Penmachno Document

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The Penmachno Document was a letters patent drawn up at Penmachno in Gwynedd and signed on 19 December 1294 by Madog ap Llywelyn at the height of his revolt against English rule in Wales. Though unremarkable in its content – the document consists of the grant of two parcels of land to a minor noble named Bleddyn Fychan – its importance lies in the fact that it is the only surviving document issued by Madog in which he styles himself prince of Wales as well as lord of Snowdonia (this refers to the Welsh tradition that Snowdonia was the seat of power for previous Welsh princes). [1] [2]

Penmachno village in United Kingdom

Penmachno is a village in the isolated upland Machno valley, four miles south of Betws-y-Coed in the county of Conwy, North Wales. The B4406 road runs through part of the village. The village is at the confluence of the Glasgwm and Machno rivers. It has a five-arched, stone bridge dating from 1785. The village has been referred to as Pennant Machno, Llandudclyd and Llan dutchyd in historical sources.

Madog ap Llywelyn was the leader of the Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule. The revolt was surpassed in longevity only by the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr in the 15th century. Madog belonged to a junior branch of the House of Aberffraw and was a distant relation of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last recognised native Prince of Wales.

Prince of Wales title granted to princes born in Wales

Prince of Wales was a title granted to princes born in Wales from the 12th century onwards; the term replaced the use of the word king. One of the last Welsh princes, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, was killed in battle in 1282 by Edward I, King of England, whose son Edward was invested as the first English Prince of Wales in 1301.

Contents

Notable signatories

The document was signed by a number of prominent persons in north Wales society, including three descendants of Ednyfed Fychan and the seneschal of two earlier princes of Wales. One of them, 'Tudur ab Gronw' or Tudur Hen, is described as 'our steward' in the document, suggesting that Madog had (or intended to) reconstitute the prince's council on which the governance of Wales rested until the loss of independence in 1283. [1] As Edward I's invasion of Wales proceeded, the terms of the document quickly became irrelevant, as the land referred to in it reverted once more to English control.

Ednyfed Fychan, full name Ednyfed Fychan ap Cynwrig, was a Welsh warrior who became seneschal to the Kingdom of Gwynedd in Northern Wales, serving Llywelyn the Great and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn. He claimed descent from Marchudd ap Cynan, Lord of Rhos, 'protector' of Rhodri Mawr, King of Gwynedd. He was ancestor of Owen Tudor and thereby of the Tudor dynasty, and all its royal successors down to the present day.

The word seneschal can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ducal, or noble household during the Middle Ages and early Modern period – historically a steward or majordomo of a medieval great house. In a medieval royal household, a seneschal was in charge of domestic arrangements and the administration of servants, which, in the medieval period particularly, meant the seneschal might oversee hundreds of laborers, servants and their associated responsibilities, and have a great deal of power in the community, at a time when the much of the local economy was often based around the wealth and responsibilities of such a household.

Tudur Hen or Tudur ap Goronwy was a Welsh aristocrat and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd, Anglesey, North Wales. He was one of three sons of Goronwy ab Ednyfed who received lands from King Edward I of England. Nonetheless, he backed the rebellion of Madog ap Llywelyn, but afterwards swore allegiance to both Edward I and his son, Edward of Caernarfon. Tudur Hen was responsible for the restoration of the Franciscan friary at Bangor, where his body was later placed on 11 October 1311.

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Sir Owen Tudor was a Welsh courtier and the second husband of Catherine of Valois (1401–1437), Henry V's widow. He was the grandfather of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty. Owen was a descendant of a prominent family from Penmynydd on the Isle of Anglesey, which traces its lineage back to Ednyfed Fychan, a Welsh official and seneschal to the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Tudor's grandfather, Tudur ap Goronwy, married Margaret, daughter of Thomas ap Llywelyn ab Owain of Cardiganshire, the last male of the princely house of Deheubarth. Margaret's elder sister married Gruffudd Fychan of Glyndyfrdwy, whose son was Owain Glyndŵr. Owen's father, Maredudd ap Tudur, and his uncles were prominent in Owain Glyndŵr's revolt against English rule, the Glyndŵr Rising.

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Madog ap Maredudd King of Powys

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Maredudd ap Bleddyn was a prince and later King of Powys in eastern Wales.

Madog ap Gruffudd or Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor, was Prince of Powys Fadog 1191-1236 in north-east Wales.

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Dafydd ap Gruffydd was Prince of Wales from 11 December 1282 until his execution on 3 October 1283 by King Edward I of England. He was the last independent ruler of Wales.

Fychan is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Goronwy ap Tudur Hen, also known as Goronwy ap Tudur or Goronwy Fychan, was a Welsh aristocrat and Lord of Penmynydd. He was a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd, Anglesey, North Wales, and a direct ancestor of Owen Tudor and thereby the Royal House of Tudor. He was a soldier for the English crown, who fought in the First War of Scottish Independence, including in the English invasion which led to the Battle of Bannockburn. He remained loyal to King Edward II of England until the king's death, and was both a yeoman and forester of Snowdon. After his death in 1331, his body was interned in Llanfaes Friary, near Bangor, Gwynedd.

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Bro Machno

Bro Machno is a community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales, formed from the former civil parish of Penmachno. It covers the Penmachno Valley, through which runs the Afon Machno, and includes the villages of Penmachno and Cwm Penmachno. To the south west borders Gwynedd, and is located 4.8 miles (7.7 km) south of Betws-y-Coed, 21.8 miles (35.1 km) north west of Corwen, and 19.4 miles (31.2 km) south of Conwy. The whole of the community is within the Snowdonia national park, while much of it forms part of Gwydir Forest. According to the 2011 census, the population of the Bro Machno Parish was 617, of whom 342 (55%) were able to speak Welsh and 214 (34%) had no skills in Welsh.

References

  1. 1 2 Fychan, Cledwyn (2000). "Bleddyn Fychan a Gwrthryfel Madog ap Llywelyn, 1294-5". Transactions of the Denbighshire Historical Society. 49: 15–22.
  2. Rex Smith, G (Winter 2009). "The Penmachno Letter Patent and the Welsh Uprising of 1294-95". Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. 58.