Y Gorddwr (or Corddwr) ( en, The Upper Water) was a medieval

commote A commote (Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales ...

(''cwmwd'') in the

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which were ...

Ystlyg Ystlyg ( en, possibly curve or open country) was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. It lay at the east of the kingdom on the border with England. It consisted of the commotes (''cymydau'') of Deuddwr in the north, Ystrad Marchell in the ce ...

in the

Kingdom of Powys The Kingdom of Powys ( cy, Teyrnas Powys; la, Regnum Poysiae) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern ...

. It was on the eastern side of 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 ...

bordering England, on the west it was bordered by two of the other commotes of Ystlyg -

Deuddwr Deuddwr (; en, Confluence, literally: two waters) was a medieval commote (''cwmwd'') in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. It lay at the east of the kingdom, bordering England to the north, the cantref of Mechain to the north-west a ...

in the north and

Ystrad Marchell Ystrad Marchell sometimes Strad Marchell ( en, Vale of Marchell) was a medieval commote (''cwmwd'') in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. It roughly coincides with the parish of Welshpool. It lay at the east of the kingdom, bordering ...

in the south. Its Welsh name could mean "the upper water"; ''gor-'' "upper-", ''dŵr'' "water". After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, Y Gorddwr was claimed by Roger le

Corbet Corbet () is a small village and townland (of 618 acres) in County Down, Northern Ireland, 5 km east of Banbridge. It is situated in the civil parish of Magherally and the historic barony of Iveagh Lower, Lower Half. It lies within the Banbr ...

, the

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

of Caus within the

Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in F ...

ship of

Roger de Montgomery Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...

. In 1241,

Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn (died c. 1286) was a Welsh king who was lord of the part of Powys known as Powys Wenwynwyn and sided with Edward I in his conquest of Wales of 1277 to 1283. Gruffydd was the son of Gwenwynwyn and Margaret Corbet. He was stil ...

regained most of the lands lost by his father,

Gwenwynwyn Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog (died c. 1216) was the last major ruler of mid Wales before the completion of the History of Wales#Wales and the Normans: 1067–1283, Norman English invasion. He was one of few native rulers to represent a real threa ...

in about 1216. Gruffydd immediately claimed the territory of Y Gorddwr by ancient inheritance, bringing him into conflict with the Corbet family. He was related to them through his mother, Margaret, who was a sister of Thomas Corbet, the baron of Caus at the time, this added weight to his claim. He inherited his mother's lands in Y Gorddwr in 1246, and appropriated more in 1252 while King Henry III was in dispute with

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 ...

. Thomas Corbet brought a legal action against Gruffydd in 1255, the English lords who heard the case found against Gruffydd. In 1257, before Gruffydd could relinquish the land in Y Gorddwr,

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 ...

had taken his territory in Powys and forced him into exile in England. King Henry still insisted that he handed the territory he held in Y Gorddwr over to Corbet, so in 1263 Gruffydd transferred his allegiance to Llywelyn, and his lands were returned to him. He fought as an ally of Llywelyn and Simon de Montfort against the king until the defeat and death of Simon at the

Battle of Evesham The Battle of Evesham (4 August 1265) was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by the future King Edward I, who led the ...

in 1265. In the

Treaty of Montgomery The Treaty of Montgomery was an Anglo-Welsh treaty signed on 29 September 1267 in Montgomeryshire by which Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was acknowledged as Prince of Wales by King Henry III of England (r. 1216–1272). It was the only time an English ...

in 1267, Llywelyn and Gruffydd agreed to end hostilities with the king. Henry III died in 1272 and Llywelyn renewed hostilities against England, but Gruffydd now took sides against Llywelyn and lost his territories again. In 1274, with his son,

Owain Owain () is a name of Welsh origin, variously written in Old Welsh as Ougein, Eugein, Euguen, Iguein, Ou(u)ein, Eug(u)ein, Yuein, and in Middle Welsh as Ewein, Owein, and Ywein. Other variants of the name Owain include Ewein, Iguein, Owein, Ouein, Y ...

and

Dafydd ap Gruffudd 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 ...

he was part of an unsuccessful plot to assassinate Llwelyn. He was forced to flee to Shrewsbury from where he led raids against Llywelyn and supported the campaign of

Edward I 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 vassal o ...

to disinherit Llywelyn. In 1277, Llywelyn was forced to accept terms. Gruffydd was rewarded for supporting Edward and he received back his lands in Powys. He continued, however, to make claims against Peter Corbet for Y Gorddwr, and after his death his family continued to dispute tithes there. Wales

References

{{reflist History of Powys Commotes