Gwilym ap Tudur

Gwilym ap Tudur (died 1413) was a Welsh nobleman and a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd. In 1401, he and his brother Rhys ap Tudur took Conwy Castle after infiltrating it, in support of their cousin Owain Glyndŵr. Gwilym was subsequently pardoned in 1413, following the execution of his brother a year earlier.

Gwilym ap Tudur
Born	c. late 14th century
Died	1413

Ancestry and early life

Gwilym was one of the sons of Tudur ap Goronwy alongside Ednyfed ap Tudor, Maredudd ap Tudur, Goronwy ap Tudor and Rhys ap Tudur.[1] One of Tudur's wives, was Marged ferch Tomos, the maternal aunt of Owain Glyndŵr. The family were descended from Ednyfed Fychan, and his son Goronwy ab Ednyfed, the founder of the Tudor family of Penmynydd.[2]

Service to the crown

Along with his brother Rhys, Gwilym was one of the leaders of a Carmarthenshire contingent of soldiers which had been raised in 1386 as a precaution against a French invasion via Ireland.[3] They were each made an esquire to King Richard II of England, and accompanied his forces to Ireland in 1394.[4] In 1398 their military service was retained by Richard, being paid a £10 stipend each year. They also once again accompanied Richard's forces to Ireland that year.[3]

Revolt

In September 1399, King Richard II was overthrown by Henry IV.[3] When Gwilym's cousin Owain Glyndŵr began a rebellion the following year, in 1400, he and his brothers backed him openly.[1] While Owain's rebellion in North East Wales faltered, Rhys and his family rose up against the king on Anglesey in September of that year. Henry IV personally took an army to put down the revolt, and harried the island, burning the Franciscan Llanfaes Friary near Bangor, Gwynedd, where the Tudur family were buried.[5][6]

When Henry issued a general pardon for those of North Wales in March 1401, he purposely excluded Gwilym, his brother Rhys and Owain Glyndŵr. As a result, the Tudur brothers began planning an attack on Conway Castle. On Good Friday, 1 April 1401, the brothers and 44 men (which included those who had also been excluded from the pardons) infiltrated the castle. They had pretended to be carpenters, and captured the castle while the guard were in church. Negotiations began for the return of the castle on 13 April, with the king represented by Henry "Hotspur" Percy and Gwilym representing the Welsh forces. After seeking a compromise, which would have resulted in pardons being given to the Welshmen, the king overrode Percy's decision on 20 April. An agreement was finally reached on 24 June after several failed attempts when Gwilym began writing to the king directly, although several of the troops were executed as a result of the agreement.[7] Gwilym, Rhys and Maredudd were outlawed by the king in 1406.[8]

Legacy

Rhys was executed in 1412, but Gwilym was given a full pardon a year later. Both their lands had been forfeited when they joined with Owain's rebellion and passed to Gwilym ap Gruffydd, who had married Morfudd, the daughter of Goronwy ap Tudur.[9]

Lineage

Tudors of Penmynydd
Ednyfed Fychan d. 1246 I[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2][lower-roman 3][lower-roman 4] Tudur ab Ednyfed Goronwy ab Ednyfed d.1268 II[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2][lower-roman 3][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 5] Tudur Hen (Tudur ap Goronwy) d.1311 III[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 5][lower-roman 6] Goronwy ap Tudur Hen d. 1331 Tomos ap Llewelyn d.1343 IV[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 5][lower-roman 7][lower-roman 8] Hywel ap Goronwy d.ca.1367 Tudur ap Goronwy d.ca.1367 Marged ferch Tomos Elen ferch Tomos (mother of Owain Glyndŵr) V[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 7] Goronwy ap Tudur d.1382 Rhys ap Tudur ex.1412 Ednyfed ap Tudur d. 1382 Gwilym ap Tudur d.1413 Maredudd ap Tudur d.1406 VI[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 7][lower-roman 9][lower-roman 10] Gwilym ap Griffith (Griffiths of Penrhyn) Morfydd ferch Goronwy Tudur ap Goronwy d.ca.1400 Owen Tudor (Owain Tudur) VII[lower-roman 4][lower-roman 9][lower-roman 10][lower-roman 11] Tudur Fychan Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond d.1456 Jasper Tudor d.1495 Owen Tudor monk VIII[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 9][lower-roman 10][lower-roman 11] Owain Tudor d.1504/5 Henry VII of England d.1509 IX[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 11] William Owen ap Tudor Fychan John Owen ap Tudor Fychan Richard Owen Theodor (I) d.1527(?) Arthur d.1502 Henry VIII d.1547 X[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4] Richard Owen Theodor (II) d.1558(?) William Pritchard (William Bold) Edward VI d.1553 Mary I d.1558 Elizabeth I d.1603 XI[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4] Richard Owen Theodor (III) David Owen Theodor d.1624 XII[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4] Richard Owen Theodor (IV) fl.1645 XIII[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 11] Richard Owen Theodor (V) fl.1665 XIV[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 11] Richard Owen Theodor (VI) fl.1669
Notes: J. Williams (1869). "Penmynyth and the Tudors". Archaeologia Cambrensis. 15 (3rd ser): 278–294, 379–402. Glyn Roberts (1959). "EDNYFED FYCHAN ( EDNYFED ap CYNWRIG ) and his descendants". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales. Peter Bartrum. "Marchudd 11". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University. Glyn Roberts (1959). "Teulu Penwynydd". Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion: 17–37. Peter Bartrum. "Marchudd 12". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University. Peter Bartrum. "Bleddyn ap Cynfyn 05". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University. Peter Bartrum. "Marchudd 13". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University. Peter Bartrum. "Rhys ap Tewdwr 07". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University. Glyn Roberts (1959). "GRIFFITH OF PENRHYN (Caerns.)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales. Thomas Jones Pierce (1959). "OWAIN TUDOR ( c. 1400 - 1461 )". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales. Thomas Jones Pierce (1959). "TUDOR family of Penmynydd , Anglesey — later members". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales.

Notes

1. Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 20.
2. "Ednyfed Fychan". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
3. Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 19.
4. Chapman 2015, p. 111.
5. Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 21.
6. Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 17.
7. Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 22.
8. Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 23.
9. Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 24.

References

• Chapman, Adam (2015). Welsh Soldiers in the Later Middle Ages, 1282–1422. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-1-783-27031-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Griffiths, Ralph Alan; Thomas, Roger S. (1985). The Making of the Tudor Dynasty. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-31250-745-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)