MAELGWN ap RHYS (d. 1295), rebel of 1294,
a son of Rhys Fychan, last lord of Geneu'r Glyn in north Cardiganshire, and a descendant of Maelgwn (q.v.) ap Rhys ap Gruffydd (q.v.). When in 1294 a general uprising against alien rule broke out in Wales, led by Madog ap Llywelyn (q.v.) in North Wales, and Morgan (q.v.) in Glamorgan, Maelgwn assumed the leadership of the insurgents in Cardiganshire. The campaign in west Wales comprised a hard, but unsuccessful, siege of Llanbadarn (Aberystwyth) and heavy raids into Carmarthen and Pembroke. Maelgwn was killed by the men of the earl of Gloucester while fighting near Carmarthen. His brothers, Rhys and Gruffydd, were held in the king's prison at Norwich as late as 1308.
Bibliography:
- J. E. Morris, Welsh Wars of Edward I;
- Bridgeman, Princes of S. Wales.
Author:
Professor Thomas Jones Pierce, M.A., F.S.A., (1905-1964), Aberystwyth
