Was Owain Fradwr really a Traitor?
Unless you are a fan of the Welsh Middle Ages you may not have heard of Angharad ferch Owain or her father Owain ap Edwin known as Owain Fradwr (Owain the Traitor). Their story is worth hearing yet is shrouded in many mysteries.
Imagine a time when everything was changing in what we now call Wales. For centuries the Welsh had navigated their relationships with Saxons and Vikings. Sometimes they fought them and sometimes they allied with them. The Welsh were influenced by both but on the whole, the kings of the various kingdoms throughout Wales ruled according to Welsh laws and Welsh culture flourished. Then came 1066 when the Normans defeated the Saxons and suddenly everything in Wales began to change.
William the Conqueror not only wanted to rule England with an iron fist but was keen to keep Wales under control. In order to do this, without effort or expense for himself, he sent three of his toughest barons to rule the border between England and Wales. These Marcher Lords could do what they pleased without his permission and were not expected to pay him taxes. If they took land from the Welsh then that was their concern. Hugh d’Avranches, also known as Hugh the Fat became the Earl of Chester. He was ruthless, violent and carved his way brutally into Northern Wales.
As the 11th century was drawing to a close the Norman Marcher Lords and their supporters had not only built their castles all over Wales but were trying to change the way operated politically and even to change the Welsh church to fall in line with Roman Catholicism. Gwynydd at that time was one of the most powerful of the Welsh Kingdoms and Owain ap Edwin was lord of Tegeingl a cantref in north-east Gwynydd covering an area from Whitford to Rhuddlan. Owain was descended from both Welsh and Saxon royalty and Owain was ambitious.
Owain’s lands were very close to Chester and to the wealth and power of Hugh the Fat. He knew that if he wanted to retain power in the area he had to abide by Norman rules and please the Norman Earl and his equally brutal Norman nephew, Robert of Rhuddlan. Hugh the Fat trusted him and Owain’s family flourished including his stunning daughter, Angharad.
While Owain was quick to recognize the power of the Normans on his doorstep, he was not as quick to recognize the undercurrents of the oppressed Welsh. In 1093, Gruffydd ap Cynan leader of the royal House of Aberffraw in Gwynydd killed Robert of Rhuddlan encouraging resistance against the Normans from other royal Houses in Wales. In 1095 and 1097 the Normans campaigned against the Welsh expecting to defeat them yet the Welsh sent them back to England with their tails between their legs. Owain still stood on the fence. Then in 1098 Hugh of Chester came to Owain ap Edwin and asked for his assistance to march to what is now, Anglesey, and destroy Gruffydd ap Cynan and the House of Aberffraw. Owain agreed. What occurred in Anglesey was horrific and appalling. Gruffydd and his ally the King of Powys, Cadwgan ap Bleddyn managed to escape to Ireland but the cost to the Welsh was devastating. Hugh now placed Owain in charge of all of Gwynydd but for his part in the betrayal he earned the title Owain Fradwr.
What Owain’s thinking was at the time is hard to read. Was he consumed with greed, ambition or indeed cowardice? What is surprising is that within months Gruffydd ap Cynan had returned as King of Gwynydd, given extra lands by King William and we know that he was married to none other than the beautiful Angharad who was the Welsh Traitor’s daughter.
There are many questions such as whether Gruffydd and Angharad were already married before the devastation in Anglesey or why Gruffydd married the daughter of a traitor to the cause. Searching for the answers I came across a wonderful article by Darrell Wolcott and then creative juices started to flow. Speculation is such splendid food for the mind and it led me to write a historical novel, ‘The Welsh Traitor’s Daughter’. It is a story worth reading.