This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia's deletion policy. Please share your thoughts on the matter at this article's deletion discussion page. |
The Welsh crown jewels (Welsh : Tlysau coron Cymru) are the royal relics of the Kingdom of Gwynedd that were stolen by Edward I of England following the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (Llywelyn the Last), Prince of Wales, in Cilmeri.
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last) was the last native Prince of Wales, in an independent Wales. [1] Llywelyn was killed by English soldiers in an ambush trick under the guise of discussions in Cilmeri near Builth Wells in 1282. His head was paraded in London and placed on a Tower of London spike. [2] [ dead link ] In 1283, his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury by a horse, hanged, revived and disemboweled. His bowels were thrown into a fire as he watched. Finally, his head was cut off and placed on a Tower of London spike next to his brother Llywelyn, and his body cut into quarters. [3]
After the final defeat of 1283, Gwynedd was stripped of all royal insignia, relics, and regalia. Edward took particular delight in appropriating the royal home of the Gwynedd dynasty. In August 1284, he set up his court at Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd. With equal deliberateness, he removed all the insignia of majesty from Gwynedd; a coronet was solemnly presented to the shrine of St. Edward at Westminster; the matrices of the seals of Llywelyn, of his wife, and of his brother Dafydd were melted down to make a chalice which was given by the king to Vale Royal Abbey where it remained until the dissolution of that institution in 1538, after which it came into the possession of the family of the final abbot. [4] [ dead link ] The most precious religious relic in Gwynedd, the fragment of the True Cross known as Cross of Neith, was paraded through London in May 1285 in a solemn procession on foot led by the king, the queen, the archbishop of Canterbury and fourteen bishops, and the magnates of the realm. Edward was thereby appropriating the historical and religious regalia of the house of Gwynedd and placarding to the world the extinction of its dynasty and the annexation of the principality to his Crown. Commenting on this a contemporary chronicler is said to have declared "and then all Wales was cast to the ground." [5] [ dead link ]
Llywelyn's coronet (Welsh: Talaith Llywelyn) is a lost treasure of Welsh history. It is recorded that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales and Lord of Aberffraw had deposited this crown (Welsh: Talaith) and other items (such as the Cross of Neith) with the monks at Cymer Abbey for safekeeping at the start of his final campaign in 1282. He was killed later that year. It was seized alongside other holy artefacts in 1284 from the ruins of the defeated Kingdom of Gwynedd. Thereafter it was taken to London and presented at the shrine of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey by Alphonso, Earl of Chester, [6] heir to King Edward I of England as a token of the complete annihilation of the independent Welsh state. [7] [ dead link ]
Rees Davies believes that there were several coronets and among those seized in 1282 was the "Coron Arthur", an older native Welsh treasure, that may have been forged as far back as the reign of Owain Gwynedd (1137–1171) or perhaps earlier, as the princes of Gwynedd sought to consolidate their position as the primary rulers of Wales. [8] [ failed verification ]
Edward appropriated the most valuable and potent symbols of Welsh princely independence – Llywelyn's coronet, the matrix of his seal, the jewels and crown of Arthur, and above all the most cherished relic in Wales, the piece of the true cross known as Y Groes Naid (just as he removed the Stone of Scone from Scotland in 1296). [8] : 355–356
The Cross of Neith (Welsh Y Groes Naid or Y Groes Nawdd) was a sacred relic believed to be a fragment of the True Cross which had been kept at Aberconwy by the kings and princes of Gwynedd, members of the Aberffraw dynasty who established the Principality of Wales. They believed it afforded them and their people divine protection. It is not known when it first arrived in Gwynedd or how they had inherited it, but it is possible that it was brought back from Rome by king Hywel Dda following his pilgrimage in about 928. According to tradition it was handed down from prince to prince until the time of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and his brother Dafydd. [9] [ dead link ]
The matrices of the seals of Llywelyn, of his wife, and of his brother Dafydd were melted down to make a chalice which was given by the king to Vale Royal Abbey where it remained until the dissolution of that institution in 1538, after which it came into the possession of the family of the final abbot. [10] [ dead link ]
Mystery surrounds the identity and whereabouts of a possible second Welsh crown, the crown of Owain Glyndŵr. Glyndŵr was crowned in 1404 at the Welsh parliament or Cynulliad held at Machynlleth – but with whose crown? It is possible that this was either another pre-conquest dynastic coronet, similar to Llywelyn's, and potentially the crown of the Kings of Powys known as the Crown of Elisig. Alternatively, it could have been one that was made specifically for the occasion. Another possibility is that Llywelyn's crown, which had been stolen in 1303 alongside the English Crown Jewels, had not been returned with the rest of them, and thus escaped destruction by Cromwell. This fact may have been covered up to avoid further embarrassment. If it is true, then this crown would probably have been "lost" at the fall of Harlech Castle in 1409 or may be still hidden in Glyndŵr's undiscovered final resting place. [11] [ failed verification ]
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last, was the native Prince of Wales from 1258 until his death at Cilmeri in 1282. Llywelyn was the son of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr and grandson of Llywelyn the Great, and he was one of the last native and independent princes of Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England and English rule in Wales that followed, until Owain Glyndŵr held the title during the Welsh Revolt of 1400–1415.
