House of Mathrafal

The Royal House of Mathrafal began as a cadet branch of the Welsh Royal House of Dinefwr, taking their name from Mathrafal Castle, their principal seat and effective capital. They effectively replaced the House of Gwertherion, who had been ruling the Kingdom of Powys since late Roman Britain, through the politically advantageous marriage of an ancestor, Merfyn the Oppressor. His son, King Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, would join the resistance of the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, against the invasion of William the Conqueror, following the Norman conquest of England. Thereafter, they would struggle with the Plantagenets and the remaining Welsh Royal houses for the control of Wales. Although their fortunes rose and fell over the generations, they are primarily remembered as Kings of Powys and last native Prince of Wales.[1][2]

House of Mathrafal

Arms of the Mathrafal House of Powys
Parent houseHouse of Dinefwr
CountryWales
Founded1063 (1063)
FounderBleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Gwynedd and Powys
Titles
Connected families
Estate(s)
Cadet branches
  • House of Yale
  • House of Gwerclas
  • House of Corsygedol
Harlech Castle, seat of Owain Glyndwr, Prince of Wales, used as his residence and military headquarters, was initially built by the Plantagenet King Edward Longshanks
Painting of Castell Dinas Bran, ancestral seat of the Princes of Powys Fadog, in Llangollen, Denbighshire

History
Dudley Castle, inherited by Isabella de Cherleton of Powys, wife of Sir John de Sutton II
Painting of Shakespeare's play Henry IV: featuring Owen Glendower with members of his family ; Hotspur and Mortimer

The House of Mathrafal was effectively established in the wake of the Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwinson, and his brother, Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria, and their disastrous raids of 1062–1063 against the King of Wales, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.[3] They installed Bleddyn ap Cynfyn as King over Powys and Gwynedd and kept him and his base in Mathrafal close to the Saxon border.[4] Mathrafal Castle became their seat and effective capital in Powys, replacing the Roman city of Viroconium.[5]

From this point forward, his family jockeyed with the Royal House of Dinefwr and the Royal House of Aberffraw for the control of Wales. (The unrelated dynasty in the Kingdom of Gwent and the Kingdom of Morgannwg was swiftly overrun by the Marcher Lords after the Norman Conquest). The House of Mathrafal's influence was greatest between 1063 and 1081, until they lost control of Gwynedd to a resurgent Aberffraw family following the Battle of Mynydd Carn. By 1191, the Kingdom of Powys was divided between the Principality of Powys Fadog in the north and the Principality of Powys Wenwynwyn (roughly modern Montgomeryshire) in the south.[6] The first became a more-or-less loyal vassal of Gwynedd; the latter, one of its main competitors.

Historian John Davies points out that, following the division of Powys, the dynasty should not be considered as "equal" to that of the Royal House of Aberffraw or the Royal House of Dinefwr.[7] Mathrafal Castle was utterly destroyed by Gwynedd in 1212 and thenceforth it was entirely dependent on English support for its survival. However, the Mathrafal dynasty continued to exert some influence, undermining and eventually betraying the Prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, on behalf of the Plantagenet King, Edward Longshanks, during his Conquest of Wales in 1282–83.[8]

Thereafter, they avoided his campaign of extermination against the Welsh Royal Houses and even exchanged their claims to royalty for an English Lordship at the Parliament of Shrewsbury in 1283.[9] They were displaced by the Lords of Mortimers in the early 14th century, until a momentary reascension of the House during the 15th century, following the Welsh Revolt led by the Prince of Wales, Owain Glyndŵr, against Prince Henry and King Henry IV of England, of the Royal House of Lancaster.

Welsh Revolt

The rebellions were supported by the French Royal House of Valois, and were an attempt not only at gaining the independence of Wales, but also the redivision of England to their relatives, the House of Percy and the Mortimers.[10][11] Despite being Crowned as Owain IV of Wales in 1404, and having taking control of all Wales, and having created the first Welsh parliament at Harlech Castle, they eventually lost the war to the English forces of Henry V.[12]

Nonetheless, their efforts didn't go in vain, as their rebellion gave rise to the first Welsh Kings of England, the Royal House of Tudor.[13] The Tudors were their cousins on their mother's side, through the Tudors of Penmynydd, who fought with them during the rebellions, such a Sir Owen Tudor, the second husband of Queen Catherine de Valois.[14] He also captured number of Longshanks’s main castles such as Conwy, Harlech, and Beaumaris, and besieged Caernarfon.[15]

This historic period would later be immortalized by William Shakespeare in his play Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, featuring "Owen Glendower" as a character. Members of his family are also featured, such as Henry "Hotspur" Percy and Sir Edmund Mortimer, rivals of Prince Hal, future King Henry V.

