Raging in his fury: the trials of Madog ap Llywelyn (2)

When war broke out between Prince Llywelyn and Edward I in 1276, Madog chose to serve the king. This was almost certainly a bid to recover his lost inheritance in Meirionydd, and he seems to have obtained official recognition from the crown of his status: an abbreviated payment of 20 shillings to Madog refers to him as ‘d’no Merioneth’ or lord of Merioneth/Meirionydd.

Madog’s actions during the war are uncertain, though a man of the same name crops up on a payroll for the army of the Middle March, serving with a ‘barded’ horse; barding in this era being a padded leather covering for the horse. This man appears under a payment for men raised at Clun, a long way from Madog’s home on Anglesey. However, his father had died in a battle at Clun, and it is not impossible that he did military service in the same region.

When the war was over, the defeated Prince Llywelyn immediately set about trying to recover his position. He invited certain lords of West Wales, who had fought for King Edward, to his court at Dolwyddelan in Snowdonia. Madog had no interest in reconciliation, and brought a lawsuit against Llywelyn for the land of Meirionydd.

Llywelyn was furious. While the case was in progress at Oswestry, the prince seized one of Madog’s servants, a certain Adam, took him to Meirionydd and hanged him. No charges were levied against Adam, and he appears to have been executed - murdered, to use plain language - to make a point. Llywelyn ruled over Meirionydd and Madog would never get it back.

Dolwyddelan

This was very unusual: unlike many Welsh princes, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd preferred to avoid bloodshed and never indulged in the customary blinding and castration of political rivals. His savagery towards the hapless Adam can only be explained by his fear of the threat posed by Madog.