Gwilym ap Griffith (died 1431), also known as Gwilym ap Gruffydd, was a Welsh landowner. He briefly lent his support to

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...

in the

Glyndŵr Rising Glyndŵr, also spelled Glyndwr, may refer to: * Owain Glyndŵr – Medieval Welsh prince and leader ** Glyndŵr rebellion – 15th century Welsh uprising * Glyndŵr (district) – District of Wales (1974–1996) ** Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr ( ...

. When his loyalty returned to the Crown, he was granted the lands of number of Glyndŵr supporters and by the end of his life had ownership of the majority of the lands previously held by the

Tudors of Penmynydd The Tudors of Penmynydd () were a noble and aristocratic family, connected with the village of Penmynydd in Anglesey, North Wales, who were very influential in Welsh (and later English) politics. From this family arose Owen Tudor, Sir Owen Tudo ...

Early life

Gwilym ap Griffith was the oldest son of Griffith ap Gwilym and Generys ferch Madog. The family was descended from the 12th-/13th-century Welsh magnate and dynastic founder

Ednyfed Fychan Ednyfed Fychan ( 1170 – 1246), full name Ednyfed Fychan ap Cynwrig, was a Welsh warrior who became Seneschal to the Kingdom of Gwynedd in Northern Wales, serving Llywelyn the Great and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn. Ednyfed claimed descent fr ...

Rebellion and land ownership

Gwilym ap Gruffydd married back into the Tudors line, through Morfudd ferch Goronwy, the daughter of Goronwy ap Tudur, head of the

and a distant kinsman of Gwilym. Unlike his other family members, he had avoided becoming involved in

's revolt, but lent his support in 1402. He remarried in 1405, to Joan, a daughter of Sir William Stanley from

Hooton, Cheshire Hooton is a suburban village and former civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula, within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was once a separate village but was incorporated into Ell ...

. This was withdrawn by November 1407, when his forfeited lands were restored to him by the King. Gwilym ap Gruffydd was granted additional lands forfeited after the declaration of support by his first wife's uncles,

Rhys ap Tudur Rhys ap Tudur (died 1412) was a Welsh nobleman and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd. He held positions of power on behalf of King Richard II of England, including two periods as the Sheriff of Anglesey in the 1370s and 1380s. Rhys acc ...

and Gwilym ap Tudur, for Owain Glyndŵr in the

against King

Henry IV of England Henry IV ( – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. Henry was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (a son of King Edward III), and Blanche of Lancaster. Henry was involved in the 1388 ...

. These were the confiscated lands from Rhys and Gwilym ap Tudur, although he did not receive the lands held by a third brother,

Maredudd ap Tudur Maredudd ap Tudur (died c. 1406) was a Welsh soldier and nobleman from the Tudor family of Penmynydd. He was the youngest of six sons of Tudur ap Goronwy and was the father of Owen Tudor. Maredudd supported his cousin the Welsh patriot Owain Gl ...

. These land grants were in addition to those held by a further 25 landowners. He was later also given the lands of his brother-in-law, Tudur ap Goronwy. For a brief while, Gwilym ap Gruffydd and his family lived at the historical Tudur estate in Penmynydd,

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, before moving the family seat to Penrhyn Bay. By the end of his life, Gwilym ap Gruffydd's lands in Anglesey and

Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

were generating an income of more than £112 per year. The lands included those around the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...

on Anglesey and the

commote A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...

of Dindaethwy, and the majority of the lands previously held by various members of the Tudor family.

Descendants

The descendants of Gwilym ap Gruffydd served in the households of the Tudor Kings Henry VII and

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. However, they did not rise to the same level of prominence in local affairs as the former landowners. They came to be known as the Anglesey Tudors, and were also referred to as the Theodores. They did not live on Anglesey, and were not written about by famous poets of their day.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruffydd, Gwilym ap 1431 deaths Welsh rebels Year of birth unknown Welsh landowners 15th-century Welsh people