Accident or Assassination? The Death of Llywelyn 11th December 1282 The Story, Original Documents and Poems 1 Re–published by the Abbey Cwmhir Heritage Trust 2020 with financial help from Cadw. Dr John Davies, Sian Meredudd, Julian Lovell, Roger Coward. 2 Accident or Assassination The Death of Llywelyn, the Last Welsh Prince of Wales 1lth December 1282 CONTENTS 1. Flamebearers of History by Owen Rhoscomyl (1905) Chapters 55 & 56. 10. Contemporary Documents. 18. The Poems in Welsh 24. The Poems in English 29. Cilmeri today. 30. Notes. 31. Map of Cilmeri and Builth area. (Ed:): Editorial comment 3 THE DEATH OF LLYWELYN by Owen Rhoscomyl from The Flamebearers of Welsh History (1905) The Plot to Destroy Llywelyn Now the Norman Lords of Cymru - the Lords-Marcher as they were called - hated the Cymric Prince always, but neither did they love the King of England. They looked upon themselves as independent princes, each in his own domain. So long as there were Princes of Cymru, however, to make war on the King of Eng- land, then the Kings of England would have to encourage the Lords-Marcher in their independence, that they might harass the Princes of Cymru. Once the Princes of Cymru were extinguished, then the next step of the Kings of England would be to crush the Lords-Marcher. Some of the Norman Lords saw that, and they at least had no great wish to see Llywelyn crushed utterly. Llwvelyn knew this. Already some of the barons were in secret correspondence with him, and when he received word from Edmund Mortimer of Wigmore, one of the great Lords-Marcher saying that he wished to come over to his side, he believed it. For the Mortimers were his cousins, descended from his father's sister, Gladys, daughter of Llywelyn the Great. (Ed: Gladys Ddu or Gladys Ferch Llywelyn d 1251). Now an English chronicler of that day tells us that Edmund Mortimer did this thing to please King Edward. Llywelyn had always believed that Edward would deal treacherously with him. Edward, therefore, to throw Llywelyn off his guard, chose Edmund Mortimer for his work, for Llywelyn had once spared the life of the father of this Mortimer, because of the kinship between them. He would never suspect treachery, then, from the Mortimers, who were his kinsmen and sons of the man whose life he had spared. But there was another man in this dark plan who should stand forefront in the blame. That man was John Giffard, a baron whose lands lay close to those of the Mortimers, and had just been appointed Constable of the new castle of Builth. Whether Edward set him to work with the Mortimers, or whether, as seems more probable, the Mortimers themselves took him into council and set him on the work does not matter here. But, by the rewards which Edward gave him afterwards, it is certain that the actual plot which closed around Llywelyn, was his. For he was even more the right man to deceive the intended victim than the Morti- mers themselves. Firstly and foremost, he was one of those barons who had joined Simon de Montfort in the struggle for English liberty. He was, indeed, one of the busiest under de Montfort - as long as he thought it would pay. In those old days, when the champions of English liberty looked to Llywelyn for the ready help he al- ways gave, Giffard must have professed himself a great friend of the Prince. 4 Further, Giffard had married Maud Longsord (Ed: de Langspey) who was also a cousin of Llywelyn, for whom she had a warm affection, as she proved afterwards. And that marriage, moreover, made him a Lord-Marcher, in right of his wife's pos- sessions. Lastly, Llywelyn, knowing him personally, would know him to be quite unscrupu- lous, as his whole record shows him to have been. He had deserted de Montfort in the old days, when he thought the hero's star was waning, and he was always ready to steal lands and revenues, wherever he thought he could do it. In fact, as the documents of his life show, John Giffard was always for himself, no matter who was king or prince. He had fought against Edward and his father, when he thought it would pay. He was capable of fighting against Edward again if he thought that would pay. He was therefore just the man to change sides once more, after the defeat of Luke de Tany had so altered all the prospects of the war. On all counts, then, he would be just the man to be the fittest tool in this affair. The letters of Edmund Mortimer brought