Rhys ap Tewdwr

Rhys ap Tewdwr (c. 1040 – 1093) was a king of Deheubarth in Wales and member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from Rhodri the Great. Following the Norman Conquest, he had to pay William the Conqueror to keep his kingdom, which lasted until the end of William's reign.

Family Rhys ap Tewdwr was born in the area which is now Carmarthenshire. As a member of the House of Dinefwr, he claimed the throne of Deheubarth following the death of his second cousin Rhys ab Owain, who was beheaded after the battle of Gwdig (modern day Goodwick) against Caradog ap Gruffydd in 1078.

He was a grandson of Cadell ab Einion ab Owain ab Hywel Dda and a great-grandson of Einion ab Owain, thus a descendant of Hywel Dda, king of the Britons.

He married more than once. His first wife was Catrin (or Gwladus) verch Iestyn (b. 1041 in Powys). The name of his last wife was Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon, daughter of Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of the Mathrafal Dynasty of Powys.

Issue by early alliances: When Cedifor died in 1091, his sons demanded that Rhys surrender the throne to Gruffudd ap Maredudd, the son of a former king of Deheubarth (and the nephew of Rhys' predecessor). This triggered a revolt, but Rhys was able to defeat the rebels in a battle at St. Dogmaels, killing Gruffudd.

Death and succession

Rhys was unable to withstand the increasing Norman pressure. The Welsh Bruts (chronicles) state that "Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of Deheubarth, was slain by the Frenchmen who were inhabiting Brycheiniog." The Brut y Tywysogion adds "and with him fell the kingdom of the Britons." This passage lends evidence to the belief that the conquest of Brycheiniog (Brecon), led by Bernard de Neufmarche, was mostly finished by Eastertide 1093. The battle of Brecon opened the way to the conquest of Deheubarth.

The monastery and village of Penrhys in Rhondda Cynon Taff is said to be named for Rhys, as he was beheaded at the site by Norman forces. The village was originally named, Pen-Rhys ap Tewdwr (English: Rhys ap Tewdwr's Head). Upon Rhys's death, the Normans seized much of south Wales, and there was fighting over the spoils with the chieftains of Powys and Gwynedd. Eventually, Rhys's eldest son, Gruffydd, was allowed to inherit a small portion of his father's kingdom. Rhys's daughter Nest was briefly one of the numerous concubines of Henry I, to whom she bore a son, and thereafter the wife of Gerald FitzWalter of Pembroke; their sons and grandsons, the FitzGerald conquerors of Ireland, were known collectively as the "sons of Nest". Through his son Gruffydd, Rhys was an ancestor of the Tudor dynasty.

Ancestry