Gwladus ferch Gruffudd (abt. 1219)

Ancestors

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Biography

GWLADUS of Gwynedd (-1261). The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales records that "Gwladus the daughter of Gruffudd son of Llywelyn, the wife of the lord Rhys, son of Rhys Mechyll" died in 1261. m RHYS ap Rhys Mechyll of Dinefwr, son of RHYS Mechyll Lord of Dinefwr & his wife Matilda de Briouse (-Dinevwr Feb 1271, bur Tal y Llychau).^[1]

Estimated dates are derived from a "date estimation scheme" based on the agreement between King Henry III and Gruffudd's wife Senena on 12 August 1241. ^[2]

1219 Name, Birth, Parents

Gwladus was born about 1219 ^[2]

Parents

Gwladus was the daughter of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. "He also had three daughters, Gwladus, Catherine and Margred."^[3]

• Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ab Iorwerth. ^[4]
• Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (c. 1196 – 1 March 1244) was the Welsh first-born son of Llywelyn the Great ("Llywelyn Fawr"). ^[3]

However, Baldwin notes, "For Rhanullt and her (supposed) daughters Catrin and Gwladus, there are a number of sources listed from the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, so it would appear that Rhanullt is the wife of Gruffudd who was known to the medieval Welsh genealogists. One puzzling fact about Bartrum's citations is that there is no overlap in the citations for Rhanullt and her supposed two daughters, making one wonder which of those sources state that she was their mother.^[5]

Marriage and Issue

Gwladus married RHYS ap Rhys Mechyll of Dinefwr, son of RHYS Mechyll Lord of Dinefwr and his wife Matilda de Briouse. He died at Dinevwr in Feb 1271 and was buried at Tal y Llychau). ^[6]

1. Rhys Wyndod (d after 1283)^[1]
2. Gruffudd^[1]
3. Llywellyn (d after 1276)^[1]

1261 Death

The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales records that "Gwladus the daughter of Gruffudd son of Llywelyn, the wife of the lord Rhys, son of Rhys Mechyll" died in 1261. ^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Gwladus Of Gwynedd verch Gruffudd ap Llywelyn from the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG). Accessed 14 May 2018 by amb
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} The solid date upon which estimates can be based is 12 August, 1241. On that date, Senena, wife of Gruffudd, signed an agreement with King Henry III arranging for the release and restoration of her husband Grufudd and son Owain, leaving her youngest sons Dafydd and Rhodri as hostages in Owain's place. Henry broke the agreement, keeping Gruffydd prisoner in the Tower of London, but with generous provisions which included permission for Senena to stay with him. Gruffudd ended his life in a failed escape attempt on 1 March, 1244. These facts permit the following conclusions and date estimates:
   1. Senena was Gruffudd's wife to the end. Any other wife would have to precede Senena.
   2. Senena was exemplary in defending her husband before the king, assuming roles few women were accustomed to assume. This suggests their relationship was good and if he had any mistresses they probably preceded the marriage.
   3. Owain was Senena's oldest son. For one of his age, hostage status meant being a prisoner with his father in the Tower of London, so estimate his age as 18 in 1241, thus born in 1223.;
   4. Since Owain was the oldest and first born son, assume the marriage was the year prior to his birth, 1222.
   5. Girls married very young; assume she was 16 at her marriage in 1222, thus born in 1206. Boyer shows Senena's father Caradog born, say, 1200. This estimation would require Caradog to marry in 1205 at the age of 20, and be born in, say, 1185, rather than 1200.
   6. Dafydd and Rhodri, the youngest sons offered as exchange hostages, would have been much younger, and destined to live in a noble household. Assume they were just old enough to comfortably leave home in 1241, aged 9 and 6, thus born in 1232 and 1235, respectively.
   7. Men tended to be older at marriage. Assume Gruffudd was aged 24 in 1222; this would place his birth at 1198.
   8. If Grufudd had an additional relationship, whether in a marriage or with a mistress, assume it occurred between Grufudd becoming 18 in 1216, and his marriage to Senena in 1222.
   9. Some sources refer to Gruffudd's additional marriage to Rhanultt ferch Rheinullt. Others refer to her as a mistress. Either way, the relationship and the children born of it would have occurred between 1216 and 1222.
   10. Based on the above, Gruffudd's two oldest children, daughters Catrin and Gwladus, would have been born, say, 1217 and 1219. The remaining children, born to Senena, would have been born as follows: Owain, 1223; Llywelyn, 1225; Dafydd Felyn, 1227 and died early, Margred, 1229, Dafydd 1232, and Rhodri 1235. This date estimation is of course speculative and serves to place persons in the most appropriate time perspective, but hopefully the logic expressed above achieves the best possible date estimates.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Wikipedia: Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr Follows Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, eds. (1890). "Gruffydd ab Llywelyn (d.1244)". Dictionary of National Biography. 23. London: Smith, Elder & Co. Accessed Feb 15, 2016 jhd
4. ↑ Carl Boyer III. Medieval Welsh Ancestors of Certain Americans. Rhodri Mawr Chapter. By the Author: Santa Clarita, California, 2004. Pages 307-308. Gruffudd is #46 on page 307
5. ↑
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Charles Cawley. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Medieval Lands database. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Accessed February 15, 2016. jhd

• Charles Cawley. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Medieval Lands database. [Gwladus of Gwenydd verch Gruffydd ap Llywelyn]