Mathrafal
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Mathrafal near Welshpool, in Powys, Mid Wales, was the seat of the Kings and Princes of Powys probably from the 9th century until its destruction in 1212 by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth of Gwynedd.
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[edit] Location
Mathrafal is located about six miles WNW of Welshpool at the junction of the A495 and B4389 on the banks of the River Banwy.
[edit] Description
The site known today as "Mathrafal Castle" is a roughly 100 m square rectangular compound defended by ditches. Little remains of the original walls. Little is known about what the original structure looked like, however the reports of the excavations of University of York in 1991 provide a little insight;
"The twelfth season of excavation showed that the castle can still produce new features and artefacts of interest: namely the vaulted cellar and its forecourt, the curving inner face of the North Tower, and, most spectacularly, the figurine of St Gwynllym. The North Tower and the area between it and the north ditch provided the greatest interest. The back (south) wall of the Tower was exposed and was still standing to at least 2m high. There was a splayed window opening, centrally placed in this wall, and it was in a cavity in the window base that the figurine was excavated by Richard Thomas. The artefact, in iron and bronze, was a discovery of the first significance."[1]
The remaining structures probably date from their construction around the 11th century and probably replaced an earlier hillfort, about 1 km away, which may date from around the time of the fall of the neighbouring Kingdom of Pengwern in the 7th century, or perhaps as early as 520 when the capital of Powys was moved from the old Roman town of Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter). Prince Gwenwynwyn ab Owain of Powys moved his capital from Mathrafal to Welshpool (Y Trallwng) after it was destroyed during warfare between Powys and Gwynedd in 1212.
[edit] House of Mathrafal
The Mathrafal dynasty began as a cadet branch of of the Dinefwr dynasty, taking their name from Mathrafal Castle which was their principal seat and served as the capital of Powys. Members of this family trace their lineage to Rhodri the Great who had replaced King Cyngen ap Cadell of Powys when he died on pilgramage to Rome (claiming the throne through his marriage to Cyngen's sister). The former ruling family were either exiled or reduced to the level of minor land owners (see Sir Gruffudd Vychan.
Rhodri's grandson Hywel Dda took possession of Powys in 916. His grandson Maredudd ab Owain ruled as king of Deheubarth and Powys until his death in 999, when it passed to his own grandson Llywelyn ap Seisyll, through his daughter Angharad (with her first husband Seisyll ab Owain). By 1063 however, it was their son Bleddyn ap Cynfyn that would found the line known as the House of Mathrafal that would continue to rule in Powys until the early 14th century (see Powys Wenwynwyn), when they were finely displaced by the Marcher lordship of Mortimer.
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn was able to take possession of Gwynedd when Gruffudd ap Llywelyn died in 1063. From this point forward the family jockeyed with the Dinefwr and Aberffraw dynasties for control of Wales. Their influence was greatest between 1063 to 1081, but lost control of Gwynedd to the resurgent Aberffraw family in the battle of Mynydd Carn. By 1191 Powys was divided between a northerly Powys Fadog, which became a loyal vassal of Gwynedd, and a southerly Powys Wenwynwyn (roughly modern Montgomeryshire), which remained frequently at logger heads with Gwynedd. Historian John Davies points out that with the division of Powys, the dynasty from 1191 could not be considered as "equal" to that of Aberffraw or Dinefwr. Indeed, Mathrafal Castle was utterly destroyed by Gwynedd in 1212 reducing the realm to one entirely dependant on England for its survival. However, the Mathrafal dynasty would continue to exert some influence, undermining and eventually betraying Llywelyn the Last during the Edwardian Conquest of 1282-3. They exchanged their royal pretences for an English lordship at the Parliament of Shrewsbury in 1283.
Members of the Mathrafal Dynasty include Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Maredudd ap Bleddyn, Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon, Trahaearn ap Caradog, Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog, Griffith and Owen de la Pole.
The other principal royal sites in Wales are Aberffraw for Gwynedd and Dinefwr for Deheubarth.
[edit] Sources
- John Davies, History of Wales, Penguin Books, 1990, 1993.
