1247 The Treaty of Woodstock
A treaty was agreed between Henry III of England and the brothers, Llywelyn and Owain Goch ap Gruffudd, at Woodstock in April 1247: Gwynedd Uwch-Conwy, to the west of afon Conwy, was to be divided between Llywelyn and Owain; and Gwynedd Is-Conwy (the Perfeddwlad) to the east of the river was given to Henry’s son, Edward. The rest of Cymru was under English rule.
1255 Battle of Bryn Derwin
Dafydd ap Gruffudd - Llywelyn and Owain Goch’s younger brother - was refused a share of his inheritance and this led to civil war. In 1255, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd defeated Dafydd and Owain at the battle of Bryn Derwin near Clynnog-fawr. They were both imprisoned after the battle and, despite Dafydd being released a year later, Owain remained a prisoner until 1277.
1256 Perfeddwlad
In Autumn 1256, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and his army crossed the river Conwy, along with his brother Dafydd, Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg and Maredudd ab Owain of Deheubarth, and within a week they had taken back the Perfeddwlad.
1257 Trwst Llywelyn
Llywelyn and his supporters travelled into Meirionydd and Powys in early 1257 and routed Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn near Garthmyl in a battle named Trwst Llywelyn (or ‘Llywelyn’s Uproar’). Within a few months Llywelyn had regained almost all Powys from Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn. Dafydd was then given land in the Perfeddwlad.
1257 Battles of Coed Llathen and Cymerau
At the beginning of June 1257, a force led by Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg and Maredudd ab Owain decimated a large English force led by Stephen Bauson in two battles - Coed Llathen and Cymerau - to the west of Llandeilo Fawr in Deheubarth. Bauson and his army had left Caerfyrddin and travelled up Dyffryn Tywi under the guidance of Rhys Fychan ap Rhys Mechyll, before camping near Llandeilo Fawr. The Cymry were in the woods surrounding them overnight, however, and attacked and defeated the English force early the following morning.
1258 Battle of Pont Caerfyrddin
Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg then defected to Henry III in October 1257, however, and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and his allies travelled to Deheubarth to confront him. Maredudd was defeated and severely wounded in the battle at Pont Caerfyrddin in April 1258.
1258 Battle of Cilgerran
A few months after the battle at Pont Caerfyrddin, Maredudd ap Rhys Grug was defeated and captured by a force, including Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Maredudd ab Owain and Rhys Fychan, at the battle of Cilgerran; he was then imprisoned in Castell Cricieth.
1263 Battles of Pont y Fenni and Abermiwl
John de Grey of Herefordshire and Roger Mortimer of Wigmore led a force which defeated an army of Cymry at Pont y Fenni (Abergavenny Bridge); and, shortly afterwards, the tables were turned when an army of Cymry defeated a force led by John Lestrange of Cnwcin (Knockin) at Abermiwl.
1267 The Treaty of Trefaldwyn (Montgomery)
Eventually, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd agreed a treaty with Henry III of England in September 1267. The Treaty of Montgomery required Llywelyn to pay homage and swear fealty to Henry at Rhyd Chwima near Trefaldwyn (Montgomery), and it also involved the payment of thirty thousand marks in sterling. For this, Henry would accept Llywelyn as Tywysog Cymru, and Llywelyn would also receive the homage of the leaders of Cymru.
1274 Assassination Plot
In 1274, Dafydd ap Gruffudd and Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn of Powys were implicated in a plot to kill Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and they both fled to England for protection when it was discovered.
1272 Death of Henry III
Henry III of England had died in 1272 but his son was not crowned Edward I until he returned from a crusade to the Holy Land two years later. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd refused to pay homage to Edward as his brother, Dafydd, and Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn were being protected in England, and Edward was not happy that Llywelyn was planning to marry Eleanor, the daughter of Simon de Montfort.
1276 Edward I declares war on Llywelyn ap Gruffudd
Edward I eventually declared war on Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in November 1276, and then invaded Gogledd Cymru with a large army in July 1277.
