap Bleddyn of Powys attacked Deheubarth and forced Rhys to flee to Ireland. However Rhys returned later the same year with a fleet from Ireland and defeated the men of Powys in a battle in which two of Cadwgan's brothers, Madog and Rhiryd, were killed.

 

In 1091 he faced another challenge in the form of an attempt to put Gruffydd, the son of Maredudd ab Owain, on the throne of Deheubarth. Rhys was able to defeat the rebels in a battle at St. Dogmaels, killing Gruffydd.

 

Rhys was able to withstand the increasing Norman pressure following the end of William's reign in 1087 until 1093, when he was killed at Brecon by the Normans led by Bernard de Neufmarche. The Brut y Tywysogion adds ``and with him fell the kingdom of the Britons.

 

Rhys's son Gruffydd inherited some of Deheubarth, but Rhys's death led to the Normans taking over much of the kingdom, with Gruffydd being left to rule a much smaller area.

 

Rhys's daughter Nest was a legendary beauty, the so-called Helen of Wales because her abduction from her husband's castle at Cenarth Bychan started a civil war.

 

Owain Tudur and James A. Garfield[citation needed] were among those who claimed descent from Rhys ap Tewdwr.

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GWLADUS . The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales records in 1106 that "Cadwgan son of Bleddyn and Gwladus daughter of Rhiwallon, the mother of Nest were cousins, as Bleddyn and Rhiwallon, sons of Cynvyn, were brothers" [633]. m RHYS ap Tewdwr King of Deheubarth, son of TEWDWR Mawr & his wife --- (-killed in battle near Brecknock Castle [Mar/Apr] 1093)

Sources

1	"US and International Marriage Records, 1550-1900" (on-line, Yates Publishing, Provo, UT).