Dafydd ap Llewelyn (abt. 1351 - 1415)

Born about 1351 in Peutun, Llan Ddew, Brecknockshire, Wales

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 25 Oct 1415 at about age 64 in Agincourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France

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Biography

Hywel ap Howel ap Einion Sais married daughter and heiress of Llenñ ab Howel Hen; their son:
. Llenn ap Hywel Ychan married Mallt, daughter and heiress of Ieuan ab Rees ab Ieuan Ivor.
..Sir Dauid Lleñ ab Howel, alias Gam knight married a daughter to William ab Howel grach.^[1]

BIOGRAPHY: Notes Notable Southern Families, Volumes I & II: The Reverend Theophilus Jones, in his history, gives Brecon City, Wales, as the home of the family at the earliest known period of its history and also gives the genealogy of the family and many valuable facts concerning it. From Howel the Good, the line is traced to Einon Sais (who had lived in England and inherited the estate of Castle Einon Sais), his son Howel and his son, Llewellyn-ap-Hoel, the father of Roger, Griffith, Richard, William, Helen and David-ap-Llewellyn, later known as David Gam, a conspicuous and potential personage in Wales in the early part of the fifteenth century,a man of courage and judgment; of dauntless spirit and soldierly tact. By his personal daring on the Field of Agincourt (1415) he saved the life of Henry V., but was himself mortally wounded. He was knighted by his King just before he died. He entered the King's military service as David-ap-Lllewellyn, (but having a squint eye see Research Note below), but being lame the word signifying it,"Gam," ^[2]was applied to him and he was knighted Sir David Gam and herein we find the origin of the name Gaines. The name remained Gam through two generations. His great grandson added "es" and thereafter it was Games; which form was adhered to in Wales, but in England it became Ganes, Gaynes and finally Gaines. Thomas Jones, an eminent genealogist, in 1599, makes this important statement: "From this Sir David Gam all ye Games of Brecknogshire, all ye Vaughns, and all ye Herberts of South Wales are descended and ye most part of all the nobility of England."

Dafydd died fighting in the Battle of Agincourt. Some accounts have him fighting alongside Henry V and saving his life. Other stories say he was knighted on the battlefield by Henry V as he lay dying. It is also likely that he was the real inspiration for Shakespeare's Fluellen.

Research Notes

"but having a squint eye" is wrong. Squint eye is garn not gam, which means lame, and in dialect/slang is still used, as in a "gammy leg"

Sources

1. ↑ Llyfr Achau Heraldic visitations of Wales and part of the Marches; between the years 1586 and 1613, pp. 56-7 (1846), retrieved 2014-05-19, amb
2. ↑ https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Welsh_Epithets

See also:

• William Shakespeare, Henry V | Act 4, Scene 8

• George Borrow, Wild Wales, Chapter 79, Machynlleth — Remarkable Events — Ode to Glendower — Dafydd Gam — Lawdden’s Hatchet.

• Exiled from his native Wales, Davy Gam achieved renown in English service

• * Lewys Dwnn, Heraldic visitations of Wales and part of the Marches, between the years 1586 and 1613; p. 37. ed. with notes by Samuel Rush Meyrick (Google eBook). Samuel Rush Meyrick. William Rees, 1846

see also:

• Edwin Poole, The Illustrated History and Biography of Brecknockshire (page 14-)

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Acknowledgments

• Thanks to Richard Ragland for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Richard and others.
• * DEATH [ Stephen, Sir Leslie, ed. Dictionary of National Biography, 1921–1922. Volumes 1–20, 22. London, England: Oxford University Press, 1921–1922.]