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Birth:          ABT 1010 of Caernarvonshire, Wales
Death:          1093 Brecon, Breconshire, Wales

Notes
several say 997 but it makes more sense for his bdate to be 1010
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhys_ap_Tewdwr
Rhys ap Tewdwr (before 1065 – 1093) was a king of Deheubarth in Wales and member 
of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from Rhodri the Great. He was born in 
the area which is now Carmarthenshire and died at the battle of Brecon in April 1093
Family[edit]

Rhys ap Tewdwr, a member of the House of Dinefwr, claimed the throne of 
Deheubarth following the death of his second cousin Rhys ab Owain, who was 
beheaded after the battle of Gwdig (modern day Goodwick) against Caradog ap 
Gruffydd in 1078.

He was a grandson of Cadell ab Einion ab Owain ab Hywel Dda, and a great-grandson 
of Einon ab Owain, thus a descendant of Hywel Dda, king of the Britons.[1]

He married Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon daughter of Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of the Mathrafal 
dynasty of Powys, by whom he had four sons, Gruffudd, Hywel ap Rhys[disambiguation 
needed], Goronwy and Cadwgan, and a daughter Nest who married Gerald de 
Windsor, Constable of Pembroke, progenitors of the FitzGerald and de Barry dynasties 
of Ireland. These Hiberno-Norman, or Cambro-Norman, families have been Peers of 
Ireland since at least the 14th century.

The English variant of Tewdwr is Tudor. Henry Tudor, King of England was a 
matrilineal descendant of Rhys ap Tewdwr.

Rule[edit]

In 1081 Caradog ap Gruffydd invaded Deheubarth and drove Rhys to seek sanctuary 
in the St David's Cathedral.

Rhys however made an alliance with Gruffudd ap Cynan who was seeking to regain 
the throne of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and at the Battle of Mynydd Carn in the same 
year they defeated and killed Caradog ap Gruffydd and his allies Trahaearn ap 
Caradog of Gwynedd and Meilyr ap Rhiwallon.

The same year William the Conqueror visited Deheubarth, ostensibly on a pilgrimage to 
St David's, but with a major show of power as well, traversing the width of southern 
Wales, and it seems likely he came to an arrangement with Rhys, whereby Rhys paid 
him homage and was confirmed in possession of Deheubarth. Rhys paid William £40 a 
year for his kingdom, ensuring good future relations with William that lasted until the 
end of his lifetime. Rhys was content with the arrangement as it meant that he only 
had to deal with the jealousy of his fellow Welsh princes.

In 1088 Cadwgan ap Bleddyn of Powys attacked Deheubarth and forced Rhys to flee 
to Ireland. However, Rhys returned later the same year with a fleet from Ireland and 
defeated the men of Powys, in a battle in which two of Cadwgan's brothers, Madog 
and Rhiryd, were killed.

In 1091 he faced another challenge in the form of an attempt to put Gruffydd, the son 
of Maredudd ab Owain, on the throne of Deheubarth. Rhys was able to defeat the 
rebels in a battle at St. Dogmaels, killing Gruffydd.

Death and succession[edit]

Rhys was unable to withstand the increasing Norman pressure. The Welsh Bruts 
(chronicles) state that "Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of Deheubarth, was slain by the 
Frenchmen who were inhabiting Brycheiniog." The Brut y Tywysogion adds "and with 
him fell the kingdom of the Britons". This passage lends evidence to the belief that 
the conquest of Brycheiniog (Brecon), led by Bernard de Neufmarche, was mostly 
finished by Eastertide 1093. The battle of Brecon opened the way to the conquest of 
Deheubarth.

Upon Rhys's death, the Normans seized much of south Wales, and fighting over the 
spoils with the chieftains of Powys and Gwynedd. Eventually, Rhys's eldest son, 
Gruffydd, was allowed to inherit a small portion of his father's kingdom. Rhys's 
daughter Nest was briefly one of the numerous concubines of Henry I, to whom she 
bore a son, and thereafter the wife of Gerald FitzWalter of Pembroke; their sons and 
grandsons, the FitzGerald conquerors of Ireland, were known collectively as the "sons 
of Nest". Through his son Gruffydd, Rhys was an ancestor of the Tudor dynasty.

Parents
AP CADELL Tewdwr "Mawr' (ABT  977 - )
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Siblings
AP TEWDYR Rhys (ABT 1010 - 1093)

Marriage To VERCH RHIWALLON Gwladus (ABT 1041 - )
    m.  

Notes

Parents
AP CYNFYN Rhiwallon (ABT 1025 - 1070)
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Children by VERCH RHIWALLON Gwladus ABT 1041 - 
VERCH RHYS Nest (1073 - BEF 1136)
AP RHYS Gruffudd (ABT 1081 - 1137)

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