Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam

Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam (died 1454) was a Welsh noblewoman, the daughter of Dafydd ap Llewelyn ap Hywel, otherwise known as Dafydd Gam, who was killed at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

Gwladys was named "the star of Abergavenny" (Welsh: Seren-y-fenni) —"Gwladys the happy and the faultless" by Welsh poet Lewys Glyn Cothi. He describes the lady of Raglan Castle, which she became upon her second marriage, as a brilliant being, "like the sun—the pavilion of light." She has been compared to the legendary Queen Marcia for her discretion and influence.

Gwladys' father, Dafydd, was a gentleman of considerable property and a celebrated military figure, descended from the native Welsh rulers of Brycheiniog. He was a prominent opponent of Owain Glyndŵr. Accounts of her mother are unclear. According to Prichard, Dafydd married Gwenllian, daughter of wealthy gentleman Gwilym ab Howel and grew up on an estate named "Petyn Gwyn" near the town of Brecon, in the parish of Garthbrengy, The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography more recently reports that some genealogists claim Dafydd's wife to have been Gwladys, daughter of Gwilym ap Hywel Crach. (1374–6).

On 16 September 1400, Owain Glyndŵr instigated the Welsh Revolt against the rule of Henry IV of England from the House of Lancaster. Dafydd, "one of Owain's most die-hard opponents," supported the English monarchy for the next twelve years in opposition to his Welsh countrymen.

During opposition to Owain Glyndŵr, Dafydd's lands in and around Brecon became a target for Glyndŵr's attacks. Owain is recorded to have arrived at the family's principal residence at Petyn Gwyn where he captured and assaulted Lady Gwenllian. After imprisoning her inside the house, he burnt the mansion to the ground.

Driven from their last home in Wales, Gwladys, with her father, grandfather, and her two brothers, found refuge at King Henry IV's court, where Gwladys served as a Maid of Honour firstly to Mary de Bohun (c. 1368–1394), wife of Henry IV, and afterwards to Queen Joan (c. 1370–1437), his second wife and only queen consort.

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