Owain Gwynedd: The Bulwark of All Wales
Owain Gwynedd (c. 1100-1170), also known as Owain ap Gruffudd, was a Welsh leader and ruler of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, best known for his resistance against Henry II of England (reign 1154-1189). He is not to be confused with the later Owain ap Gruffydd, known as Owain Cyfeiliog.
Owain became tywysog (leader, ruler) of the Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd after his father's death in 1137, ruling until his own death in 1170. He is remembered for his political and military successes, his repulsion of Norman advances, and his unifying role in a fragmented Wales, having been described as "able to give them wise and enlightened guidance" (Lloyd, 487) and "worthy to guide his nation" (Barbier, 15). Owain led troops against King Henry II several times and sought diplomatic support from Louis VII of France (reign 1137-1180). In his final years, Owain was embroiled in a dispute with Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, which led to his excommunication. Following his death from natural causes in 1170, Owain's domain fractured and was contested by his sons.
Owain's life is recorded in the Welsh chronicles the Brut y Tywysogion (The Chronicle of the Princes) and Annales Cambriae, and details of his military actions against Henry can be found in Anglo-Norman sources such as the Gesta Stephani, Chronicon ex chronicis, Gervase of Canterbury's historical works, Jocelin de Brakelond's chronicle, Roger de Hoveden's Annals, and William of Newburgh's The Church Historians of England. Some information on Owain's earlier years can be found in the biography of his father, the History of Gruffydd ap Cynan, the only surviving contemporary biography of a medieval Welsh prince.
Early Life & Campaigns
Little is known of Owain's youth. The Brut y Tywysogion first mentions him in 1124, at which point he was likely already in his twenties. No record exists of his date or place of birth.
Owain was born to Angharad ferch Owain and Gruffudd ap Cynan, tywysog of Gwynedd. Through his father, Owain descended from Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great), and through his mother from Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good). Owain's father, Gruffudd, was born in Dublin to the exiled Cynan ab Iago and spent two decades attempting to regain his ancestral lands in Gwynedd, finally succeeding in 1099 and holding Gwynedd until his death. It was shortly after this success in 1099 that Owain was born.
As Gruffudd aged and lost his eyesight, he delegated military leadership to his sons. It is in this role that Owain first appears in the contemporary record, leading a campaign into Meirionnydd in 1124 alongside his older brother, Cadwallon. Meirionnydd, a cantref (administrative region) in the south of Gwynedd, had been under the control of the kingdom of Powys, but this Powysian hold had been weakened by a succession dispute. This situation was effectively exploited by Owain and Cadwallon, who brought Meirionnydd under direct control of Gwynedd and returned north with a train of captives.
In 1132, Cadwallon was killed by his own cousins, Cadwgan ap Goronwy and Einion ab Owain, possibly during an attempted expansion into Powys. Owain was now Gruffudd's eldest heir. He continued to lead his father's forces, now alongside his younger brother, Cadwaladr. Their military talents would soon come in useful.
The death of Henry I of England in 1135 sparked a national revolt across Wales, and the opportunity to harry Norman settlers and regain lost land was seized. When the powerful Norman lord Richard fitz Gilbert was killed on his way to defend the land of Ceredigion, which had been granted to him by Henry I, Norman hold on Wales was further weakened, providing new opportunity for the Welsh to frustrate Norman control.
Owain and Cadwaladr wasted little time. In 1136, the pair marched south, leading an army out of Gwynedd and into Ceredigion, besieging a number of Norman-occupied castles and returning home victorious. The Brut y Tywysogion recorded their successes with a glowing eulogy, calling the pair "the splendour of all Britain and her defence and her strength and her freedom… defenders of the churches, guardians of the poor, slayers of their enemies and tamers of warriors… supremacy over all Wales…" (Jones, 51).
That same year, Owain achieved one of his greatest victories at the Battle of Crug Mawr. Returning to Ceredigion in the autumn of 1136, Owain and Cadwaladr were joined by the forces of Gruffydd ap Rhys, tywysog of the kingdom of Deheubarth, Hywel ap Maredudd, lord of Meisgyn in South Wales, and Madog ab Idnerth, another notable figure who hailed from a central part of the Welsh Marches. Near the hill of Crug Mawr, north of Cardigan, the combined Welsh force met their Norman opposition. The defending army was led by an alliance of leaders hoping to stem the Welsh uprising and reaffirm Norman control. The battle was a rout for the Normans, who were forced to retreat across the River Teifi. As the Welsh pursued, the bridge spanning the Teifi collapsed, sending many Normans to their death in the water. Welsh and Norman sources both report great Norman losses, with combatants trampled, burnt, slain, and seized. The Brut y Tywysogion claims 3,000 Normans had died by the time Owain and Cadwaladr, "having honourably won the victory" (Jones, 52), returned to Gwynedd.
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