HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Treaty of Aberconwy was signed on the 10th of November 1277, the treaty was by
King Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vass ...
and
Llewelyn the Last Llywelyn, Llewelyn or Llewellyn is a name of Welsh language origins. See Llywelyn (name) for the name's etymology, history and other details. As a surname Arts *Carmen Llywelyn, American actress and photographer * Chris Llewellyn (poet), America ...
,
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 rule ...
, following Edward’s invasion of Llewelyn’s territories earlier that year. The treaty granted peace between the two but also essentially guaranteed that Welsh self-rule would end upon Llewelyn's death and represented the completion of the first stage of the
Conquest of Wales by Edward I The conquest of Wales by Edward I took place between 1277 and 1283. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian Conquest of Wales,Examples of historians using the term include Professor J. E. Lloyd, regarded as the founder of the modern academi ...
.


Background

Llewelyn, wanting to cement his links to royalty more forcefully, sought to marry Eleanor de Montfort, daughter of
Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...
and King Edward's cousin. They were married by proxy in 1275, but when Eleanor sailed from
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
to meet Llewelyn, Edward hired
pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
to seize her ship; she was imprisoned at
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...
. Edward, who was newly acceded to the throne of England, viewed Llewelyn as a threat, and particularly disliked the idea of his marrying the daughter of de Montfort, who had been the biggest threat to his royal predecessor's reign. Edward also summoned Llewelyn to appear before him on several occasions, which Llewelyn refused on the grounds that he was not safe at Edward's court. In 1276, Edward declared Llewelyn a rebel and gathered an enormous army to march against him. By the summer of 1277, Edward's forces had reached the heart 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, an ...
. Edward's men confiscated the harvest in
Anglesey 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 ...
, which deprived Llewelyn and his men of food, forcing Llewelyn to surrender.


Treaty

What resulted was the treaty of Aberconwy, which guaranteed peace in Gwynedd in return for several difficult concessions from Llewelyn, including confining his authority to lands west of the
River Conwy , name_etymology = , image = Boats in River Conwy.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = Boats in the river estuary at Conwy , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , pus ...
, while lands east were granted to his brother
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 W ...
, with whom he had earlier fought for control of Wales. Llewelyn was not stripped of his recently proclaimed title, Prince of Wales – but most of the lesser Welsh rulers who had paid him
fealty An oath of fealty, from the Latin ''fidelitas'' (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fea ...
were no longer to recognize him as their lord. Once signed, Edward began building several fortresses along the approach to Gwynedd, at
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location i ...
,
Builth Builth Wells (; cy, Llanfair-ym-Muallt) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part ...
,
Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start ...
and
Rhuddlan Rhuddlan () is a town, community, and electoral ward in the county of Denbighshire, Wales, in the historic county of Flintshire. Its associated urban zone is mainly on the right bank of the Clwyd; it is directly south of seafront town Rhyl. ...
. The Treaty was agreed 9 November 1277, ratified by Edward 10 November 1277.


Consequences

In the years after the treaty, Llewelyn sought to consolidate what power he had left. He paid homage and tribute to Edward, who agreed to allow Llewelyn's marriage to go forward. In 1278, Llewelyn and Eleanor de Montfort were married in
Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bless ...
, with Edward present at the nuptials.


See also

*
List of treaties This list of treaties contains known agreements, pacts, peaces, and major contracts between states, armies, governments, and tribal groups. Before 1200 CE 1200–1299 1300–1399 1400–1499 1500–1599 1600–1699 1700–1799 ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aberconwy 1277 in England 13th century in Wales Peace treaties Treaties of Wales 1270s treaties Peace treaties of England Treaties of medieval England 1277 in Wales England–Wales relations