Editing History of Wales (section)

=== Norman invasion ===
{{See also|Norman invasion of Wales||}}
[[File:COA Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Prince of of Gwynedd and Powys.svg|left|thumb|110x110px|Standard of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Powys 1063-1075.]]
Within four years of the [[Battle of Hastings]] (1066), England had been [[Norman Conquest|completely subjugated]] by the [[Normans]].<ref name="Wales Hist 100" /> [[William the Conqueror|William I of England]] established a series of lordships, allocated to his most powerful warriors, along the Welsh border, their boundaries fixed only to the east (where they met other feudal properties inside England).{{sfn|Davies|1994|p=101}} Starting in the 1070s, these lords began conquering land in southern and eastern Wales, west of the [[River Wye]]. The frontier region, and any English-held lordships in Wales, became known as {{lang|la|Marchia Wallie}}, the [[Welsh Marches]], in which the [[Marcher lord]]s were subject to neither [[English law|English]] nor [[Welsh law]].{{sfn|Lieberman|2010|p=6}} The extent of the March varied as the fortunes of the Marcher lords and the Welsh princes ebbed and flowed.{{sfn|Lieberman|2010|p=5}}

At the time of the [[Norman conquest of England]] in 1066, the dominant ruler in Wales was [[Bleddyn ap Cynfyn]], who was king of [[Gwynedd]] and [[Powys]]. The initial Norman successes were in the south, where [[William Fitzosbern, 1st Earl of Hereford|William Fitz Osbern]] overran [[Kingdom of Gwent|Gwent]] before 1070. By 1074, the forces of the [[Earl of Shrewsbury]] were ravaging [[Deheubarth]].{{sfn|Davies|1987|pp=28-30}}

The killing of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn in 1075 led to civil war and gave the [[Normans]] an opportunity to seize lands in [[North Wales]]. In 1081 [[Gruffudd ap Cynan]], who had just won the throne of Gwynedd from [[Trahaearn ap Caradog]] at the [[Battle of Mynydd Carn]] was enticed to a meeting with the [[Earl of Chester]] and [[Earl of Shrewsbury]] and promptly seized and imprisoned, leading to the seizure of much of Gwynedd by the Normans.{{sfn|Maund|2006|p=110}} In the south [[William the Conqueror]] advanced into [[Dyfed]] founding castles and mints at [[St David's]] and [[Cardiff]].{{sfn|Remfry|2003|pp=4-5}} [[Rhys ap Tewdwr]] of Deheubarth was killed in 1093 in [[Brycheiniog]], and his kingdom was seized and divided between various Norman lordships.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911b|p=398}} The Norman conquest of Wales appeared virtually complete.[[Image:Caerphilly castle - panoramio.jpg|right|thumb|[[Caerphilly Castle]]. The construction of this castle between 1268 and 1271 by [[Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford|Gilbert de Clare]] led to a dispute between [[Llywelyn ap Gruffudd]] and the English crown, one of the issues which led to the wars of 1277 and 1282 and the end of Welsh independence|280x280px]]In 1094, however, there was a general Welsh revolt against Norman rule, and gradually territories were won back. [[Gruffudd ap Cynan]] was eventually able to build a strong kingdom in [[Gwynedd]]. His son, [[Owain Gwynedd]], allied with [[Gruffydd ap Rhys]] of Deheubarth won a crushing victory over the Normans at the [[Battle of Crug Mawr]] in 1136 and annexed [[Ceredigion]]. Owain followed his father on the throne of Gwynedd the following year and ruled until his death in 1170.{{sfn|Maund|2006|pp=162-171}} He was able to profit from disunity in England, where King [[Stephen of England|Stephen]] and [[Empress Matilda]] were engaged in a struggle for the throne, to extend the borders of Gwynedd further east than ever before.

[[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]] also had a strong ruler at this time in [[Madog ap Maredudd]], but when his death in 1160 was quickly followed by the death of his heir, [[Llywelyn ap Madog]], Powys was split into two parts and never subsequently reunited.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911b|pp=508-509}} In the south, [[Gruffydd ap Rhys]] was killed in 1137, but his four sons, who all ruled Deheubarth in turn, were eventually able to win back most of their grandfather's kingdom from the Normans. The youngest of the four, [[Rhys ap Gruffydd]] (Lord Rhys) ruled from 1155 to 1197. In 1171 Rhys met [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]] and came to an agreement with him whereby Rhys had to pay a tribute but was confirmed in all his conquests and was later named [[Justiciar of South Wales]]. Rhys held a [[1176 Cardigan eisteddfod|festival of poetry and song at his court]] at [[Cardigan, Ceredigion|Cardigan]] over Christmas 1176 which is generally regarded as the first recorded [[Eisteddfod]]. Owain Gwynedd's death led to the splitting of Gwynedd between his sons, while Rhys made Deheubarth dominant in Wales for a time.{{sfn|Lloyd|1911b|p=536}}