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Stories/Myths
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PRINCESS GWENLLIAN
(1097 – 1136) |
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The Flag of Deheubarth |
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The last Celtic Warrior Princess of the
ancient Welsh
Kingdom of Deheubarth |
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The Main Battlefield Location |
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Maes Gwenllian (Gwenllian's Field) is
located a mile north of the town of Kidwelly in
Carmarthenshire.
It's the site of an ancient battlefield
which changed the course of local history in South West
Wales.
The name of the field commemorates the bravery of
Princess Gwenllian, the wife of Prince Gruffudd ap Rhys. |
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Welsh
Kingdom of Deheubarth |
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During the early part of it's history Wales
was divided into individual
kingdoms, each ruled by a Prince. In 1136, the rulers
of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth were Prince Gruffudd and his wife Princess Gwenllian.
Deheubarth was one of the strongest kingdoms in Wales.
Its territories included Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Cardigan,
Gower and the western parts of Swansea. The royal court of
the kingdom was based at Dinefwr, near Llandeilo.
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THE WELSH KINGDOMS
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Norman Invasion |
After the Normans invaded England in
1066, they proceeded to conquer all the remaining
territories of Britain, including Wales
By the year 1135, many parts of Wales had been
invaded by the Normans who were intent on conquering the
whole country. They had created new fortified garrison
towns and built castles along the coast in the Welsh kingdoms,
creating new Lordships or Manors and declaring their
leaders as the Lords of these Manors instead of the existing rulers.
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LOCATION OF DINEFWR/KIDWELLY/LOUGHOR
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As part of their conquest of the lands of Deheubarth,
the Normans had constructed castle strongholds on the
coast at Loughor, near Swansea and near the estuary of
the Gwendraeth Fach river in Kidwelly. |
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From these strongholds they proceeded to exert their authority over the local Welsh population. |
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Welsh Revolt
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In December 1135, King Henry I of
England died. The following year, in 1136, the people of Deheubarth
joined a Welsh revolt against Norman rule. |
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A combined Celtic army was formed with
troops from Deheubarth and the kingdom of Brycheiniog, which then
marched south to attack the Normans of the Lordship of
Gower. |
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The First Battle |
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The first major battle was fought at the
Norman castle stronghold near Loughor where the Celtic
army defeated the local Norman garrison of 500 troops.
Prince Gruffudd ap Rhys saw this victory as an opportunity to finally push the Norman invaders out of his lands. He
left for Gwynedd in the north to try and win support
from the Princes of other Welsh kingdoms, for a full scale war to
regain full Welsh independence. |
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The Main Battle |
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It was at this fateful moment that the
Welsh were betrayed by one of their own people and the Norman leader, Maurice de
Londres, Lord of Kidwelly was informed of the Welsh
plans. While Prince Gruffudd was still away in the
north, Maurice De Londres decided to launch his own attack
against Deheubarth.
Welsh scouts observed the Norman army in Kidwelly making preparations for an
attack. With their leader Prince Gruffudd absent, the soldiers of Deheubarth were
disorganised, so it fell to Princess Gwenllian to take command of the army and rally the
troops.
Instead of waiting for the Normans to strike, she led the army
of Deheubarth in an all out attack against De Londres at
his castle stronghold in Kidwelly.
The two forces met in combat on open countryside north
of the castle, with Gwenllian at the head of her army
wielding her sword as bravely as any other warrior that
day, but the Norman forces were too strong.
Despite a valiant struggle Gwenllian's
army was defeated and the Princess herself was killed, her
head being cut off in the midst of the ferocious battle. |
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Gwenllian's Ghost |
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A local legend claims that her headless ghost
haunted the battlefield afterwards, looking for her
missing head. the ghost was later laid to rest when
someone found her skull on the battlefield and buried it
in her grave. |
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A Place in History |
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Gwenllian's story has come to symbolise
the bravery of the Celtic women of Wales as much as
Boadicea symbolised the bravery of the Celtic women of
Britain under
Roman rule.
Princess Gwenllian's actions have preserved her name for posterity as a
true heroine.
While Boadicea has been described as the
first warrior queen of the Celts, Gwenllian has a place
in history as the last Celtic warrior princess.
The loss of the kingdom
The spirit of Deheubarth was not broken by the tragedy
of her death, but her husband Prince Gruffudd ap Rhys
was unable to stop further Norman conquest of his
territory and was killed in battle soon after.
A new leader and the defeat
of the Normans |
Kidwelly Castle (2010)
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When Gwenllian died, her youngest son Rhys ap
Gruffudd (later to be known as Yr Arglwydd Rhys - The Lord Rhys)
was only 3 years old but he later became a strong
and capable leader of what was left of Deheubarth.
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From the age of 12, Rhys led a series of
raids and campaigns against the Norman
fortifications. By the end of 1165, with the
exception of Pembroke Castle, he and his troops had succeeded in defeating the
Normans to regain the whole kingdom of Deheubarth. |
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© 2011 - Ysgol
Gymunedol Llangatwg Community School
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