CARADOG ap GRUFFYDD ap RHYDDERCH
(d.
1081
)
was the grandson of
Rhydderch ap Iestyn
, powerful in
South Wales
until his death in
1033
, and the son of
Gruffydd ap Rhydderch
, the rival of
Gruffudd ap Llywelyn
(q.v.)
, by whom he was slain in
1055
. The home of the family would seem to have been
Gwynllwg
and
Upper Gwent
. It is in this quarter of
Wales
that
Caradog
makes his first appearance in
1065
, when he swooped upon
earl Harold
's new hunting lodge at
Portskewet
, destroyed it and ravaged the neighbourhood, without apparently suffering any reprisals. He was of a bold and adventurous temper and, remembering the exploits of his grandfather and father, set himself to conquer the realm of
Deheubarth
. In
1072
he defeated and slew the reigning
prince
,
Maredudd ab Owain ab Edwin
(q.v.)
, in a battle on the
Rhymney
, and in
1078
slew his successor,
Rhys ab Owain
. But a third and more formidable opponent appeared in
Rhys ap Tewdwr
(q.v.)
in
1081
. Thus the stage was set for the famous
battle of Mynydd Carn
fought somewhere in
northern Dyfed
, where
Rhys
, fortified by the approval of
bishop
Sulien
of
S. Davids
and with the help of
Gruffudd ap Cynan
(q.v.)
, inflicted a crushing defeat upon
Caradog
and his northern allies.
Caradog
is no more heard of; he left a son,
Owain
, who in course of time established himself in
Gwynllwg
and became the ancestor of the later
Welsh
lords of
Caerleon
[on whom
see the article
Morgan ap Hywel
].
Bibliography:
-
A History of Wales
, 1911, 1930
, 372-3, 377, 384-5, 393.
Author:
Sir John Edward Lloyd, D.Litt., F.B.A., F.S.A. (1861-1947), Bangor.
