Gwenllian of Wales

Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn (June 1282 – 7 June 1337) was the only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Tywysog Cymru (Prince of Wales). She is sometimes confused with Gwenllian ferch Gruffudd, who lived two centuries earlier.

Lineage

Gwenllian (pronounced gwen-LLEE-an) was born in the Welsh royal home Garth Celyn, Aber Garth Celyn (now known as Pen y Bryn Abergwyngregyn) near Bangor, Gwynedd. Lady Gwenllian's mother, Eleanor de Montfort, Lady of Wales, died during childbirth, or shortly after on 19 June 1282. She was descended from dual Royal bloodlines; not only was she the daughter of the Welsh Prince of Wales, but her maternal great-grandfather was King John of England.

At the mercy of King Edward I

A few months after Lady Gwenllian's birth, on 11 December 1282, with north Wales encircled by the massive army of Edward I of England, her father Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, lured into a trap, to sign a treaty in Builth Castle, was put to death. Her uncle, Prince Dafydd ap Gruffudd, assumed guardianship of the baby, but on 21 June 1283, he was captured with his and his family at 'Nanhysglain,' a secret hiding place in a bog by Bera mountain in the uplands above Garth Celyn. Tywysog Dafydd, 'severely injured,' was taken to Edward at Rhuddlan, then moved under guard to Shrewsbury, where he was later executed.

Confinement in the seclusion of Lincolnshire priories

Gwenllian, together with the daughters of Prince Dafydd, were confined for life in remote, secluded priories in Lincolnshire, and never allowed freedom.

Confinement for fifty years

Gwenllian was placed in the Gilbertine Priory at Sempringham, where she was held behind its high walls until her death 54 years later. In committing her to a convent, Edward's aim was not only to prevent her marrying and having children who might lay claim to the Principality but also to hide her away from the outside world; unseen is unknown. He chose the Gilbertines in Lincolnshire because of their remote location in the fenlands and because they were an order where the nuns were hidden from view behind high walls. It has been speculated that the girls were taken to Lincolnshire from Gwynedd by sea.

Gwenllian's royal rank was acknowledged by the English Crown. When writing to the Pope, attempting to secure more money for the Sempringham priory from the Church, the English King stated that "...herein is kept the daughter of the Prince of Wales, whom we have to maintain." Gwenllian

Old age & death

Memorial to Princess Gwenllian at Sempringham, England.

Edward III of England, Edward I's grandson, endowed Gwenllian with a pension of £20 per year; this was not money for her personally, simply a sum that she paid to the priory in resect of her food and clothing. Her death was recorded by the priory's chronicler.

Fate of her male cousins

Dafydd's two young sons, direct heirs to the Principality/Kingdom of Wales, were taken to Bristol Castle where they were held prisoner; Llywelyn ap Dafydd died there in 1287, four years after capture, and was buried in the Dominican Church; Owain ap Dafydd survived his brother; the King of England ordered a cage made of timber, bound with iron, in which to hold the prince Owain ap Dafydd more securely at night. Owain was never released from imprisonment.

King Edward I took the title of "Prince of Wales" for the Crown, bestowing it upon his son, Edward, who was crowned in Caernarfon in 1301 at age 17. Hence the title passed as a grace title bestowable by the English, and later British, monarchy to this day.

Primary source references

• Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1281-92, 321 ((Inquiry of 1289 concerning the custody of the Welsh royal children)
• Calendar of Papal Letters, ii, 185, 273
• Calendar of Memoranda Rolls, 1226-7, no. 2160
• Calendar of Close Rolls, 1327-30, 65, 175, 273, 322, 438
• Public Record Office, London E101/351/9 (Letter, noting provision made for the needs of the Welsh royal children, 11 November 1283)
• Calendar Ancient Petitions, 458 (letter from Gwenllian)
• Robert Manning (a canon at Sempringham then at Sixhills) see The Works of Thomas Hearne, 4 vols (London, 1810)
• Annales Prioratus de Dunstaplia, 293-4
• Accounts of Bristol Castle

Further reading

• The The Princess Gwenllian Society has been formed in honour of this princess, and a memorial to her has been erected on the site of the former priory at Sempringham. Following a long campaign by the Society to rename the peak Carnedd Uchaf as Carnedd Gwenllian ^[1], in September 2009 the Ordnance Survey added the names Carnedd Uchaf / Carnedd Gwenllian on its maps to be published from 2010 onwards.^[2]. The original name of Garnedd Uchaf, which is within the Bounds of Aber Garth Celyn, is Garnedd Lladron.

• The Aber Trust / Ymddiriedolaeth Aber owns and is restoring the medieval gatehouse at Garth Celyn, Aber Garth Celyn, the place of Gwenllian's birth.
• Music composed about Princess Gwenllian includes Llio Rhydderch's harp suite Gwenllian and Toby Griffen's song, Gwenllian's Lament/Cradlesong

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References