Rhys Mechyll was a Welsh prince 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...

, ruler of part of the kingdom of Deheubarth in southern Wales between 1234 to 1244. He was a son of Rhys Gryg

Rhys Gryg

Rhys Gryg , real name Rhys ap Rhys, also known as Rhys Fychan was a Welsh Prince who ruled part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth.- Lineage :...

 (died 1234) ("Rhys the Hoarse"), 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...

 (1132–1197), "The Lord Rhys", ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth.

Marriage

He married Matilda de Braose

Matilda de Braose (Deheubarth)

Matilda de Braose was the wife of Rhys Mechyll, son of Rhys Gryg and grandson of the Lord Rhys, Prince of Deheubarth.Rhys Mechyll died in 1244 and some time after this Matilda placed the castle of Carreg Cennen in the hands of the Normans....

 (died 1248) who betrayed the dynasty's chief castle of Carreg Cennen

Carreg Cennen

Castell Carreg Cennen is a castle near the River Cennen , in the village of Trapp, four miles south of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The castle's location has been described as spectacular, due to its position above a limestone precipice.- Description :Carreg Cennen Castle consists of a...

 to the Anglo-Normans in 1248, against the interests of her son Rhys. A Welsh chronicle, the Brut y Tywysogyon, records under the year 1248: "Rhys Fychan ap Rhys Mechyll regained the castle of Carreg Cennen, which his mother had treacherously placed in the power of the French, out of enmity for her son."

Progeny

He had a son Rhys Fychan (i.e. "The Younger") ap Rhys Mechyll, and a daughter Gwenllian, his eventual heiress who married Gilbert Talbot (died 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....

 (died 1345/6), to whom passed the ancient armorials 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...

, assumed as arms of alliance to a great princess in place of his own paternal arms.