The House was succeeded by the descendants of Prince Owain Glyndŵr and his brother, Lord Tudur ap Gruffudd, through the Vaughans of Cors-y-Gedol.[16][17] They are today represented by its derivative branches; the House of Yale (Yale family) and the Rogers of Bryntangor, who act as co-representatives of the dynasty.[18][19] They are also the co-representatives of the Sovereign dynasties of North Wales (Gwynedd) and South Wales (Dinefwr), having their genealogies traced back to the Romano-British ruler Cunedda.[20][21][22]

These Houses are also cadet branches of the FitzGerald Dynasty, and direct descendants of the Plantagenets.[23][24] The Wynn baronets, who are today represented by the Williams-Wynns, are related to the House, through the Princes of Aberffraw and the Wynne family of Peniarth.[25][26]

Ancestry

Along with the Royal Houses of Aberffraw, Dinefwr, and Seisyll, the House of Mathrafal traced their descent from King Merfyn the Oppressor who, along with his son, King Rhodri the Great, established control over northern and western Wales.[27] Rhodri replaced King Cyngen ap Cadell as ruler of the Kingdom of Powys after the latter died while on a pilgrimage to Rome.[28] His father, Merfyn, had previously allied his family with the last rulers of Powys by marrying Princess Nest, the daughter or sister of King Cyngen.[29][note 1]

Her family was of the Royal House of Gwertherion, and had been ruling Powys since the 5th century, through the marriage of an ancestor, Vortigern, the High-King, to Sevira, the daughter of the Roman Emperor, Magnus Maximus.[32][33][34] Their capital was at Viroconium, a Roman city that been founded by Caesar's Legio XIV Gemina, and abandoned later by Legio XX Valeria, for the fortress at Deva Victrix (Chester).[35][36][37]

As a consequence of this alliance, King Cyngen's legitimate heirs were either exiled or reduced to the level of minor land owners (e.g., the family of Sir Gruffudd Vychan).[38] Yet, one of the last Kings of Powys, Cadell ap Brochfael, maternal great-grandfather of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, the first King of the House of Mathrafal, claimed descent from Cyngen's son Aeddan, who seems to have ruled straight after.

Other noble families claimed descent from another of Cyngen's sons, Elisedd, who is mentioned as killing his older brother Gruffydd in the Annales Cambriae. It is therefore likely that Gwynedd's hegemony over Powys was merely propaganda, intended to glorify Gwynedd at the expense of Powys before the time of Prince Owain Gwynedd. Therefore, there was a lot of political instability as the House had to rule two Kingdoms, Powys and Gwynedd.

In the traditional accounts, Rhodri the Great divided his Kingdom among his sons and gave Powys to his youngest, Prince Merfyn. King Cadell in Ceredigion then dispossessed his brother and added Powys to his inheritance.[39] It is possible, however, that Powys remained independent until its 916 annexation by Cadell's son Hywel Dda, who also conquered Dyfed and Gwynedd and established what has become known as the realm of Deheubarth. On the death of Hywel's grandson in 999, Maredudd ab Owain, the realm splintered: Irishmen usurped Gwynedd and falsely passed themselves off as Maredudd's heir in Dyfed. These were removed by King Llywelyn ap Seisyll, from a cadet branch of the Aberffraw line in the commote of Rhuddlan.

Members
Powis Castle, ancient seat of the Princes of Powys Wenwynwyn, now in the Herbert family, their kinsmen
The Welsh Revolt of Owain Glyndŵr and Tudur ap Gruffudd which lasted from 1400 to 1415
Main article: list of kings of Powys

Members of the Mathrafal Dynasty include:[40]

Last Prince of Powys
Ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey, ancient religious center of Yale
Conwy Castle, was captured by Rhys ap Tudur and Gwilym ap Tudur

Notes
  1. The view that Ethyllt was Merfyn's mother and Nest his wife is held by Davies[30] and many others, including David E. Thornton[29] and Lloyd,[31] who notes the consistency of the genealogies in Jesus College MS 20 from Oxford university and Harleian MS 3859 against the contrary account that Nest was the mother and Ethyllt the wife. Thornton gives Nest as Cadell's sister.[29]