1277 Treaty of Aberconwy
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd realised he had no choice but to concede defeat and, after signing the Treaty of Aberconwy, harsh conditions were imposed on the Cymru. Llywelyn’s lands were confined to those in Gwynedd, but he was allowed to retain the title Tywysog Cymru (prince of Wales) and, in 1278, he married Eleanor de Montfort in Worcester.
1282 Attack on Castell Penarlâg
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s last war for independence started in March 1282 when his brother, Dafydd, attacked Castell Penarlâg (Hawarden).
1282 Battle of Pont Llandeilo
In early June, Llywelyn and Dafydd defeated a force led by Gilbert de Clare at Pont Llandeilo. This led to Clare being sacked as commander of the English army in De Cymru.
1282 Birth of Gwenllian and Death of Eleanor
Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, the only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, was born in June 1282, but her mother, Eleanor de Montfort, died shortly after her birth.
1282 Negotiations between Edward I and Llywelyn
Edward I of England arrived at Dinbych (Denbigh) on October 22nd, 1282, and agreed to negotiate with Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. Archbishop John Peckham and Edward met at Rhuddlan on October 31st to discuss the negotiations but Edward then decided that the damage inflicted by the Cymry was unforgivable. Despite this, Peckham still visited Llywelyn at Abergwyngregyn a few days later.
1282 Battle of Moel-y-Don
An English army led by Ralph de Tany had landed on Ynys Môn during August 1282, but adverse weather conditions had delayed their crossing of Afon Menai to the mainland. On November 6th, de Tany made the decision to cross over from Moel-y-don via a bridge of boats tied together, but his army was decimated by a force of Cymry, helped by the atrocious weather. The English panicked when the tide changed: many of them drowned in the melee around the bridgehead, and the rest were picked off by the Cymry as they floundered in the sea.
1282 Llywelyn travels to the Canolbarth
More letters were exchanged between Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and Archbishop Peckham but then, on November 11th, Llywelyn left his llys to lead a force into the Canolbarth (mid Wales). He planned to receive the homage of the men of Buellt and Brycheiniog, and left his brother, Dafydd, to continue the defence of Gwynedd.
1282 Llywelyn arrives in Buellt and Elfael
Around November 17th, Roger Lestrange wrote the first of two letters to Edward I and informed him that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd had travelled across the Berwyn mountains, and that he was in the lands of Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn (Arwystli and Cedewain). In his second letter, sent to Edward in early December, Lestrange said that Llywelyn had reached the Marches of Buellt and Elfael.
1282 The Cymry and English forces assemble at Buellt
In early December 1282, an English force assembled at Buellt under the command of Edmund Mortimer, John Giffard and Roger Lestrange. The Cymry camped on high ground near Cilmeri and Llanfair-ym-Muallt (Builth) and the two forces were separated by the river Irfon, whose main crossing point was held by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s men.
1282 Death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd
Llywelyn was killed near Cilmeri on December 11th. Accounts of Llywelyn’s death appear in a number of chronicles, but none are definitive. Similarly, there is no conclusive evidence of what happened to Llywelyn’s army after his death, although it is thought that many of them were slain nearby. Llywelyn’s death brought to an end Oes y Tywysogion (The Age of the Princes).
1283 Edward I invades Gwynedd in search of Dafydd
Following Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s death, his brother, Dafydd, assumed the title Tywysog Cymru. By January 1283, the army of Edward I of England invaded Gwynedd in search of him, and Dafydd moved from Castell Dolwyddelan to Castell y Bere and then to Castell Dolbadarn near Yr Wyddfa. Finally, Dafydd and one of his sons were captured on Bera Mawr, a few miles south of Abergwyngregyn, and he was charged with high treason.
1283 Execution of Dafydd ap Gruffudd
On October 3rd 1283, Dafydd ap Gruffudd became the first prominent person in recorded history to be hanged, drawn and quartered, with Edward I ensuring that his death in Shrewsbury was slow and agonising.
1283 Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn
Dafydd’s family had been captured in June 1283, and Edward imprisoned all the royal children to prevent any future claims to Cymru (Wales). This included Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, the only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, who was taken to Sempringham Priory in Lincolnshire where she died on June 7th 1337.
