Treachery and battle and strife

Turning to Wales, 10 February also marks the death of Madog ap Maredudd in 1160, last ruler of a united Powys.

Madog died at Whittingdon castle in Shropshire, where he and his eldest son Llywelyn had gone to meet Henry II's officers. This meeting was held to discuss the latest threat of invasion from Owain Gwynedd, ruler of Gwynedd (the kingdom adjacent to Powys) and self-styled Prince of Wales.

The details of the meeting are reported by the poet Gwalchmai. According to him, Llywelyn was granted a stretch of territory between Rug and Buddugre to patrol against Owain. This was part of Henry's defence policy, whereby he paid the local rulers of Powys to garrison a chain of border forts against incursions from Gwynedd. That also suited the Powysians, since they took the king's money and men to help guard their own frontier.

Very soon after his father's death, Llywelyn was killed in unclear circumstances. A clue to his demise comes from Gwlachmai, referring to events in early 1160:

"Gwelais frad a chad a chamawn,
Cyfrwng llew a llyw Merfyniawn".

(I saw treachery and battle and strife,
between a lion and the leader of the descendents of Merfyn [the dynasty of Gwynedd])

Gwalchmai seems to imply, without saying outright, that Llywelyn was murdered by the forces of Owain Gwynedd. This is not unlikely, since Owain certainly launched an invasion of Powys at this time. Alternatively, Llywelyn may have fallen victim to an internal feud in Powys.

Whatever the case, Owain took full advantage. Shortly afterwards Owain led an invasion of Edeirnion, deep inside Powysian territory; the poet Cynddelw lamented that if the king and his son were still alive, the forces of Gwynedd would never have penetrated so far:

"While Madog lived there was no man
Dared ravage his fair borders
Yet nought of all he held
Esteemed he his save by God's might ...
If my noble lord were alive
Gwynedd would not now be encamped in the heart of Edeyrnion."

Much of the above is taken from David Stephenson's brilliant book on medieval Powys. Anyone who really cares a damn about the history of Wales in this era - as opposed to noisy chest-banging - MUST get hold of a copy. That's an order.