Editing Gruffudd ap Llywelyn (section)

== Death and aftermath ==
Gruffudd reached an agreement with [[Edward the Confessor]], but the death of his ally Ælfgar in 1062 left him more vulnerable. In late 1062 [[Harold Godwinson]] obtained the English king's approval for a surprise attack on Gruffudd's court at [[Rhuddlan]]. Gruffudd was nearly captured,<ref name="DWB"/><ref name=Lee/> but was warned in time to escape out to sea in one of his ships, though his other ships were destroyed.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} In the spring of 1063 Harold's brother [[Tostig Godwinson]] led an army into [[North Wales]] while Harold led the fleet first to south Wales and then north to meet his brother's army. Gruffudd was forced to take refuge in [[Snowdonia]], where he met his death. Gruffudd's head and the figurehead of his ship were sent to Harold.<ref name=Lee/> The [[Annals of Ulster|Ulster Chronicle]] states that he was killed in 1064 by Cynan, whose father Iago had been put to death by Gruffudd in 1039.<ref name=Davies/>{{#tag:ref|Compare Remfry, P. M.; [[Annales Cambriae]], 68 and notes|group=lly}} Gruffudd had probably made enemies in the course of uniting Wales under his rule. According to [[Walter Map]], Gruffudd said of this:{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

:"Speak not of killing; I but blunt the horns of the offspring of Wales lest they should injure their dam."

Following Gruffudd's death, Harold married his widow [[Edith the Fair|Ealdgyth]], who was to be widowed again three years later. Gruffudd's realm was divided again into the traditional kingdoms. [[Bleddyn ap Cynfyn]] and his brother [[Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn|Rhiwallon]] came to an agreement with Harold and were given the rule of Gwynedd and Powys. Thus when Harold was defeated and killed at the [[Battle of Hastings]] in 1066, the Normans reaching the borders of Wales were confronted by the traditional kingdoms rather than a single king. Gruffudd left two sons who in 1069 challenged Bleddyn and Rhiwallon at the [[Battle of Mechain]] in an attempt to win back part of their father's kingdom. However, they were defeated, one being killed and the other dying of exposure after the battle.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}