Rhys Gryg (died 1234), real name Rhys ap Rhys, also known as Rhys Fychan(i.e. "The Younger") was a Welsh Prince who ruled part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth.

Lineage

Rhys was the fourth son of Rhys ap Gruffydd

Rhys ap Gruffydd

Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales. He is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh Yr Arglwydd Rhys, but this title may not have been used in his lifetime...

 (The Lord Rhys) and his wife Gwenllian, daughter of Madog ap Maredudd

Madog ap Maredudd

Madog ap Maredudd was the last Prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales and for a time held the Fitzalan Lordship of Oswestry.Madog was the son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn and grandson of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn. He followed his father on the throne of Powys in 1132...

 of Powys.

Family Feud

He married Mathilde, the daughter of Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford.

In Rhys ap Gruffydd's old age he had a great deal of trouble keeping control of his sons, and a bitter feud broke out between Gruffydd ap Rhys II

Gruffydd ap Rhys II

Gruffydd ap Rhys II was a prince of Deheubarth in south-west Wales.- Lineage :He was the son of Rhys ap Gruffydd and grandson of Gruffydd ap Rhys....

 and Maelgwn ap Rhys

Maelgwn ap Rhys

Maelgwn ap Rhys was prince of part of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south west Wales.Maelgwn was the son of Rhys ap Gruffydd by his wife Gwenllian ferch Madog, daughter of Madog ap Maredudd prince of Powys. He appears in the historical record for the first time helping at the siege of Tenby in 1187...

. Rhys Gryg formed an alliance with Gruffydd against Maelgwn, then in 1195 joined with another brother, Maredudd, in a conspiracy against their father and captured Dinefwr Castle

Dinefwr Castle

Dinefwr Castle is a Welsh castle overlooking the River Tywi near the town of Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on a ridge on the northern bank of the Tywi, with a steep drop of several hundred feet to the river. Dinefwr was the chief seat of the Principality of Deheubarth...

. Their father however retaliated by capturing both of them and imprisoning them in Ystrad Meurig Castle.

Power Play

Rhys Gryg reappears in 1204. Rhys ap Gruffydd had died in 1197 and Rhys Gryg's ally Gruffydd in 1201 and Maelgwn had taken possession of most of Deheubarth. In 1204 Rhys made an alliance with Gruffydd's sons, Rhys and Owain, and drove Maelgwn out of Ystrad Tywi

Ystrad Tywi

Ystrad Tywi is an area of south-west Wales situated on the banks of the Tywi river as it approaches the sea to join the Bristol Channel at Carmarthen...

 which was then shared between them, with Rhys Gryg getting the Cantref Mawr

Cantref Mawr

Cantref Mawr was a cantref in south-west Wales. It was of strategic importance in medieval Wales as the location of the main seat of the princes of Deheubarth at Dinefwr....

. By 1211 Rhys had fallen out with his nephews, who were supporters of 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...

 and intervened on behalf of King John of England

John of England

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

, attacking and capturing Llandovery

Llandovery

Llandovery is a market town in Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the River Tywi and the A40 road.The town is served by Llandovery railway station, where there is a park and ride to Llanelli and Shrewsbury via the Heart of Wales Line...

 from them with the help of English Royal troops. After John has forced Llywelyn to give up all his conquests outside the core area 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...

, Rhys joined with Maelgwn to eject his nephews from the remainder of their lands. However when King John built a castle at Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....

, Rhys and Maelgwn changed sides, attacked the castle and burnt it. In 1212 Rhys attacked and burnt Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

.

Defeat, Flight & Capture

The sons of Gruffydd ap Rhys, Rhys and Owain, had now made their peace with King John and gone over to the English Royal side. In 1213 and English army led by Falkes of Breauté was sent to strip Rhys Gryg of his lands and give them to his nephews. Rhys was defeated in a battle at Llandeilo

Llandeilo

Llandeilo is a town in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th century stone bridge. Its population is 1,731.The town is served by Llandeilo railway station on the Heart of Wales Line.- Early history :...

 and was forced to flee to 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...

 to seek the protection of his brother Maelgwn. Later in the year he was captured by the English and imprisoned at Carmarthen

Carmarthen

Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....

.

Release & Revolt

In 1215 however the sons of Gruffydd ap Rhys turned against the king and made an alliance with their uncle Maelgwn. The English released Rhys Gryg in the hope that he would start a civil war but instead Rhys joined forces with Llywelyn the Great, and he, along with Maelgwn and the sons of Gruffydd ap Rhys were with Llywelyn in the attack which captured many castles in South Wales in December that year. At the parliament held by Llywelyn at Aberdovey in 1216, Rhys Gryg was allocated Cantref Mawr and Cantref Bychan and other lands.

Died of Wounds

Rhys supported Llywelyn during the remainder of his career. In the war of 1231 he joined with his brother Maelgwn's son, Maelgwn the Younger, to burn Cardigan

Cardigan, Ceredigion

Cardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Mid Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire. It is the second largest town in Ceredigion. The town's population was 4,203...

 and then capture the castle

Cardigan Castle

Cardigan Castle is a castle located in Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales.-History:The first motte-and-bailey castle was built a mile away from the present site, probably about the time of the founding of the town by Roger de Montgomery, a Norman baron....

 for Llywelyn. In 1234 he joined with Maelgwn Fychan again to attack Carmarthen

Carmarthen

Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....

, but received wounds of which he died at Llandeilo Fawr shortly afterwards.

Burial & Succession

He was buried in St. David's Cathedral and was succeeded by his son Maredudd. He left another son known as Rhys Mechyll

Rhys Mechyll

Rhys Mechyll was a Welsh prince of the House of Dinefwr, ruler of part of the kingdom of Deheubarth in southern Wales between 1234 to 1244...

(d.1244), who had a son named Rhys Fychan ap Rhys Mechyll and a daughter named Gwenllian Mechyll, who eventually became his heiress and married Gilbert Talbot(d.1274), grandfather of Gilbert Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot

Baron Talbot

Baron Talbot is a title that has been created twice. The title was created first in the Peerage of England. On 5 June 1331, Sir Gilbert Talbot was summoned to Parliament, by which he was held to have become Baron Talbot....

(d.1345/6). The ancient arms of the House of Dinefwr

House of Dinefwr

The House of Dinefwr was a royal house of Wales and refers to the descendants of Cadell ap Rhodri King of Seisyllwg, son of Rhodri the Great.With the death of Rhodri Mawr, the kingdom of Gwynedd passed to his eldest son Anarawd ap Rhodri...

Gules, a lion rampant or within a bordure or were inherited and assumed in lieu of the Talbot paternal arms as "arms of alliance" on marriage to a great princess.