Rhys ap Robert (died 1377) was a Welsh nobleman. A descendant of the progenitor of the

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(d. 1246), he attained several positions in the administration of north Wales, including co-

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in north Wales by 1349, escheator of Caernarfonshire from 1347 to 1350, and ''rhaglaw'' (bailiff) of the

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of Dinmael in 1360–61. Rhys' career was not without controversy. In 1354 he was fined for taking bribes, and in 1358 the men of Englefield in north-east Wales complained to the

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about Rhys' oppressive measures. He lived at Kinmel near

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, and was a patron of the poet

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. Rhys' most important role in Welsh society was as a supporter of

Owain Lawgoch Owain Lawgoch ( en, Owain of the Red Hand, french: Yvain de Galles), full name Owain ap Thomas ap Rhodri (July 1378), was a Welsh soldier who served in Lombardy, France, Alsace, and Switzerland. He led a Free Company fighting for the French agai ...

, a mercenary in French pay and a claimant to the title of

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, who attempted to invade Wales with French support in 1369 and again in 1372. During the latter year, Rhys' son Ieuan Wyn - who also served as a mercenary in France - was identified along with Owain as having received over 500 marks from Rhys to aid their fight against the English there. The allegations seem not to have harmed Rhys' career, as he was appointed chief serjeant of the lordship of

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in 1374. He died in 1377.

References

* A. D. Carr, 'Rhys ap Roppert', ''Denbighshire Historical Society Transactions'' XXV (1976), 155–70. * - ''Owen of Wales: The End of the House of Gwynedd'' (Cardiff, 1991). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhys Ap Robert 1377 deaths House of Tudor Year of birth missing 14th-century Welsh nobility