Rhys ap Tewdyr, King of Deheubarth

- 1093

• Name	Rhys ap Tewdyr  [1]
  Suffix	King of Deheubarth
  Gender	Male
  Death	Apr 1093	Brycheiniog, Wales   [2, 3, 4]
  Siblings	1 sibling
  + 1. Rhys ap Tewdyr, King of Deheubarth   d. Apr 1093, Brycheiniog, Wales ▻ Gwladus ferch Rhiwallon ;  (Unknown wife of Rhys ap Tewdyr) + 2. Gwyn ap Tewdwr Mawr ap Cadell ,   b. Abt 1030 ▻
  Person ID	I8443	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of AP, Ancestor of DDB, Ancestor of DGH, Ancestor of DK, Ancestor of JMF, Ancestor of JTS, Ancestor of LD, Ancestor of LMW, Ancestor of TNH, Ancestor of TSW, Ancestor of TWK, Ancestor of UKL, Ancestor of WPF
  Last Modified	14 Dec 2019

  
  

  Father	Tewdwr Mawr ap Cadell ab Einion ab Owain,   b. Abt 1000
  Family ID	F695	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Gwladus ferch Rhiwallon
  Children	+ 1. Nest ferch Rhys,   b. Abt 1085   d. Bef 1136 (Age ~ 50 years)
  Family ID	F3697	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	14 Dec 2019

  
  

  Family 2	(Unknown wife of Rhys ap Tewdyr)
  Children	+ 1. Gruffydd ap Rhys,   b. Abt 1090   d. 1137 (Age ~ 47 years)
  Family ID	F15915	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	14 Dec 2019

  
  

• Notes

  From the Dictionary of Welsh Biography: RHYS ap TEWDWR (d. 1093), king of Deheubarth; grandson of Cadell ab Einion ab Owain ap Hywel Dda. In 1075 he took possession of Deheubarth on the death of his second-cousin, Rhys ab Owain ab Edwin. In 1081 he was dislodged by Caradog ap Gruffydd , but later in the year, with the help of Gruffudd ap Cynan, he was firmly reinstated after the historic battle of Mynydd Carn. In the same year William the Conqueror made a demonstration of power in South Wales, traversing the land as far as S. Davids; it is reasonably certain that during the visit the two kings came to an agreement as to their future good relations, which lasted to the end of William's reign. A few years later it is recorded that Rhys is paying the king £40 a year for Deheubarth, thereby becoming a vassal of the Norman Crown and establishing a precedent with lasting consequences on Anglo-Welsh relations. Henceforth, with the exception of the closing tragedy of his career, Rhys had only to contend with the jealousies of his fellow princes. In 1088 he was attacked by the young rulers of Powys and was obliged to seek refuge in Ireland, but he soon returned and, with Danish help, decisively defeated his opponents (see Madog, Rhiryd, and Cadwgan ap Bleddyn). Again in 1091 he was opposed by a group of his own vassals in Dyfed, who sought to restore the kingship to the senior line of Hywel Dda in the person of Gruffydd ap Maredudd ab Owain. At Llandudoch (S. Dogmaels) on the Teifi the rebels were defeated and Gruffydd killed. Meanwhile the Norman conquest of the south had gathered a new momentum after William's death in 1087, and among the territories then being over-run was the old kingdom of Brycheiniog. It was while resisting the Norman advance in this all-important approach to his own dominions that Rhys was killed in uncertain circumstances near Aberhonddu (Brecon). He was virtually the last of the ancient kings of Deheubarth, and it was in a different political setting that the power of the dynasty was eventually revived by his grandson -- Rhys ap Gruffydd. He m. Gwladus, daughter of Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn. He was survived by two sons, Gruffydd ap Rhys and Hywel, and by a daughter, Nest.

  
  

• Sources

  [S128] The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant ed. Vicary Gibbs, H. A. Doubleday, Duncan Warrand, Howard de Walden, Geoffrey H. White and R. S. Lea. 2nd edition. 14 volumes (1-13, but volume 12 spanned two books), London, The St. Catherine Press, 1910-1959. Volume 14, "Addenda & Corrigenda," ed. Peter W. Hammond, Gloucestershire, Sutton Publishing, 1998. [S145] Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis and Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. 8th edition, William R. Beall & Kaleen E. Beall, eds. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004, 2006, 2008., year only. [S903] The Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales, 2007 and ongoing. [S3215] Medieval Welsh Ancestors of Certain Americans by Carl Boyer III. Santa Clarita, California, 2004.