The Kingdom of Gwynedd was a Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.
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 here, and this region is referred to in later Welsh literature as "the Paradise of Powys".
The Treaty of Montgomery was an Anglo-Welsh treaty signed on 29 September 1267 in Montgomeryshire by which Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was acknowledged as Prince of Wales by King Henry III of England. It was the only time an English ruler recognised the right of a ruler of Gwynedd over Wales. Llywelyn's grandfather Llywelyn the Great had previously laid claim to be the effective prince of Wales by using the title "Prince of Aberffraw, Lord of Snowdon" in the 1230s, after subduing all the other Welsh dynasties. Likewise Llywelyn's uncle, Dafydd ap Llywelyn, claimed the title of Prince of Wales during his reign from 1240 to 1246. However, Llywelyn's supremacy in the late 1260s forced recognition of his authority in Wales by an English Crown weakened by internal division.
The Principality of Wales was originally the territory of the native Welsh princes of the House of Aberffraw from 1216 to 1283, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales during its height of 1267–1277. Following the conquest of Wales by Edward I of England of 1277 to 1283, those parts of Wales retained under the direct control of the English crown, principally in the north and west of the country, were re-constituted as a new Principality of Wales and ruled either by the monarch or the monarch's heir though not formally incorporated into the Kingdom of England. This was ultimately accomplished with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 when the Principality ceased to exist as a separate entity.
Gwenllian of Wales or Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn was the daughter and only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales. Gwenllian is sometimes confused with Gwenllian ferch Gruffudd, who lived two centuries earlier.
Llywelyn's coronet is a lost treasure of Welsh history. It is recorded that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales and Lord of Aberffraw had deposited this crown and other items with the monks at Cymer Abbey for safekeeping at the start of his final campaign in 1282. He was killed later that year. It was seized alongside other holy artefacts in 1284 from the ruins of the defeated Kingdom of Gwynedd. Thereafter it was taken to London and presented at the shrine of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey by King Edward I of England as a token of the complete annihilation of the independent Welsh state.
Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn was a Welsh king who was lord of the part of Powys known as Powys Wenwynwyn and sided with Edward I in his conquest of Wales of 1277 to 1283.
Llywelyn ap Dafydd (c.1267–1287), potential claimant to the title Prince of Gwynedd, was the eldest son of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the last free ruler of Gwynedd, and his wife Elizabeth Ferrers.
The Cross of Neith was a sacred relic believed to be a fragment of the True Cross that had been kept at Aberconwy by the kings and princes of Gwynedd, members of the Aberffraw dynasty who established the Principality of Wales. They believed it afforded them and their people divine protection. It is not known when it had arrived in Gwynedd or how they had inherited it, but it is possible that it was brought back from Rome by King Hywel Dda following his pilgrimage in about 928. According to tradition it was handed down from prince to prince until the time of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and his brother Dafydd. A representation of the cross came to be used as a Battle Flag.
King of Wales was a rarely used title, because Wales, much like Ireland, rarely achieved a degree of political unity like that of England or Scotland during the Middle Ages. While many different leaders in Wales claimed the title of "King of Wales", the country was only truly united under the rule of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn as Prince of Wales from 1055 to 1063.
This article is about the particular significance of the century 1201–1300 to Wales and its people.
Wales in the High Middle Ages covers the 11th to 13th centuries in Welsh history. Beginning shortly before the Norman invasion of the 1060s and ending with the Conquest of Wales by Edward I between 1278 and 1283, it was a period of significant political, cultural and social change for the country.
The Royal House of Aberffraw was a cadet branch of the Kingdom of Gwynedd originating from the sons of Rhodri the Great in the 9th century. Establishing the Royal court of the Aberffraw Commote would begin a new location from which to rule Wales. The cadet branch achieved the recognised titles of Prince of Wales, King of Wales and were sometimes named King of Aberffraw.
Dafydd ap Gruffydd was Prince of Wales from 11 December 1282 until his execution on 3 October 1283 on the orders of King Edward I of England. He was the last native Prince of Wales before the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1283 and English rule in Wales that followed, until Owain Glyndŵr held the title during the Welsh Revolt of 1400–1415.
The conquest of Wales by Edward I took place between 1277 and 1283. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian Conquest of Wales, to distinguish it from the earlier Norman conquest of Wales. In two campaigns, in 1277 and 1282–83, respectively, Edward I of England first greatly reduced the territory of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, and then completely overran it, as well as the other remaining Welsh principalities.
The military history of Wales refers to military activity that has occurred in Wales or activity of a historic Welsh military or armed forces in Wales.
A series of Welsh rebellions broke out in the century following the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1283, which had brought the whole of Wales under the control of the Kingdom of England for the first time. In 1400, Welsh discontent with English rule in Wales culminated in the Welsh Revolt, a major uprising led by Owain Glyndŵr, who achieved de facto control over much of the country in the following years. The rebellion petered out after 1409, and after complete English control was restored in 1415 no further major rebellions occurred.
