Rhys Mechyll (died 1244) was a Welsh prince, Lord of Dinefwr, of the House of Dinefwr and Kingdom of Deheubarth in southern Wales from 1234 to 1244. He was a son of prince Rhys Gryg (died 1234) ("Rhys the Hoarse"), son of prince Rhys ap Gruffydd (1132–1197),[1] "The Lord Rhys", ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth.

Arms of House of Deheubarth: Gules, a lion rampant or within a bordure engrailled or. These arms were inherited by the Talbot family, later Earls of Shrewsbury

Marriage

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He married Matilda de Braose (died 1248) who betrayed the dynasty's chief castle of Carreg Cennen to the Anglo-Normans in 1248, against the interests of her son Rhys. A Welsh chronicle, the Brut y Tywysogyon, records under the year 1248: "Rhys Fychan ap Rhys Mechyll regained the castle of Carreg Cennen, which his mother had treacherously placed in the power of the French, out of enmity for her son."[2]

Progeny

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He had four sons [3][1] [4] and a daughter, Gwenllian, who married Gilbert Talbot (died 1274), the grandfather of Gilbert Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot (died 1345/46),[5], who claimed the ancient armorials of the House of Deheubarth, assumed as arms of alliance to a great princess in place of his own paternal arms.[6] The assumption about Gwenllian, however, was unfounded [clarification needed] as Rhys Mechyll, Lord of Dinefwr, also had male heirs[7] who acceded to the arms of the House of Deheubarth.

Notes

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  • Walker, David. Medieval Wales, Cambridge University Press, 1990, p. 98. ISBN 978-0-521-31153-3

References

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  1. ^ a b Walker, 1990, p. 98
  2. ^ Jones, Thomas (translated by). Brut y Tywysogyon, Cardiff, 1973, p. 243
  3. ^ John Edward Lloyd: A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest . Vol. II. Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1912, p. 750
  4. ^ Bartrum, P.C. Welsh Genealogies, AD 300-1400, Vol. 10, pp. 783, 785, Vol. 12 p. 921, Aberystwyth University.
  5. ^ Cokayne, G.E., rev. & ed. Geoffrey H. White (1953). The Complete Peerage, Vol. 12 pt 1. London: The St. Catherine Press Ltd. pp. 609–610.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th. ed., vol. 11, p. 691, Talbot arms of alliance
  7. ^ Siddons M P: 'The Development of Welsh Heraldry', Vol. 1, p. 289, NLW 1991.