Rhys Gryg

Rhys Gryg (English "Rhys the Hoarse") (died 1234), real name Rhys ap Rhys, also known as Rhys Fychan ("The Younger") was a Welsh prince who ruled part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth.

Rhys was the fourth son of Rhys ap Gruffydd (The Lord Rhys) and his wife Gwenllian, daughter of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys.

He married Mathilde, the daughter of Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford.

In Rhys ap Gruffydd's old age he had a great deal of trouble keeping control of his sons, and a bitter feud broke out between Gruffydd ap Rhys II and Maelgwn ap Rhys. Rhys Gryg formed an alliance with Gruffydd against Maelgwn, then in 1195 joined with another brother, Maredudd, in a conspiracy against their father and captured Dinefwr Castle. Their father however retaliated by capturing both of them and imprisoning them in Ystrad Meurig Castle.

Rhys Gryg reappears in 1204. Rhys ap Gruffydd had died in 1197 and Rhys Gryg's ally Gruffydd in 1201 and Maelgwn had taken possession of most of Deheubarth. In 1204 Rhys made an alliance with Gruffydd's sons, Rhys and Owain, and drove Maelgwn out of Ystrad Tywi which was then shared between them, with Rhys Gryg getting the Cantref Mawr. By 1211 Rhys had fallen out with his nephews, who were supporters of Llywelyn the Great and intervened on behalf of King John of England, attacking and capturing Llandovery from them with the help of English Royal troops. After John has forced Llywelyn to give up all his conquests outside the core area of Gwynedd, Rhys joined with Maelgwn to eject his nephews from the remainder of their lands. However, when King John built a castle at Aberystwyth, Rhys and Maelgwn changed sides, attacked the castle and burnt it. In 1212 Rhys attacked and burnt Swansea.

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