Maredudd ap Tudur (died c. 1406) was a Welsh soldier and nobleman from the Tudor family of Penmynydd. He was one of five sons of Tudur ap Goronwy, and was the father of Owen Tudor. Maredudd supported the Welsh patriot

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

in 1400, alongside his brothers Rhys ap Tudur and

Gwilym ap Tudur Gwilym ap Tudur (died 1413) was a Welsh nobleman and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd. In 1401, he and his brother Rhys ap Tudur took Conwy Castle after infiltrating it, in support of their cousin Owain Glyndŵr. Gwilym was subsequentl ...

; Owain was their cousin. He was the great-grandfather of Henry VII of England and the great-great-grandfather of Henry VIII of England.

Ancestry and early life

Maredudd was one of five sons of Tudur ap Goronwy and Marged ferch Tomos (a descendant of Llywelyn Fawr); alongside Ednyfed ap Tudor, Rhys ap Tudur, Goronwy ap Tudor and

. Tudur had served with the forces of King Edward III of England during the campaigns in France in 1337, assuming the rank of knight in the process. Afterwards, he became a royal officer for the island of

Angelsey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island, a ...

and ensured that all of his sons found similar roles. The family were descended from Ednyfed Fychan, and his son Goronwy ab Ednyfed, the founder of the Tudor family of Penmynydd. At some point between 1387 and 1395, Maredudd was made rhaglaw (

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

) of the commote at

Malltraeth Malltraeth (origin: ''Mall'' (corrupt, blasted, desolate, + ''Traeth'' (beach))) is a small village in the southwest of Anglesey, in the community of Bodorgan. It is now at the end of a large bay, which used to extend much further inland, almo ...

. His brothers Rhys and Goronwy held similar roles in the commote of Dindaethwy. Maredudd was named escheator of Anglesey between 1388 and 1391, a role normally reserved by the crown for Englishmen.

Revolt

When

led a revolt against the crown, the surviving Tudur brothers (Goronwy and Ednyfed both drowned in 1382), sided with him openly; Glyndŵr was their cousin on his mother's side of the family. But unlike Rhys and Gwilym, Maredudd was included in a general pardon in 1401 given to those who on Anglesey who supported Owain. Despite this, Maredudd again led a group of rebels in 1405, and was outlawed a year later by the king. Maredudd's lands were confiscated by the crown, but unlike those of his brothers they were not passed to

Gwilym ap Gruffydd Gwilym ap Griffith (died 1431), also known as Gwilym ap Gruffydd, was a Welsh landowner. He briefly lent his support to Owain Glyndŵr in the Glyndŵr Rising. When his loyalty returned to the Crown, he was granted the lands of number of Glyndŵr s ...

. The rebellion ultimately failed; Rhys was executed in 1412, Gwilym ap Tudur was given a pardon in 1413, but Maredudd disappears from the historical record after 1405 and his final fate is unclear.

Legacy

Maredudd's son Owain initially used the name Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur, but Anglicised it to become Owen Tudor. Owen married the widow of King

Henry V of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

, Catherine of Valois, in secret and had had three sons, Owen,

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

and Jasper. Their half brother, King

Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English thron ...

, took an active interest in them and had Edmund married to Margaret Beaufort to ensure their children could inherit the throne of England. During the subsequent Wars of the Roses, Edmund's son Henry Tudor became King Henry VII of England, the founder of the

House of Tudor The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and it ...

Lineage

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tudur, Maredudd ap 14th-century Welsh people 1400s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Welsh soldiers Welsh rebels People from Anglesey