References
  1. "RCAHMW: In the steps of Owain Glyndwr". rcahmw.gov.uk. Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments of wales. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
  2. Shakespeare’s Princes of Wales, England’s Hope? Shadowed Heirs in Shakespeare’s Histories, Oxford Academic, Marisa R. Cull, 2014, p.52–82
  3. Chapter Twenty-One, Wales and West Britain, John Reuben Davis, page 346
  4. A Companion to Britain in the Early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland c. 500–1100, edited by Pauline Stafford (Oxford: Blackwell, 2009), pp. 341–357
  5. Davies, John (1990). History of Wales. Penguin.
  6. Ulwencreutz's The Royal Families in Europe V, page 50-51
  7. Davies, John (1990). History of Wales. Penguin.
  8. Chapter Twenty-One, Wales and West Britain, John Reuben Davis
  9. Ulwencreutz's The Royal Families in Europe V, page 51
  10. Owen Glendower (Owen Glyn Dŵr). By J. E. Lloyd. 9 × 6. Pp. xiv + 161. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press, 1931. 10s. 6d.
  11. Biography.Wales, Owain Glyndwr (c. 1354 - 1416), 'Prince of Wales'
  12. Biography.Wales, Owain Glyndwr (c. 1354 - 1416), 'Prince of Wales'
  13. The History Press, Three things you might not know about Owain Glyndŵr
  14. The History Press, Three things you might not know about Owain Glyndŵr
  15. The National Library of Wales, Pennal Letter: Wales’ important role in European politics
  16. Burke, Bernard (1852). "A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland for 1852". p. 1663.
  17. "The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with Pedigrees of Royal Descents in Illustration" (PDF). Sir Bernard Burke, C.B., LL.D., Ulster King of Arms. 1876. p. 51. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  18. Burke, Bernard (1852). "A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland for 1852". pp. 1662–1663.
  19. Burke, Bernard (1886). "A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland". pp. 2060–2061.
  20. Burke, Bernard (1852). "A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland for 1852". pp. 1662–1663.
  21. David Jones, ‘Wales and the Crown’, 1953, in Epoch and Artist: Selected Writings, ed. Harman Grisewood, London: Faber & Faber, 1959, pp. 41–2.
  22. Bridging the Breaks: David Jones and the Continuity of Culture, by Jasmine Hunter-Evans
  23. Burke, Bernard (1852). "A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland for 1852". pp. 1662–1663.
  24. Burke, Bernard (1886). "A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland". pp. 2060–2061.
  25. "Wynne family, of Peniarth". archives.library.wales. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  26. D. JONES (Chemist and Bookseller, Barmouth.) (1863). "The Tourist's and Visitor's Hand-Book and Guide to Harlech, Barmouth, Dolgelley, Towyn ..." pp. 34–35. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  27. Chapter Twenty-One, Wales and West Britain, John Reuben Davis
  28. Ulwencreutz's The Royal Families in Europe V, page 50
  29. Thornton 2004
  30. Davies 1990:81, A History of Wales
  31. Lloyd 1911:324, A History of Wales, Vol I
  32. Bartrum., Peter Clement (1993). A Welsh Classical Dictionary; People In History And Legend Up To About A. D. 1000. The National Library of Wales. ISBN 9780907158738. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  33. L. Reno, Frank (2014). Arthurian Figures of History and Legend: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5824-0. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  34. Laycock, Stuart (2011). Warlords: The Struggle for Power in Post-Roman Britain. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-7560-8. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  35. Archaeological assessment of Wroxeter, Shropshire, Roger White and Hal Dalwood, https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-435-1/dissemination/pdf/PDF_REPORTS_TEXT/SHROPSHIRE/WROXETER_REPORT.pdf
  36. Oxford Classical Dictionary, Viroconium, Sheppard S. Frere and Martin Millett
  37. As Told in the Great Hall: The Wargamer's Guide to Dark Age Britain, Martin Hackett
  38. Ulwencreutz's The Royal Families in Europe V, page 50
  39. Chapter Twenty-One, Wales and West Britain, John Reuben Davis
  40. Ulwencreutz, Lars (30 October 2013). Ulwencreutz's the Royal Families in Europe V. ISBN 9781304581358.
  41. Brut y tywysogion: Or, The chronicle of the princes A.D. 681–1282 (Great Britain. Public Record Office. Kraus Reprints: 1965, ASIN: B0007JD67I
  42. Bodleian, MS Ashmole 1120, fo. 174r
  43. "The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with Pedigrees of Royal Descents in Illustration" (PDF). Sir Bernard Burke, C.B., LL.D., Ulster King of Arms. 1876. p. 51. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  44. "PORTUGAL, Kings". Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  45. Lloyd, Jacob Youde William (1887). "The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher, and the Ancient ..., Volume 6".
  46. "Archaeologia Cambrensis (1846-1899) | Fourth Series No. XXX April 1877 | 1877 | Welsh Journals - the National Library of Wales".
  47. Burke, Bernard (1882). "A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland".
  48. "YALE family, of Plâs yn Iâl and Plas Grono Wrexham | Dictionary of Welsh Biography".
  • Lewys Dwnn Heraldic Visitations of Wales and Part of the Marches between the years 1586 and 1613

Sources
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.