Gruffydd ap Rhydderch (d. AD 1055) was a king of Gwent and part of the kingdom of

Morgannwg Morgannwg was a medieval Welsh kingdom formed via the merger of the kingdoms of the Kingdom of Glywysing and the Kingdom of Gwent. Formation of Morgannwg First under King Morgan the Generous (fl. ) until the end of the reign of his descendant I ...

in south

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and later king of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House of ...

. Gruffydd was the son of

Rhydderch ab Iestyn Rhydderch ap Iestyn (died 1033) was king of Gwent and Morgannwg in south Wales and later took over the kingdom of Deheubarth and controlled Powys. Comparatively little has been recorded about Rhydderch ab Iestyn in the annals. He appears to have o ...

who had been able to take over the kingdom of Deheubarth from 1023 to 1033. He received the lordship of

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

in 1031 and strengthened its fortifications.Jermyn, Anthony.
4: Caerleon Through the Centuries to the Year 2000
". 2010 Accessed 13 Feb 2013. Already king of part of Morgannwg, Gruffydd became involved with Deheubarth when that kingdom was taken over from

Hywel ab Edwin Hywel ap Edwin (died 1044) was king of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1033 to 1043. Hywel was the son of Edwin ap Einion and great-grandson of Hywel Dda. When the previous king, Rhydderch ap Iestyn, who had usurped the throne, died in 1033 Hywel ...

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ( 5 August 1063) was King of Wales from 1055 to 1063. He had previously been King of Gwynedd and Powys in 1039. He was the son of King Llywelyn ap Seisyll and Angharad daughter of Maredudd ab Owain, and the great-gre ...

, already king of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

, in 1044. Gruffydd ap Rhydderch was however able to expel him in 1045 and became king of Deheubarth himself. He was said to be a powerful king who stoutly resisted raids by the Danes and attacks by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. In 1055 however Gruffydd ap Llywelyn killed him in battle and recaptured Deheubarth. In 1049 he is reported raiding up the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

in alliance with an Irish Viking Fleet. His son

Caradog ap Gruffydd Caradog ap Gruffydd (died 1081) was a Prince of Gwent in south-east Wales in the time of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and the Norman conquest, who reunified his family's inheritance of Morgannwg and made repeated attempts to reunite southern Wales by c ...

(who received Caerleon in 1057) also attempted to emulate his father and grandfather by gaining control of Deheubarth but was killed at the

Battle of Mynydd Carn The Battle of Mynydd Carn took place in 1081, as part of a dynastic struggle for control of the Welsh kingdoms of Gwynedd and Deheubarth. The result of the battle had a radical effect on the history of Wales. The battle is recorded in the near ...

References

John Edward Lloyd Sir John Edward Lloyd (5 May 1861 – 20 June 1947) was a Welsh historian, He was the author of the first serious history of the country's formative years, ''A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest'' (1911). Ano ...

(1911) ''A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest'' (Longmans, Green & Co.)

External links

National Library of Wales Dictionary of Welsh Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruffydd Ap Rhydderch People from Caerleon 1055 deaths Monarchs of Gwent Monarchs of Morgannwg Medieval Welsh killed in battle 11th-century Welsh monarchs Year of birth unknown Monarchs killed in action Monarchs of Glywysing