Editing Strata Florida Abbey (section)

==History==
=== Foundation ===
The Monastery was founded in 1164 by the [[Cambro-Norman]] Knight [[Robert FitzStephen]] (c 1123–1183). In the 12th century, Cistercian [[monk]]s from [[Whitland Abbey]], [[Narberth, Pembrokeshire|Narberth]], [[Carmarthenshire]] started to construct a religious settlement on the banks of the ''Afon Fflur'' (from which the present Abbey takes its name), a short distance from the present site. This was at a time of fast expansion of the [[Cistercian order]]. 
The site of this first settlement is known as ''Hen Fynachlog'' (the Old Monastery).

Around 1164 the Abbey of Strata Florida was founded through the patronage of [[Rhys ap Gruffydd]]. In 1184, a further charter was issued by Lord Rhys, reaffirming Strata Florida as a monastery under the patronage of [[Deheubarth]], a principality of South Wales. Several descendants of the Lord Rhys have been buried at this Abbey, including 11 princes of the Welsh royal [[house of Dinefwr]] of Deheubarth during the 12th and 13th centuries Notable burials include Prince [[Gruffydd ap Rhys II]] and poet [[Dafydd ap Gwilym]].

The church was [[consecrated]] in 1201.

===Medieval period===
{{Further|topic=the byway between Cwm-Hir and Strata Florida|Monks Trod}}

Strata Florida became an important and powerful religious centre. Around 1238, Prince [[Llywelyn ap Iorwerth]] held a council at Strata Florida. It was here that he made the other Welsh leaders acknowledge his son [[Dafydd ap Llywelyn|Dafydd]] as his rightful successor. Strata Florida controlled many farms throughout Wales; these "granges" provided the monastery with food and income. The most important primary historical source for early Welsh history, the ''[[Brut y Tywysogion]]'', was compiled at Strata Florida.

In 1401, during the early years of [[Owain Glyndŵr]]'s rebellion, Strata Florida Abbey was taken by [[Henry IV of England|King Henry IV]] and his [[Henry V of England|son]]. The monks were deemed to be sympathetic to Glyndŵr, so they were evicted from the monastery, which was plundered. Henry IV turned the religious buildings into a military base as he planned to capture or defeat any Welsh rebel forces active in the area. By 1402 the [[Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester|Earl of Worcester]] held the Abbey for the English Crown with a garrison of several hundred [[men-at-arms]], archers and foot soldiers. It continued to be used as a military base for further campaigns against the Welsh rebels in 1407 and 1415.

The monastic site was returned to the Cistercians with the end of the Glyndŵr rebellion.

=== Dissolution ===
Beginning in 1539, [[Henry VIII]] used his dissatisfaction with the [[Catholic]] Church in Rome to dissolve and sack the [[Dissolution of the monasteries|monasteries of England and Wales]]. Strata Florida Abbey was dissolved in 1539 by church commissioners. The buildings and their contents were valued and then sold off. The church and most of the ancillary buildings were demolished for building materials such as the window glass and stone as well as the roof tiles and lead. However, the refectory and dormitory were rebuilt as ''Tŷ Abaty'', a house for the local [[gentry]]. The property has been owned by a number of notable families including the Stedmans and the Powells of [[Nanteos Mansion|Nanteos]]. Much of the former monastic lands of the Cistercian abbey at Strata Florida were given to [[Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex]] who sold them on to [[John Vaughan (judge)|Sir John Vaughan]], of [[Trawsgoed]]. Through his marriage to Jane Stedman, daughter of John Stedman of Ystrad Fflur and Cilcennin, he gained more land on which to create the large Trawsgoed estate.<ref name="Trawsgoed">[http://www.trawsgoed-estate.co.uk/history.htm Trawsgoed Estate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925124807/http://www.trawsgoed-estate.co.uk/history.htm |date=2008-09-25 }}</ref>

The present [[parish church]] of St. Mary, within the boundaries of the graveyard, may have been built with stone taken from the monastic site.