Owain Goch ap Gruffydd
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Owain ap Gruffudd (also known as ''Owain Goch'' wain the Red (died 1282) was brother to
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 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 ...
and, for a brief period in the late 1240s and early 1250s, ruler of part of the
Kingdom of Gwynedd The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: ; Middle Welsh: ) was a Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. Based in northwest Wales, th ...
(in modern-day north
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
).


Lineage

Owain was the eldest son of
Gruffudd ap Llywelyn Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (  5 August 1063) was King of Wales from 1055 to 1063. He had previously been King of Gwynedd and Powys in 1039. He was the son of King Llywelyn ap Seisyll and Angharad daughter of Maredudd ab Owain, and the great-grea ...
and the grandson of
Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and d ...
. He was imprisoned together with his father in
Criccieth Castle Criccieth Castle ( cy, Castell Cricieth; ) is a native Welsh castle situated on the headland between two beaches in Criccieth, Gwynedd, in North Wales, on a rocky peninsula overlooking Tremadog Bay. It was built by Llywelyn the Great of the kin ...
in 1239 by his uncle
Dafydd ap Llywelyn Dafydd ap Llywelyn (''c.'' March 1212 – 25 February 1246) was Prince of Gwynedd from 1240 to 1246. He was the first ruler in Wales to claim the title Prince of Wales. Birth and descent Though birth years of 1208, 1206, and 1215 have ...
, and accompanied his father to
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
two years later when Dafydd was forced to hand Gruffudd over to King
Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...
. In 1244 Gruffudd was killed when a makeshift rope broke as he attempted to escape from the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. This freed Dafydd ap Llywelyn's hand as King Henry could no longer use Gruffudd against him, and war broke out between him and King Henry in the spring of 1244. Owain meanwhile had been freed by Henry after his father's death in the hope that he would start a civil war in Gwynedd, but he remained at
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
, so that when Dafydd died unexpectedly in February 1246 without leaving an heir, his brother Llywelyn, who had supported his uncle against the king, had the advantage of being on the spot.


Treaty of Woodstock

Owain and Llywelyn came to terms with King Henry, but were restricted by the terms of the Treaty of
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
in 1247 to Gwynedd Uwch Conwy, the part of Gwynedd 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 = , push ...
, which was divided between them.
Gwynedd Is Conwy Gwynedd Is Conwy (Welsh, meaning ''Gwynedd Below the Conwy'') was the portion of the former Kingdom of Gwynedd lying between the River Conwy and River Dee. This area was also known as ''Y Berfeddwlad'' ('The Middle Land') as it lay between and wa ...
, east of the river, was taken over by the king, who gave it to his son,
Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
. Though initially paying homage to the English, Owain and Llywelyn soon broke with Henry III in protest over the ruthless raids being conducted on the Welsh borders.


The Battle of Bryn Derwin

The third brother, Dafydd ap Gruffudd, came of age soon afterwards, and King Henry accepted his homage and announced his intention of giving him a part of the already much reduced Gwynedd. Llywelyn refused to accept this, and Owain and Dafydd formed an alliance against him. This led to the
Battle of Bryn Derwin The Battle of Bryn Derwin was fought in Eifionydd in Gwynedd in June 1255, between Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and his brothers, Dafydd ap Gruffudd and Owain Goch ap Gruffydd Llywelyn had ruled over a truncated Kingdom of Gwynedd jointly with Owai ...
in June 1255. Llywelyn defeated Owain and Dafydd and captured them, thereby becoming sole ruler of Gwynedd Uwch Conwy. The medieval Welsh chronicle
Brut y Tywysogion ''Brut y Tywysogion'' ( en, Chronicle of the Princes) is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. ''Bru ...
described the struggle thus:
''In those days great strife was bred at the instigation of the Devil between the sons of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, Namely Owain Goch and Dafydd on the one side, and Llywelyn on the other. And then Llywelyn and his men, trusting in God, awaited, unafraid on Bryn Derwin the fierce coming of his brothers, and a mighty host along with them. And before the end of one hour Owain Goch was captured and Dafydd fled, after many of his host had been slain.''


Imprisonment and release

With his brothers out of the way, Llywelyn proceeded to extend Gwynedd's territory until it encompassed much of the rest of Wales, in the process claiming the title of
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 imprisoned again, and remained in prison until 1277. In a contemporary poem of the 13th century, court poet
Hywel Foel ap Griffri Hywel Foel ap Griffri ap Pwyll Wyddel (fl. c. 1240–1300) was a Welsh language court poet. Hywel Foel's only surviving work is an ''awdl'' which laments the capture and imprisonment of Owain ap Gruffudd at Dolbadarn Castle. The text of this ''a ...
laments Owain's captivity, describing him in the opening line as: ''Gŵr ysydd yn nhŵr yn hir westai'' (a man who is in the tower, long a guest). It is unclear where Owain was imprisoned, but some scholars believe he was kept in
Dolbadarn Castle Dolbadarn Castle ( ; cy, Castell Dolbadarn ) is a fortification built by the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great during the early 13th century, at the base of the Llanberis Pass, in northern Wales. The castle was important both militarily and a ...
near
Llanberis (; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking ...
. Wherever he was kept, Llywelyn reluctantly released Owain in 1277 under the terms of the
Treaty of Aberconwy The Treaty of Aberconwy was signed on the 10th of November 1277, the treaty was by King Edward I of England and Llewelyn the Last, Prince of Wales, following Edward’s invasion of Llewelyn’s territories earlier that year. The treaty granted p ...
, after some 20 years of captivity. Upon being released, Owain retired to his estate in north-west Wales and never again mounted a serious challenge to his brother Llywelyn's rule. He is thought to have died ''c.'' 1282.


See also

*
List of rulers of Wales Prior to the Conquest of Wales, completed in 1282, Wales consisted of a number of independent kingdoms, the most important being Gwynedd, Powys, Deheubarth (originally Ceredigion, Seisyllwg and Dyfed) and Morgannwg ( Glywysing and Gwent). ...


References

*J. Beverley Smith (1986) ''Llywelyn ap Gruffudd: Tywysog Cymru'' (Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru, Cardiff) n Welsh {{DEFAULTSORT:Owain Goch Ap Gruffudd 1282 deaths Monarchs of Gwynedd 13th-century Welsh monarchs Year of birth unknown