Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (1003-5 August 1063) was King of Gwynedd and Powys from 1039 to 1063 (succeeding Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig and preceding Bleddyn ap Cynfyn) and of Morgannwg and Deheubarth from 1055 to 1063 (succeeding Gruffydd ap Rhydderch and preceding Bleddyn).
Biography[]
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was the son of Llywelyn ap Seisyll, who had been able to rule both Gwynedd and Powys. On Llywelyn's death, Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig became the new ruler of Wales, but Iago himself has killed by his own men in 1039, and his son Cynan ap Iago was forced into exile in Ireland. Gruffydd, assuming power, proceeded to recover Powys, and he surprised and destroyed a Mercian army at Rhyd y Groes before defeating Dyfed at Pencader in 1041 and capturing Hywel ab Edwin's wife. Gruffydd later slew Hywel as he attempted to recover his former kingdom. In 1047, Gruffydd ap Rhydderch expelled Gruffydd ap Llywelyn from Deheubarth, and he held onto his lands for several years. However, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn defeated a mixed Norman-English force at Leominster in Herefordshire in 1052, and he defeated and killed Gruffydd ap Rhydderch in battle in 1055, recapturing Deheubarth. He proceeded to sack Hereford and destroy its motte-and-bailey castle, and he also seized Morgannwg and Gwent. In 1056, he defeated an English army at Glasbury, and he was recognized as "King of Wales", uniting the country. From 1057 to 1063, Wales was at peace under Gruffydd, who achieved a feat that no other Welsh ruler had. However, Earl Harold Godwinson of Hereford launched a surprise invasion of Wales in 1062, and Gruffydd was killed by Cynan ap Iago in 1063 as he hid from the invaders in Snowdonia. His kingdom fractured, and Wales once more morphed into a collection of traditional kingdoms.