Trahaearn ap Caradog
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| Trahaearn ap Caradog | |
|---|---|
 A fanciful illustration of Trahaearn ap Caradog from the Historie of Cambria (1584)[1] | |
| King of Gwynedd | |
| Reign | c. 1075 - 1081 |
| Born | 1044 |
| Died | 1081 (aged 36–37) |
| House | House of Mathrafal |
| Father | Caradog ap Gwyn ap Collwyn |
Trahaearn ap Caradog (1044–1081) was a King of Gwynedd. Trahaearn was a son of Caradog ap Gwyn, ruler of Arwystli (in the south of present-day Montgomeryshire, Wales), a small state, on the south-western border between Gwynedd and Powys. He was born in 1044 in Arwystli, and died in 1081 in Mynydd Carn in Pembrokeshire, at the Battle of Mynydd Carn.
On the death of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn in 1075, it appears that none of his sons were old enough to claim the throne, and Bleddyn's cousin Trahaearn ap Caradog, seized power.
The same year Gruffudd ap Cynan landed on Anglesey with an Irish force and, with the assistance of the Norman Robert of Rhuddlan, defeated Trahaearn at the Battle of Gwaed Erw in Meirionnydd, gaining control of Gwynedd. However tension between Gruffudd ap Cynan's Irish bodyguard and the local Welsh people led to a rebellion in Llŷn and Trahaearn took the opportunity to counterattack, defeating Gruffudd at the Battle of Bron yr Erw at Clynnog Fawr, also in 1075, forcing him to flee back to Ireland.[2]
In 1078 Caradog ap Gruffudd (Prince of the Kingdom of Gwent) killed Rhys ab Owain of Deheubarth, who had been responsible for the killing of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, in the Battle of Gwdig or Battle of Goodwick. Caradog ap Gruffudd wanted to take control of Deheubarth like his father and grandfather had done. However Rhys ap Tewdwr, Rhys ab Owain's second cousin, meanwhile had become king of Deheubarth. Rhys ap Tewdwr was forced to flee when Caradog ap Gruffudd invaded Deheubarth in 1081. He sought protection in St Davids at the far southwestern corner of his kingdom.[2]