History of WalesHanes Cymru / The Age of PrincesOes y Tywysogion

c. 1100–1136

Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd

Led an army against the Normans at Kidwelly and died in battle. Her death sparked the Great Revolt.Arweiniodd fyddin yn erbyn y Normaniaid ger Cydweli a bu farw yn y frwydr. Taniodd ei marwolaeth y Gwrthryfel Mawr.

c. 1100–1136Princess of DeheubarthTywysoges DeheubarthThe Age of PrincesOes y Tywysogion

Gwenllian was the daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd and wife of Gruffydd ap Rhys of Deheubarth. In 1136, while her husband sought allies in the north, she led an army against the Norman garrison at Kidwelly.

She was defeated and beheaded near the castle, at a place still called Maes Gwenllian. Her death inspired the Great Revolt that drove the Normans from much of west Wales, and she is the only medieval woman in Britain known to have led an army into battle in this way.

Merch Gruffudd ap Cynan o Wynedd a gwraig Gruffydd ap Rhys o Ddeheubarth oedd Gwenllian. Yn 1136, tra oedd ei gŵr yn chwilio am gynghreiriaid yn y gogledd, arweiniodd fyddin yn erbyn garsiwn Normanaidd Cydweli.

Fe’i trechwyd a’i dienyddio ger y castell, mewn lle a elwir hyd heddiw yn Faes Gwenllian. Ysbrydolodd ei marwolaeth y Gwrthryfel Mawr a yrrodd y Normaniaid o ran helaeth o’r gorllewin.

Also in this ageHefyd yn yr oes hon

d. c. 909

Asser

Alfred’s Welsh scholarYsgolhaig Cymreig Alffred

A monk of St Davids who became adviser to Alfred the Great and wrote the first biography of an English king.Mynach o Dyddewi a ddaeth yn gynghorydd i Alffred Fawr ac a ysgrifennodd y cofiant cyntaf i frenin o Sais.

d. 950

Hywel Dda

Hywel the GoodBrenin y Deheubarth

His name was given to the native law of Wales, notable for women’s property rights and for compensation in place of vengeance.Rhoddwyd ei enw ar gyfraith frodorol Cymru, sy’n nodedig am hawliau eiddo i fenywod ac am iawndal yn lle dial.