Llywelyn Bren

Llywelyn Bren (died 1318), or Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ap Rhys or Llywelyn of the Woods (English), was a nobleman who led a revolt in Wales during the reign of King Edward II of England in 1316. The revolt would be the last serious challenge to English rule in Wales until the attempts of Owain Lawgoch to invade Wales with French support in the 1370s. Hugh Despenser the younger's unlawful execution of Llywelyn Bren helped lead to the eventual overthrow of both Edward II and Hugh.

Llywelyn Bren was a Welsh nobleman of the minor royal house of the cantref of Senghenydd (previously known as Cantref Breiniol) and a descendant of Ifor Bach, his great-great grandfather. His father was Gruffudd ap Rhys. Llywelyn is conjectured to have been born some time before 1267, as Gruffudd was dispossessed of the lordship of Senghenydd in that year by Gilbert de Clare and subsequently imprisoned in Ireland; there is no record of him returning to Wales. Llywelyn married Lleucu (d. 1349), and they produced at least seven sons, who also participated in the revolt.

Prior to the outbreak of Llywelyn's revolt in 1316, there had been a recent outbreak of violence in Anglo-Norman south-east Wales. The death of Gilbert de Clare, the Lord of Glamorgan and the most prominent landowner in the south, at the battle of Bannockburn in June 1314, left a power vacuum in the region, and the heavy-handed response of the English Crown towards overseeing de Clare's lands there, combined with the death of several hundred men of Glamorgan at Bannockburn, precipitated a revolt in the lordship in late summer of that year. Llywelyn seems not to have participated in this revolt, which seems to have been brought to an end when the king of England, Edward II, appointed Bartholemew de Badlesmere as royal custodian in Glamorgan.

In 1315, Edward II, who was guardian of the three sisters and heiresses of the estate of Gilbert de Clare replaced de Badlesmere with a new English administrator, Payn de Turberville of Coity, who persecuted the people of Glamorgan, then (like many in northern Europe at the time) in the throes of a serious famine. In coming to the defence of his people, Llywelyn incurred the wrath of de Turberville, who charged him with sedition. Llywelyn then appealed to King Edward II to call off or control his self-interested agent. But Edward ordered Llywelyn to appear before Parliament to face the charge of treason. The king promised Llywelyn that if the charges were found true, he would be hanged. Llywelyn then fled and prepared for war. On 28 January 1316, Llywelyn began the revolt by a surprise attack on Caerphilly Castle. He captured the Constable outside the castle and he and his men captured the outer ward but could not break into the inner defences. They burned the town and slaughtered some of its inhabitants and started a siege. The revolt quickly spread through Glamorgan and Gwent; Kenfig castle was sacked, as was the castle at Llantrisant, and several others were attacked, including St Georges-super-Ely, Llangibby and Dinefwr Castle. Towns including Cardiff were raided and buildings burned. Edward ordered Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Lord of neighbouring Brecon to crush the revolt and he gathered overwhelming forces supported by the men of the chief Marcher Lords like Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. Troops came from Cheshire, north Wales, and also some Welsh soldiers from west Wales. In March, forces advanced from Cardiff and in a brief battle at Castell Mor Graig forced Llywelyn and his men to break off the siege of Caerffili after 6 weeks. The Welsh retreated higher up the north Glamorgan plateau where Hereford and his men were moving south from Brecon.

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