Cadwallon ap Madog was the son of Madog ab Idnerth who had died in 1140, while Idnerth was a grandson of

Elystan Glodrydd Elystan Glodrydd (or, occasionally, Elstan Glodrydd; died 1010), also known as "Æthelstan the Famous" and "The Renowned," was, according to Welsh genealogical tracts, the founder of the fifth Royal Tribe of Wales. He was the Prince of Buellt, ...

who had died in around 1010 and had founded a dynasty in the Middle Marches of Wales, in the area known as

Rhwng Gwy a Hafren Rhwng Gwy a Hafren ( en, Between Wye and Severn) was a region of medieval Wales, located in the Welsh Marches between Powys to the north and Brycheiniog to the south. It was bounded by the rivers Wye ( cy, Gwy) and Severn ( cy, Hafren). It covered ...

(''Between Wye & Severn'').

Prince of Maelienydd

After the death of Madog ab Idnerth, there was clearly a great deal of conflict in the Middle March between his family and the Norman

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 ...

s. Madog is known to have had at least five sons of whom Hywel ap Madog and Cadwgan ap Madog were killed in 1142 by Helias de Say, the Lord of Clun. Another son - Maredudd ap Madog - was killed by

Hugh de Mortimer Hugh de Mortimer (c. 1100 – 26 February 1180/81) was a Norman English medieval lord. Lineage The son of Ranulph de Mortimer, he was Lord of Wigmore Castle, Stratfield Mortimer, Cleobury Mortimer and at times, Bridgnorth, Bishop's Castle a ...

in 1146. This left two surviving sons, who ended up in control of the two principal divisions of their father's lands in

: Cadwallon ap Madog ruled

Maelienydd Maelienydd, sometimes spelt Maeliennydd, was a cantref and lordship in east central Wales covering the area from the River Teme to Radnor Forest and the area around Llandrindod Wells. The area, which is mainly upland, is now in Powys. During the ...

and his younger brother

Einion Clud Einion, the Welsh form of the Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-d ...

ruled

Elfael Elfael was one of a number of Welsh cantrefi occupying the region between the River Wye and river Severn, known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, in the early Middle Ages. It was divided into two commotes, Is Mynydd and Uwch Mynydd, separated by the chain of ...

. The two fell out and Cadwallon is recorded as having seized Einion and handed him over to

Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be ...

, who in turn handed him over to Henry II. But Einion was later free, joining with his brother to rally under the banner of Owain Gwynedd at Corwen in 1165. In the summer of 1175 Cadwallon and Einion followed

Rhys ap Gruffudd Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197 and native Prince of Wales. It was believed that h ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

where he made a peace treaty with King Henry II, buying recognition from the king for his holding the land of Maelienydd. The Brut y Twysogion records this with the words: ''And then the Lord Rhys ap Gruffudd prepared to go to the king’s court at Gloucester. And he took along with him, by the king’s counsel, all the princes of the South who had been in opposition to the king, to wit: Cadwallon ap Madog of Maelienydd, his first-cousin'' .e. Rhys’s cousin ''and Einion Clud of Elfael''...Brut y Tywysogyon ('The Chronicle of the Princes') - Red Book of Hergest version translated by Thomas Jones 1955 Cadwallon also seems to have been responsible for building or fortifying several castles in the Middle Marches. He fought at least one battle at Ednol and was 'the renowned possesser of Cymaron' and its castle. It seems he built Crug Eryr Castle and brought destruction to the English Marches of Herefordshire and Shropshire. In 1176 he profited most from the death of his brother Einion when he annexed his lands. The next year he was described as "king" of

by an English court official.

His death

In September 1179 he appeared in the royal court to answer charges of waging war against the king's peace. In this he appears to have been successful, but on returning home to

he was met by men owing allegiance to Roger Mortimer of Wigmore and was cut down and killed on 22 September. The king was outraged as Cadwallon was under a royal safe conduct. Mortimer was imprisoned in Winchester for two years and his associates who did the killing were in turn hunted down, some turning to outlawry, others to exile and some being executed.

His descendants

Ancient pedigrees show Efa ferch Madog, the daughter of

Madog ap Maredudd Madog ap Maredudd ( wlm, Madawg mab Maredud, ; died 1160) was the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales and for a time held the Fitzalan Lordship of Oswestry. Madog was the son of King Maredudd ap Bleddyn and grandson of King Bledd ...

Prince of Powys (last to rule over a united

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 t ...

) as his wife. She was living in 1176. By her he appears to have had at least five children, Joan ferch Cadwallon, Maelgwn ap Cadwallon (d.1197), Hywel ap Cadwallon (d.1212), Llywelyn ap Cadwallon (mutilated), Owain Cascob ap Cadwallon (d.1198).

References

Sources

* Remfry, P.M., ''The Political History of Abbey Cwmhir, 1176 to 1282 and the Families of Elystan Godrydd, Mortimer and the Princes of Gwynedd'' () * Remfry, P.M., The ''Native Welsh Dynasties of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, 1066 to 1282'' .Phil Thesis, Aberystwyth, 1989

External links

www.elystan.co.uk
- website dedicated to the dynasty of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, founded by Elystan Glodrydd {{DEFAULTSORT:Cadwallon Ap Madog Welsh murder victims 1179 deaths 12th-century Welsh people Year of birth unknown