Maredudd ap Tudur (died c. 1406) was a Welsh soldier and nobleman from the Tudor family of Penmynydd. He was the youngest of six sons of Tudur ap Goronwy and was the father of Owen Tudor. Maredudd supported his cousin the Welsh patriot Owain Glyndŵr in 1400, alongside his brothers Rhys ap Tudur and Gwilym ap Tudur.

Maredudd ap Tudur
Bornsecond half of 14th century
Diedc. 1406
SpouseMargaret ferch Dafydd
Children
Parent(s)Tudur ap Goronwy
Marged ferch Tomos
RelativesGwilym ap Tudur (brother), Rhys ap Tudur (brother), Owain Glyndŵr (cousin), Henry VII (Great-grandson), Henry VIII (great-great-grandson), Edmund Tudor (great-great-grandson), Edmund Tudor (grandson), Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (grandson)

He was the great-grandfather of Henry VII of England and the great-great-grandfather of Henry VIII of England.

Ancestry and early life edit

Maredudd was one of five sons of Tudur ap Goronwy and Marged ferch Tomos (a descendant of Llywelyn Fawr); alongside Ednyfed ap Tudor, Rhys ap Tudur, Goronwy ap Tudor and Gwilym ap Tudur.[1] Tudur had served with the forces of King Edward III of England during the campaigns in France in 1337, assuming the rank of a knight in the process. Afterwards, he became a royal officer for the island of Angelsey and ensured that all of his sons found similar roles.[2] The family were descended from Ednyfed Fychan, and his son Goronwy ab Ednyfed, the founder of the Tudor family of Penmynydd.[3]

At some point between 1387 and 1395, Maredudd was made rhaglaw (bailiff) of the commote at Malltraeth. His brothers Rhys and Goronwy held similar roles in the commote of Dindaethwy. Maredudd was named escheator of Anglesey between 1388 and 1391, a role normally reserved by the crown for Englishmen.[1]

Revolt edit

When Owain Glyndŵr led a revolt against the crown,[1] the surviving Tudur brothers (Goronwy and Ednyfed both drowned in 1382),[4] sided with him openly; Glyndŵr was their cousin on his mother's side of the family.[1] But unlike Rhys and Gwilym, Maredudd was included in a general pardon in 1401 given to those who on Anglesey who supported Owain. Despite this, Maredudd again led a group of rebels in 1405, and was outlawed a year later by the king.[5]

Maredudd's lands were confiscated by the crown, but unlike those of his brothers they were not passed to Gwilym ap Gruffydd.[6] The rebellion ultimately failed; Rhys was executed in 1412,[5] Gwilym ap Tudur was given a pardon in 1413, but Maredudd disappears from the historical record after 1405 and his final fate is unclear.[6]

Legacy edit

Maredudd's son Owain initially used the name Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur,[7] but Anglicised it to become Owen Tudor.[8] Owen married the widow of King Henry V of England, Catherine of Valois, in secret and had had three sons, Owen, Edmund and Jasper. Their half brother, King Henry VI of England, took an active interest in them and had Edmund married to Margaret Beaufort to ensure their children could inherit the throne of England.[9] During the subsequent Wars of the Roses, Edmund's son Henry Tudor became King Henry VII of England, the founder of the House of Tudor.[8]

Lineage edit

Ednyfed Fychan
d. 1246
I[i][ii][iii][iv]Tudur ab EdnyfedGoronwy ab Ednyfed
d. 1268
II[i][ii][iii][iv][v]Tudur Hen
(Tudur ap Goronwy)
d. 1311
III[i][ii][iv][v][vi]Goronwy ap Tudur Hen
d. 1331
Tomos ap Llewelyn
d. 1343
IV[i][ii][iv][v][vii][viii]Hywel ap Goronwy
d. ca. 1367
Tudur ap Goronwy
d. ca. 1367
Marged ferch TomosElen ferch Tomos
(mother of
Owain Glyndŵr)
V[i][ii][iv][vii]Goronwy ap Tudur
d. 1382
Rhys ap Tudur
ex. 1412
Ednyfed ap Tudur
d. 1382
Gwilym ap Tudur
d. 1413
Maredudd ap Tudur
d. 1406
VI[i][iv][vii][ix][x]Gwilym ap Griffith
(Griffiths of Penrhyn)
Morfydd ferch GoronwyTudur ap Goronwy
d. ca. 1400
Owen Tudor
(Owain Tudur)
(ca. 1400–1461)
VII[iv][ix][x][xi]Tudur FychanEdmund Tudor,
1st Earl of Richmond

(ca. 1430–1456)
Jasper Tudor,
Duke of Bedford

(1431–1495)
Owen Tudor
monk
VIII[i][iv][ix][x][xi]Owain Tudor
d. 1504/1505
Henry VII of England
(1457–1509)
IX[i][iv][xi]William Owen ap
Tudor Fychan
John Owen ap
Tudor Fychan
Richard Owen Theodor (I)
d. 1527(?)
Arthur
(1486–1502)
Henry VIII
(1491–1547)
X[i][iv]Richard Owen Theodor (II)
d. 1558(?)
William Pritchard
(William Bold)
Edward VI
(1537–1553)
Mary I
(1516–1558)
Elizabeth I
(1533–1603)
XI[i][iv]Richard Owen Theodor (III)David Owen
Theodor

d. 1624
XII[i][iv]Richard Owen Theodor (IV)
fl. 1645
XIII[i][iv][xi]Richard Owen Theodor (V)
fl. 1665
XIV[i][iv][xi]Richard Owen Theodor (VI)
fl. 1669
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m J. Williams (1869). "Penmynyth and the Tudors". Archaeologia Cambrensis. 15 (3rd ser): 278–294, 379–402.
  2. ^ a b c d e Glyn Roberts (1959). "EDNYFED FYCHAN ( EDNYFED ap CYNWRIG ) and his descendants". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
  3. ^ a b Peter Bartrum. "Marchudd 11". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University.[dead link]
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glyn Roberts (1959). "Teulu Penwynydd". Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion: 17–37.
  5. ^ a b c Peter Bartrum. "Marchudd 12". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University.[dead link]
  6. ^ Peter Bartrum. "Bleddyn ap Cynfyn 05". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University.[dead link]
  7. ^ a b c Peter Bartrum. "Marchudd 13". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University.[dead link]
  8. ^ Peter Bartrum. "Rhys ap Tewdwr 07". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University.[dead link]
  9. ^ a b c Glyn Roberts (1959). "GRIFFITH OF PENRHYN (Caerns.)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
  10. ^ a b c Thomas Jones Pierce (1959). "OWAIN TUDOR ( c. 1400 - 1461 )". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
  11. ^ a b c d e Thomas Jones Pierce (1959). "TUDOR family of Penmynydd , Anglesey — later members". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c d Griffiths & Thomas 1985, pp. 20–21.
  2. ^ Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 18.
  3. ^ Roberts 1959.
  4. ^ Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 19.
  5. ^ a b Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 23.
  6. ^ a b Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 24.
  7. ^ Nicholas 1872, p. 29.
  8. ^ a b "A royal dynasty". BBC Wales. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  9. ^ Griffiths & Thomas 1985, pp. 32–35.

References edit