about
1172
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birthDolwyddelan, North Wales ⇓ He was probably born at Dolwyddelan, though not in the present Dolwyddelan castle, which was built by Llywelyn himself. (See image). He may have been born in the old castle which occupied a rocky knoll on the valley floor. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1172 • Richard, Duke of Aquitaine becomes Duke of Poitiers (later King Richard I of England (The Lionheart)). |
1200
Age: 28y
coronationGruffudd ap Cynan died in 1200 and left Llywelyn the undisputed ruler of Gwynedd. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1200 • After touring an army through Aquitaine to assert his right to it,King John by Warren. Published by University of California Press in 1961. p. 64 John of England weds 13 year old Isabella of Angoulême at Bordeaux. |
1201
Jul
Age: 29y
TreatyLlywelyn concluded a treaty with King John of England. This is the earliest surviving written agreement between an English king and a Welsh ruler, and under its terms Llywelyn was to swear fealty and do homage to the king. In return, it confirmed Llywelyn's possession of his conquests and allowed cases relating to lands claimed by Llywelyn to be heard under Welsh law. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1201 • Innocent III supports Otto IV as Holy Roman Emperor, against Philip of Swabia. |
1211
Age: 39y
InvasionRelations between Llywelyn and John deteriorated in 1210, possibly do to his alliance with a lord who had fallen out with the king. A year later John invaded Gwynedd with the aid of almost all the other Welsh princes, planning according to Brut y Tywysogion "to dispossess Llywelyn and destroy him utterly." This first invasion was forced to retreat. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1211 • Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross are founded in Liège. |
1211
Aug
Age: 39y
|
invasionJohn returned with a larger army, and seized the River Conwy. Bangor was burnt by a detachment of the royal army and the Bishop of Bangor captured. Llywelyn was forced to come to terms, and by the advice of his council sent his wife Joan to negotiate with the king, her father. Joan was able to persuade her father not to dispossess her husband completely, but Llywelyn lost all his lands east of the River Conwy. He also had to pay a large tribute in cattle and horses, hand over hostages, and was forced to agree that if he died without a legitimate heir by Joan all his lands would revert to the king. The image is a statue of Llywelyn at Conwy. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1211 • The church in the French city of Reims burns down; soon after, construction begins on Reims Cathedral. |
after
Age: 39y
1211
Age: 39y
eventLlywelyn recovered quickly. The Welsh princes soon became disillusioned with John's rule and changed sides. Llywelyn formed alliances, and rose against John. They had the support of Pope Innocent III, who had been engaged in a dispute with John for several years. Innocent released Llywelyn, Gwenwynwyn and Maelgwn from all oaths of loyalty to John. In two months, Llywelyn was able to recover all Gwynedd apart from castles Deganwy and Rhuddlan. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1211 • Battle of the Rhyndacus: the Latin emperor Henry of Flanders defeats the Nicaean emperor Theodore I Lascaris. |
1212
Aug
Age: 40y
eventJohn planned to invade August 1212. According to one account, he had just commenced hanging Welsh hostages when he received two letters. One from his daughter Joan, Llywelyn's wife, the other William I of Scotland, and both warned him that if he invaded Wales his magnates would seize the opportunity to kill him or hand him over to his enemies. The invasion was abandoned, and in 1213 Llywelyn took the castles of Deganwy and Rhuddlan. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1212 • The fall of Argos to the Crusaders early in the year completes their conquest of the Morea. The city, along with Nauplia, is given to Otto de la Roche as a fief (Argos and Nauplia). |
1215
Dec
Age: 44y
|
eventLlywelyn had established himself leader of the independent princes of Wales, and led an army to capture castles of Carmarthen, Kidwelly, Llanstephan, Cardigan and Cilgerran. A year later he held council at Aberdyfi where the lesser princes affirmed their homage and allegiance to Llywelyn, and territorial decisions were made. Gwenwynwyn of Powys changed sides and allied himself with King John, and Llywelyn and the lesser princes drove him out of southern Powys once more. Gwenwynwyn died in England later that year, leaving an underage heir. King John also died that year, and he also left an underage heir in King Henry III, with a minority government set up in England. In the image, the yellow areas are lands ruled by Llywelyn, the grey his client princes. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1215 • Beijing is captured and torched by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, initiating the Yuan Dynasty in China. The city burns for more than a month. |
1218
Age: 46y
treatyAfter King John's death, Llywelyn concluded the Treaty of Worcester with his successor Henry III. This confirmed him in possession of all his recent conquests. From then until his death Llywelyn was the dominant force in Wales, though there were further outbreaks of hostilities with marcher lords, particularly the Marshall family and Hubert de Burgh, and sometimes with the king. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1218 • Al-Kamil becomes the new Egyptian Sultan on the death of his father Al-Adil. |
after
Age: 48y
1220
Age: 48y
|
propertyHe built a number of castles to defend his borders, most thought to have been built between 1220 and 1230. These were the first sophisticated stone castles in Wales; his castles at Criccieth (see image), Deganwy, Dolbadarn, Dolwyddelan and Castell y Bere are among the best examples. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1220 • Trial by ordeal is abolished in England. |
1238
Age: 66y
|
councilIn his later years, he put much effort into making sure his son Dafydd became king. In 1238 Llywelyn held a council at Strata Florida Abbey where the other Welsh princes swore fealty to his son Dafydd. (See image.) Before this, Llywelyn had persuaded the Pope to declare Joan to be a legitimate daughter of King John, so as to strengthen Dafydd's position, and in 1229 the English crown had accepted Dafydd's homage for the lands he would inherit from his father. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1238 • The seat of the Patriarch of Aquileia is transferred to Udine. |
1240
Apr 11
Age: 68y
|
deathHis wife died in 1237, and Llywelyn appears to have suffered a paralytic stroke the same year. In 1240, Llywelyn died at the Cistercian abbey of Aberconwy, which he had founded, and was buried there. This abbey was later moved to Maenan, becoming the Maenan Abbey, near Llanrwst, and Llywelyn's stone coffin can now be seen in St Grwst's Church, Llanrwst. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1240 • Battle of the Neva: Russian prince Alexander Nevsky defeats the Swedes, saving the Novgorod Republic from a full-scale enemy invasion from the North. |