The tragedy of Dafydd (3)

In 1262 a rumour spread that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd had died of a sudden illness. The story travelled across the Channel and reached the ears of Henry III at Amiens in France, who immediately sought to take advantage. He dispatched a letter to the Marchers and native princes of Wales, ordering them to look sharp.

The orders issued from Henry’s chancery reveal the king’s strategy in Wales. Now Llywelyn was dead - apparently - it was vital to secure the homage of Welsh lords, which the crown had claimed for generations. Henry knew exactly how to achieve this: divide their strength and pit them against each other. A show of force was also necessary. The king told Roger Mortimer and the other marchers to dissolve any existing alliances with the Welsh, and be ready to muster at Shrewsbury in September for a full-scale invasion. Meanwhile the king sought confirmation from Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn, lord of southern Powys, whether Llywelyn was alive or dead.

Henry sent one of the marchers, James Audley, to order Gruffudd ap Madog to abandon Prince Dafydd and bring Powys Fadog back into the king’s allegiance. It was absolutely essential that Dafydd should not be acknowledged as Llywelyn’s heir. Technically Henry was correct: Dafydd had no automatic right to inherit, since his brothers Owain and Rhodri were still alive. Yet the king’s newfound love for Welsh custom was all part of his determination to ensure Gwynedd was partitioned in the wake of Llywelyn’s death.

Reports of the prince’s demise were greatly exaggerated. He recovered from his illness, prompting the Brut chronicler to remark that Divine providence afforded its sure protection to the Welsh nation.

As usual, Dafydd chose to follow his own unpredictable course. Despite being unceremoniously ditched by the king in 1262, he remained keen on an English alliance. When the Lord Edward came to the marches in the spring of 1263, Dafydd was sought an early meeting. The two men met at Hereford, where on 3 April Edward issued pardons to Dafydd and his men for waging war against the king. Via the same agreement he promised to: …

assist Dafydd in recovering his reasonable inheritance beyond the Conway, and granting him, in the meantime, the lands of Dyffryn Clwyd and Cynmeirch.

This agreement was approved by the king on 26 May and improved on 8 July with provision made for Dafydd, pending delivery of the lands, in Hawarden and Shotwick. The final treaty represented the start of a 19-year military and political alliance between Dafydd and the future Edward I.

It would be unreasonable to accuse Dafydd of simply betraying Llywelyn, when the latter was at the height of his success. The well-informed Chester chronicler says that he wished to liberate his brother Owain from prison at Dolbadarn. This may have some truth to it. Certainly, Owain’s confinement only served to rachet up the tensions in Gwynedd, and did nothing for Llywelyn’s popularity among his own people.

Dafydd had chosen to throw in his lot with Edward before the English prince led his army into Gwynedd. This was Edward’s first independent command in Wales. He managed to resupply his beleagured castles at Deganwy (pictured) and Diserth, but the French knights he brought over from the continent were tournament fighters, unsuited for guerilla warfare in North Wales. The Welsh led them in circles before vanishing into the forests and ‘morasses’, while Edward’s allies in the south found it hard going. John Lestrange was almost killed in an ambush at Abermule, Roger Mortimer was severely wounded in a skirmish, and Prince Llywelyn ap Maredudd killed in a battle at Clun.

The fight at Clun, however, was a defeat for Prince Llywelyn, who was engaged in the area south of Montgomery centred on the lordship of John FitzAlan. Possession of this land would extend Llywelyn’s authority to the outer limits of a territory which maintained ‘a community of the Welsh language’. To put Dafydd’s behaviour into context, John FitzAlan shortly afterwards chose to desert the king and join Simon de Montfort. He also struck a deal with Llywelyn, whereby FitzAlan agreed to hand over the lordship of Tempsiter or Dyffryn Tefeidiad to the Welsh prince.

Honestly, you couldn’t trust anyone.