Fraternal division

Above is a pic of my recent visit to the castle of Dinas Brân in Denbighshire, once part of the medieval lordship of Powys Fadog. 

Gruffudd of Bromfield, ruler of Powys Fadog, died in 1269. He left four sons, who gathered at Dinas Brân in 1270 to confirm their late father's grants to their mother, Emma. This confirmation was ratified by the Prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.

Now he was ruler of the principality, Llywelyn meant to enforce his authority. Anyone who thought his title was purely nominal could think again. Shortly after the meeting at Dinas Brân, Llywelyn intervened again in northern Powys to divide the land between the brothers. He chose to favour one, Madog, who was also his brother-in-law. Madog was granted the lands of Madog Maelog Gymraeg and Maelor Saesneg along with half of Glyndyfrdwy, while his brothers got lands elsewhere. Not enough, to judge from their reaction.

The castle of Dinas Brân was central to this awkward arrangement. It stood in the northern fringes of Nanheudwy, inside lands that formed the share of Llywelyn Fychan, one of Madog's brothers. When their father built the castle in the 1260s, it stood as a symbol of the unity of northern Powys. Now it was a symbol of division. In an effort to please everyone, Prince Llywelyn allowed Madog to retain possession of the castle, so long as Llywelyn Fychan could occupy part of it. This arrangement was similar to power-shares in English Gascony, where the sheer number of gentry and lack of castles meant property often had to be shared. That didn't mean the gentry liked it: one Gascon nobleman blocked up the windows of his tower, so he didn't have to look at his brother in the hall below.

When war broke out in 1276, the brothers were among the first to defect to Edward I. The first to do so was Llywelyn Fychan, who was received into the king's peace in December. The terms of his submission are revealing. In the event of a reconciliation between prince and king, Llywelyn Fychan's homage would be retained by Edward and his heirs, and not restored to Prince Llywelyn. This in turn meant that Llywelyn Fychan's lands would no longer form part of the principality of Wales.

In the spring of 1277 the king's commanders marched from Chester into Powys Fadog. These were Prince Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Earl William de Beauchamp and Peter de Montfort. Prince Llywelyn's favourite, Madog, bowed to military reality and went over to the king. The terms of his submission are even more revealing. Madog was obliged to accept that the castle of Dinas Brân, once captured by Edward's forces, could be demolished at the king's will.

This in turn meant the castle was still offering resistance, even after Madog and Llywelyn Fychan had agreed to surrender it. The likelihood is that Prince Llywelyn had gone further than his original settlement, and planted a Venedotian garrison inside Dinas Brân. Thus, none of the lords of Powys Fadog got to enjoy their father's castle, which partially explains their hostility towards the prince.