Gwilym ap Griffith (died 1431), also known as Gwilym ap Gruffydd, was a Welsh landowner. He briefly lent his support to

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

in the

Glyndŵr Rising The Welsh Revolt (also called the Glyndŵr Rising or Last War of Independence) ( cy, Rhyfel Glyndŵr) or ( cy, Gwrthryfel Glyndŵr) was a Welsh rebellion in Wales led by Owain Glyndŵr against the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ag ...

. When his loyalty returned to the Crown, he was granted the lands of number of Glyndŵr supporters and by the end of his life had ownership of the majority of the lands previously held by the

Tudors of Penmynydd The Tudors of Penmynydd ( cy, Tuduriaid Penmynydd) were a noble and aristocratic family, connected with the village of Penmynydd in Anglesey, North Wales, who were very influential in Welsh (and later English) politics. From this family arose ...

Early life

Gwilym ap Griffith was the oldest son of Griffith ap Gwilym and Generys ferch Madog. The family was descended from the 12th-/13th-century Welsh magnate and dynastic founder

Ednyfed Fychan Ednyfed Fychan ( 1170 – 1246), full name Ednyfed Fychan ap Cynwrig, was a Welsh warrior who became Seneschal to the Kingdom of Gwynedd in Northern Wales, serving Llywelyn the Great and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn. Ednyfed claimed descent fr ...

Rebellion and land ownership

Gwilym ap Gruffydd married back into the Tudors line, through Morfudd ferch Goronwy, the daughter of Goronwy ap Tudur, head of the

and a distant kinsman of Gwilym. Unlike his other family members, he had avoided becoming involved in

's revolt, but lent his support in 1402. He remarried in 1405, to Joan, a daughter of Sir William Stanley from

Hooton, Cheshire Hooton is a suburban village on the Wirral Peninsula, within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was once a separate village but was incorporated into Ellesmere Port as the town e ...

. This was withdrawn by November 1407, when his forfeited lands were restored to him by the King. Gwilym ap Gruffydd was granted additional lands forfeited after the declaration of support by his first wife's uncles,

Rhys ap Tudur Rhys ap Tudur (died 1412) was a Welsh nobleman and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd. He held positions of power on behalf of King Richard II of England, including two periods as the Sheriff of Anglesey in the 1370s and 80s. Rhys accompa ...

and

Gwilym ap Tudur Gwilym ap Tudur (died 1413) was a Welsh nobleman and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd. In 1401, he and his brother Rhys ap Tudur took Conwy Castle after infiltrating it, in support of their cousin Owain Glyndŵr. Gwilym was subsequentl ...

, for Owain Glyndŵr in the

against King

Henry IV of England Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of F ...

. These were the confiscated lands from Rhys and Gwilym ap Tudur, although he did not receive the lands held by a third brother,

Maredudd ap Tudur Maredudd ap Tudur (died c. 1406) was a Welsh soldier and nobleman from the Tudor family of Penmynydd. He was one of five sons of Tudur ap Goronwy, and was the father of Owen Tudor. Maredudd supported the Welsh patriot Owain Glyndŵr in 1400, a ...

. These land grants were in addition to those held by a further 25 landowners. He was later also given the lands of his brother-in-law, Tudur ap Goronwy. For a brief while, Gwilym ap Gruffydd and his family lived at the historical Tudur estate in

Penmynydd Penmynydd (; ), meaning "top of the mountain" in Welsh, is a village and community on Anglesey, Wales. It is known for being the birthplace of the Tudors of Penmynydd, which became the House of Tudor. The population according to the United Kingd ...

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 ...

, before moving the family seat to

Penrhyn Bay Penrhyn Bay ( cy, Bae Penrhyn "headland bay") is a small town on the northern coast of Wales, in Conwy county borough, within the parish or community of Llandudno, and part of the ''ecclesiastical'' parish of Llanrhos. It is a prosperous villag ...

. By the end of his life, Gwilym ap Gruffydd's lands in Anglesey and

Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

were generating an income of more than £112 per year. The lands included those around the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait ( cy, Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. It varies in width from from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to from ...

on Anglesey and the

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 ...

Dindaethwy Dindaethwy was in medieval times one of two commotes of the cantref of Rhosyr, in the south-east of the Isle of Anglesey. It was between the Menai Strait and Conwy Bay (to the south), and the Irish Sea and Red Wharf Bay (to the north). It incl ...

, and the majority of the lands previously held by various members of the Tudor family.

Descendants

The descendants of Gwilym ap Gruffydd served in the households of the Tudor Kings Henry VII and

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. However, they did not rise to the same level of prominence in local affairs as the former landowners. They came to be known as the Anglesey Tudors, and were also referred to as the Theodores. They did not live on Anglesey, and were not written about by famous poets of their day.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruffydd, Gwilym ap 1431 deaths Welsh rebels Year of birth unknown Welsh landowners 15th-century Welsh people