Gwenllian of Wales

Lineage

Gwenllian was born in the Gwynedd royal home in Abergwyngregyn near Bangor, Gwynedd. Gwenllian's mother, Eleanor de Montfort, died during childbirth, or shortly afterwards, on 19 June 1282. Gwenllian was descended from dual royal bloodlines: not only was she the daughter of the Prince of Gwynedd and heiress of the royal family of The House of Aberffraw, but her maternal great-grandfather was King John of England.

Capture by King Edward I

A few months after Gwenllian's birth, northern Wales was encircled by the English army of King Edward I. On 11 December 1282, her father, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, was killed in battle; the exact circumstances are unclear and there are conflicting accounts of his death. Gwenllian's uncle, Dafydd ap Gruffudd, assumed her guardianship, until 21 June 1283, when he was captured with his family at Nanhysglain, a secret hiding place in a bog by Bera Mawr in the uplands of northern Wales. Dafydd, severely injured, was taken to Rhuddlan then moved under guard to Shrewsbury, where he was later executed.

Confinement

Gwenllian and the daughters of her uncle Dafydd ap Gruffudd were all confined for life in remote priories in Lincolnshire and never allowed freedom. Gwenllian was placed in the Gilbertine Priory at Sempringham, where she remained until her death 54 years later. In committing her to a convent, Edward's aim was partly to prevent her from becoming a focus for Welsh discontent, perhaps by marrying and having sons who might lay claim to the Principality of Wales. He chose Sempringham Priory in Lincolnshire. It has been speculated that the girls were taken to Lincolnshire from Gwynedd by sea.

Gwenllian's royal rank was acknowledged at least once by the English Crown. When writing to the Pope, attempting to secure more money for Sempringham Priory from the Church, the English king stated that "...herein is kept the Princess of Wales, whom we have to maintain". The title "Princess of Wales" as used here did not have its usual accepted meaning.

Having been taken from her native land so young, Gwenllian is unlikely to have remembered any Welsh she may have learned as a toddler, and perhaps never knew the correct pronunciation of her own name. The priory record-keepers listed her as "Wencilian" and was herself shown to have signed her name "Wentliane".

Final years and death

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 paid on her behalf to the priory in respect of her food and clothing. Her death there was recorded by the priory's chronicler in June 1337, a few days before her 55th birthday.

Gwenllian in later tradition

A memorial made of Welsh granite was erected near Saint Andrew's Church, Sempringham, known to locals as Sempringham Abbey, in Lincolnshire. There is also a display about Gwenllian inside the church, although visitors must request the key to enter and view it.

Gwenllian has been commemorated at least twice in poetry. "Gwenllian", by T. James Jones, was inspired by the site of her memorial stone."In Sempringham" is by Mererid Hopwood, the first woman to win the Bardic Chair at the National Eisteddfod, Wales' top honour for poetry.

On 26 September 2009, Carnedd Uchaf, in the Carneddau mountain range in Snowdonia, was formally renamed Carnedd Gwenllian in her memory following a lengthy campaign by the Princess Gwenllian Society. The Ordnance Survey added the names Carnedd Uchaf / Carnedd Gwenllian on its maps published from 2010 onwards. The original name of Garnedd Uchaf, which is within the Bounds of Abergwyngregyn, is Garnedd Lladron.

In 2008 a plaque was placed on the rock just below the summit of Snowdon commemorating "the Princess Gwenllian (1282-1337), only child of Prince Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, Lord of Snowdonia, Prince of Wales." This original plaque was removed and damaged in 2018, to be replaced with a near-similar one.

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