Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog (died c.1216) was the last major ruler of mid Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 before the completion of the Norman English invasion.

Lineage

He was a grandson of Owain Gwynedd

Owain Gwynedd

Owain Gwynedd ap Gruffydd , in English also known as Owen the Great, was King of Gwynedd from 1137 until his death in 1170. He is occasionally referred to as "Owain I of Gwynedd"; and as "Owain I of Wales" on account of his claim to be King of Wales. He is considered to be the most successful of...

 and ruled southern Powys from 1195, having taken control following the death of his father Owain Cyfeiliog

Owain Cyfeiliog

Owain ap Gruffydd was a prince of the southern part of Powys and a poet. He is usually known as Owain Cyfeiliog to distinguish him from other rulers named Owain, particularly his contemporary, Owain ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd, who is known as Owain Gwynedd.Owain was the son of Gruffydd ap Maredudd and...

.

Conflict with Llywelyn the Great

His possession of Powys Wenwynwyn

Powys Wenwynwyn

Powys Wenwynwyn or Powys Cyfeiliog was the southern portion of the former princely state of Powys which split following the death of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in 1160...

 brought him into conflict with Llywelyn the Great

Llywelyn the Great

Llywelyn the Great , full name Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales...

, ruler of Gwynedd

Kingdom of Gwynedd

Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...

, who was keen to extend his own jurisdiction over the whole of Wales.

Conflict with King John

King John

John of England

John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

 favoured Gwenwynwyn until a marriage alliance was made between Llywelyn and John's illegitimate daughter. The two native princes then kept their distance until 1208. As a result of Gwenwynwyn's activities, John confiscated his lands and allowed Llywelyn to steal Ceredigion

Ceredigion

Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...

 and Powys.

Gwenwynwyn did not get his territory back for two years, but his resentment towards the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 led him into an alliance with Llywelyn, which lasted from 1212 until 1216, when John restored some of Gwenwynwyn's property and the two Welsh princes fell out again.

Death and succession

Llywelyn invaded Powys, and Gwenwynwyn is believed to have died or been killed that same year. He was survived by his son Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn

Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn

Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn was a Welsh prince who was lord of the part of Powys known as Powys Wenwynwyn.Gruffydd was the son of Gwenwynwyn ab Owain and Margaret Corbet. He was still a child when his father, who had been driven out of his princedom by Llywelyn the Great, died in exile in 1216...

 whose actions in 1282 are blamed by many for the death of the last native prince of an independent Wales

Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...

, Llywelyn the Last

Llywelyn the Last

Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....

.