Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh Yr Arglwydd Rhys, although this title may have not been used in his lifetime. He usually used the title "Proprietary Prince of Deheubarth" or "Prince of South Wales", but two documents have been discovered in which he uses the title "Prince of Wales" or "Prince of the Welsh". Rhys was one of the most successful and powerful Welsh princes, and, after the death of Owain Gwynedd of Gwynedd in 1170, the dominant power in Wales.
Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog was the last major ruler of mid Wales before the completion of the Norman English invasion. He was one of few native rulers to represent a real threat to the rule of Llywelyn the Great.
Hay-on-Wye, known locally as Hay, is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the site of the annual Hay Festival.
Radnorshire was an administrative county in mid Wales, later classed as one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales and from 1974 to 1996 a district. It covered a sparsely populated area, and was bounded to the north by Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, to the east by Herefordshire, to the south by Brecknockshire and to the west by Cardiganshire.
The Kingdom of Powys was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern two-thirds of the modern county of Powys and part of today's English West Midlands. More precisely, and based on the Romano-British tribal lands of the Ordovices in the west and the Cornovii in the east, its boundaries originally extended from the Cambrian Mountains in the west to include the modern West Midlands region of England in the east. The fertile river valleys of the Severn and Tern are found there, and this region is referred to in later Welsh literature as "the Paradise of Powys".
Llanymynech is a village and former civil parish straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Llan of the Monks". The village is on the banks of the River Vyrnwy, and the Montgomery Canal passes through it.
Painscastle Castle is a castle in the village of Painscastle in Powys, Wales. It lies between Builth and Hay-on-Wye, approximately 3 miles from the Wales-England border today.
Clyro is a village and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales, with 781 inhabitants as of the 2011 UK Census. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the south-east.
Montgomery Castle is a stone castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, Mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England.
Hay Castle is a medieval fortification and 17th-century mansion house in the small town of Hay-on-Wye in Powys, Wales. Originally constructed as part of the Norman invasion of Wales, the castle was designed as a ringwork overlooking the town in either the late 11th or the early 12th centuries. It was rebuilt in stone around 1200 by the de Braose family and then had a turbulent history, being attacked and burnt several times during the First and Second Barons' Wars, the wars with the Welsh princes, the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr and the Wars of the Roses. In the 17th century a Jacobean mansion house was built alongside the medieval keep and the property became a private home. Serious fires in 1939 and 1977 gutted the castle and, despite repairs in the 1980s, by the early 21st century much of the building was derelict and unstable. Since 2011 it has been owned by Hay Castle Trust who have restored the property to form a centre for arts, literature and learning. Following the restoration, partly funded by grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund of over £5m, the castle opened to the public on 26 May 2022.
This article is about the particular significance of the century 1101–1200 to Wales and its people.
Rhwng Gwy a Hafren was a region of medieval Wales, located in the Welsh Marches between Powys to the north and Brycheiniog to the south. It was bounded by the rivers Wye and Severn. It covered about the same territory as Radnorshire, now part of the county of Powys. The region first came into its own in the 9th or 10th centuries, when it was ruled by leaders who operated independently of the surrounding kingdoms. After the Norman invasion, it comprised the central part of the Welsh Marches and was the site of frequent struggles between Welsh and Norman forces.
Ial or Yale was a commote of medieval Wales within the cantref of Maelor in the Kingdom of Powys. When the Kingdom was divided in 1160, Maelor became part of the Princely realm of Powys Fadog, and belonged to the Royal House of Mathrafal. Yale eventually merged with another commote and became the Lordship of Bromfield and Yale, later a royal lordship under the Tudors and Stuarts.
Glasbury, also known as Glasbury-on-Wye, is a village and community in Powys, Wales. The village lies at an important crossing point on the River Wye, connecting the historic counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire, and is located just outside the Brecon Beacons National Park, north of the Black Mountains. The village is split between the communities of Glasbury and Gwernyfed. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some 4 miles (6 km) to the north east. The nearest city is Hereford in England, some 25 miles (40 km) to the east. Glasbury is a popular location for river fishing, canoeing and kayaking. The population of Glasbury community in Radnorshire was 994, in 1841 it was 838.
The history of Gwynedd in the High Middle Ages is a period in the History of Wales spanning the 11th through the 13th centuries. Gwynedd, located in the north of Wales, eventually became the most dominant of Welsh polities during this period. Contact with continental courts allowed for Gwynedd to transition from a petty kingdom into an increasingly sophisticated principality of seasoned courtiers capable of high level deplomacy and representation; not only with the Angevine kings, but also the king of France and the Papal See. Distinctive achievements in Gwynedd include further development of Medieval Welsh literature, particularly poets known as the Beirdd y Tywysogion associated with the court of Gwynedd; the reformation of bardic schools; and the continued development of Cyfraith Hywel. All three of these further contributed to the development of a Welsh national identity in the face of Anglo-Norman encroachment of Wales.
Painscastle was, from 1894 to 1974, a rural district in the administrative county of Radnorshire, Wales.
Old Radnor is a village and community in Powys, Wales. The community includes Old Radnor and the villages of Yardro, Dolyhir, Burlingjobb, Evenjobb, Kinnerton and Walton. In the 2001 census and the 2011 census the community had a population of 741 in 323 households. Old Radnor lies on a lane off the A44 to the west of the Wales–England border.
Castle Caereinion is a small village and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, upon the River Banwy, around 8 miles west of Welshpool, and 4 miles east of Llanfair Caereinion.
Glasbury is the name of an electoral wards in central Powys, Wales. It covers the community of Glasbury as well as the neighbouring communities of Clyro and Painscastle. The ward elects a county councillor to Powys County Council.