Llywelyn down to the valley of the Wye, with a little band of warriors from Gwynedd. John Giffard, Constable of Builth Cas- tle, made him believe that Builth Castle would be, given up to him. Never repeat that old phrase about 'The Traitors of Builth'. The Men of Builth, fair play to them, were always as ready as the rest to come out for freedom. And the bard who composed the wild and fiery lament for Llywelyn speaks of Saxon, not Cymric, treachery. The only Saxon there was John Giffard. Giffard had only just been appointed to the command of Builth. Before him, Roger Estrange, Lord-Marcher of Ellesmere and Knockyn, two Cymric lordships in what is now Shropshire, had been commanding there. The Cymry from Ellesmere and Knockyn were still at Builth under Giffard when Llywelyn came down. Now a year or two before this, when the castle was being built, Edward had com- manded the father (Ed: Roger de Mortimer) of the Mortimers to cut four roads in different directions from Builth. One of these roads was to a place which he called, in the document, by a name which it still bears, Cevn Bedd, or, as we now say, Cevn y Bedd. It was called Cevn Bedd because of the bedd or grave of some mighty chief of old, who lies buried at the foot of a stone on Waun Eli there. The road from the castle was cut accordingly. On the way it had to cross the river Yrvon, by a wooden bridge, of the sort still seen spanning the Upper Wye (Ed: 19 (2) years after the event). From the bridge it continued along the ridge, following an ancient path, to the homestead of Cevn y Bedd, two miles from Builth. There one ancient trackway branched to the right, north-west, to Llanavan Fawr, and beyond; while another one which the road had followed to this point, kept on forward for a little way, till it passed the head of a little dingle, with a clear spring in it, bubbling out in a tiny stream. There it tumed to the left, south-west, to cross the Irfon at anoth- er wooden bridge, within bow-shot of a ford which no man would think existed un- less someone pointed it out to him. When Llywelyn came down he posted his little force on the high ground above the end of the road, between the two trackways. In front of him the road ran on to Builth, but the bridge that should carry it across the Irfon had been de- 5 stroyed, probably by Roger L’Estrange, after the defeat at Llandeilo had put all the Lords Marcher on their defence. The lack of a bridge, however, would trouble Llywelyn little, and it was at this camp on the Cevn y Bedd, at the edge of Waun Eli, that the final phase of the plot against him was set in motion. When the Eighteen fell Prince of romance from the first hour of his power, Llywelyn now entered on that scene which beggars all the sober inventions of romances. Tradition-vivid, lasting, living tradition - still tells the tale of it, though in so wild a tangle that it needs much time and patience to straighten it out. But here is the story, partly from tradition and partly from ancient documents. On Thursday, December 10, 1282, Llywelyn received a message from the plotters, luring him away to Aberedw, some miles down the Wye, below Builth, and on the other side of the stream. The snow was lying white on the world, and the rivers (deeper then than now) were running black and full, but the ford across the Wye at Llechryd was still possible. Choosing eighteen of his household men, his body-guard, Llywelyn rode to Llechryd, and crossed. There he left his eighteen to hold the ford till he should come back, and then, attended by one squire, young Gorono Vychan, son of his minister Ednyved Vychan, he pushed on down the valley to Aberedw. At Aberedw he was to meet a young gentlewoman, who was to conduct him to a stealthy meeting with some chiefs of that district. If it be asked why he rode thus, almost alone and almost unarmed, the answer is that he is on a secret errand in which he must not attract attention to himself until he had seen the local chiefs, and ar- ranged the details of a rising on their part. The more secret and sudden that rising was, the more likely it was to succeed. He was taking one of the risks that a fearless captain takes in such a war. It was like him to do it, for he was a steadfast soul. At Aberedw, however, the gentlewoman was not there to meet him. In truth, the whole message was part of the plot of Giffard and the Mortimers, though he did not know it yet.