Iorwerth ap Bleddyn (1053–1111) was a prince of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

in eastern

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Iorwerth was the son of

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn Bleddyn ap Cynfyn (; died 1075), sometimes spelled Blethyn, was an 11th-century Welsh king. King Harold Godwinson and Tostig Godwinson installed Bleddyn and his brother, Rhiwallon, as the co-rulers of kingdom of Gwynedd on his father's deat ...

who was king of both Powys and

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

. When Bleddyn was killed in 1075, Powys was divided between three of his sons, Iorwerth, Cadwgan and

Maredudd Maredudd, also found in the form Meredydd and in other spellings, is a Welsh male given name. The English-language name ''Meredith'' derives from it. A pet form of the name was ''Bedo'', which has also entered the English language in names such ...

. Iorwerth, Cadwgan and Maredudd held their lands as vassals of

Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury Robert de Bellême ( – after 1130), seigneur de Bellême (or Belèsme), seigneur de Montgomery, viscount of the Hiémois, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and Count of Ponthieu, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, and one of the most prominent figures ...

. In 1102 the Earl was summoned to answer charges at the court of King

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

and responded by rising in rebellion against the king. All three brothers initially supported Robert and took up arms on his behalf, pillaging

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. The king deputed

William Pantulf William Pantulf (died 16 April probably in 1112) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Baron of Wem. He was born in Hiémois, a county of Normandy, where his family had lived since around 1030. Pantulf held lands in Shropshire following the Norman C ...

to detach Iorwerth, who was considered to be the most powerful of the three brothers, from his alliance with Robert and his own brothers by the promise of large gifts of land. William succeeded in this, and Iorwerth led a large Welsh force to ravage

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

on behalf of the king. Robert was forced to surrender and was banished from the realm. Iorwerth also captured his brother Maredudd and handed him over to the king. Iorwerth's support for the king did not last long however. Many of the lands which he had been promised were given to others, and in 1103 Iorwerth was arraigned before a royal tribunal at

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

, convicted and imprisoned. He was not released until 1110 after Owain ap Cadwgan, son of Iorwerth's brother Cadwgan, had abducted

Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

wife of

Gerald of Windsor Gerald de Windsor (1075 – 1135), ''alias'' Gerald FitzWalter, was an Cymro-Norman lord who was the first Castellan of Pembroke Castle in Pembrokeshire (formerly part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth). Son of the first Norman-French Constable of W ...

resulting in an outbreak of hostilities. Iorwerth was able to drive Owain out of Powys and briefly regained his position as ruler. However, in 1111 Owain's ally, Madog ap Rhiryd, attacked Iorwerth at a house in which he was staying in the commote of Caereinion. Iorwerth's bodyguard was put to flight, the house set afire and Iorwerth was forced back at spearpoint into the burning building where he died. He left no heir, and when Cadwgan was also killed by Madog shortly afterwards, Owain ap Cadwgan took over the kingdom

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iorwerth Ap Bleddyn 1053 births 1111 deaths Monarchs of Powys House of Mathrafal 11th-century Welsh monarchs 12th-century Welsh monarchs Welsh princes