Tomas ap Rhodri or Thomas Rothery () was the only known son of

Rhodri ap Gruffudd Rhodri ap Gruffudd (or Prince Rhodri or Roderick Fitz Griffin) (c. 1230 – c. 1315) was the third or fourth son of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr. He was the younger brother of both Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd, Prince of Wales) and of Owain Goc ...

, the youngest son of Prince

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr Gruffudd or Gruffydd ( or , in either case) is a Welsh name, originating in Old Welsh as a given name and today used as both a given and surname. It is the origin of the Anglicised name '' Griffith[s]'', and was historically sometimes trea ...

and younger brother to both

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...

and

Dafydd ap Gruffydd Dafydd ap Gruffydd (11 July 1238 – 3 October 1283) was Prince of Wales from 11 December 1282 until his execution on 3 October 1283 on the orders of King Edward I of England. He was the last native Prince of Wales before the conquest of Wa ...

. After the deaths of Llywelyn, Dafydd, and their eldest brother Owain the Red between 1282 and 1283, Rhodri became the most senior member of the Aberffraw Dynasty to retain his liberty because he had sold his rights of succession to his brother Llywelyn around 1270 before he had had any children of his own. Tomas did not make any claim himself to the throne of Gwynedd. Tomas was born in England sometime around 1300 and is thought to have died in 1363. His sister, Katherine, married into the former ruling family of

Powys Wenwynwyn Powys Wenwynwyn or Powys Cyfeiliog was a Welsh kingdom which existed during the high Middle Ages. The realm was the southern portion of the former princely state of Powys which split following the death of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in 1160: the n ...

, now Earls of Powis. Tomas inherited his father's lands in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

and

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

(Tatfield). However, he parted from his Cheshire estates in favour of lands at Bidfield in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and Dinas in

Mechain Is Coed Mechain was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. This cantref has also been referred to as Y Fyrnwy (''Vyrnwy''). Mechain may owe its name to the River Cain which flows through it on its way to join the River Vyrnwy; 'Me' or 'Mach' (c.f. ...

(

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

). This is not the only evidence of an enduring interest in re-establishing a base in Wales because he appears to have made an unsuccessful claim on the Lordship of Llŷn on the basis that he was the closest male heir of Owain Goch. He married one Cecilia"OWAIN ap THOMAS ap RHODRI (' Owain Lawgoch '; died 1378), a soldier of fortune and pretender to the principality of Wales"
The National Library of Wales :: Dictionary of Welsh Biography and was the father of Owain ap Tomas—more commonly known as

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 ...

—who in 1369 proclaimed himself

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. Owain was assassinated in 1378.

References

Welsh Biography Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomas Ap Rhodri 1300 births 1363 deaths