Gwladus Ddu

Gwladus Ddu, ("Gwladus the Dark Eyes"), full name Gwladus ferch Llywelyn (died 1251) was a member of the Royal House of Gwynedd. She was a daughter of Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd and probably Joan Plantagenet, Lady of Wales, the only known illegitimate daughter of John, King of England.^[1] Gwladus Ddu married two Marcher lords.^[2][3]

Gwladus Ddu
Born	Gwladus ferch Llywelyn
Died	1251 (1252) Windsor, Berkshire, Kingdom of England
Family	Aberffraw
Spouse(s)	Reginald de Braose (c. 1215-1228) Ralph de Mortimer (c. 1230-1246)
Issue	4, including Roger
Father	Llywelyn the Great
Mother	Joan Plantagenet

Sources differ as to whether Gwladus was Llywelyn's legitimate daughter by his wife Joan or an illegitimate daughter by his longterm mistress Tangwystl Goch, daughter of Llywarch Goch^[1] and whilst she is widely regarded to be the daughter of Joan, this may be problematic when considering the date of Llywelyn and Joan’s marriage (around 1204-05) and the date of Gwladus’ first marriage (1215).^[4] Gwladus is recorded in Brut y Tywysogion as having died at Windsor in 1251.^[5]

Marriage

Gwladus married firstly, Reginald de Braose, Lord of Brecon and Abergavenny in about 1215.^[4][1] After Reginald's death in 1228, she was probably the sister recorded as accompanying Dafydd ap Llywelyn to London in 1229.

She married secondly, Ralph de Mortimer of Wigmore in about June 1230.^[6] Ralph died in 1246, and their son, Roger de Mortimer, inherited the lordship.^[7][1]

Children

Gwladus had at least three sons and a daughter with her second husband Ralph de Mortimer. The current English royal family claims descent from Llywelyn the Great through this line via their son Roger.^[1][8]

• Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer (c. 1231 – 27 October 1282). In 1247 he married Maud de Braose, daughter of William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny and Eva Marshal, with whom he had seven children.^[7]

• Hugh de Mortimer (d. 1273), lord of Chelmarsh.^[2]

• Peter John Mortimer, a Franciscan friar in Shrewsbury.^[2]

• Joan Mortimer, who around 1253 married Piers Corbet (d. 1300), lord of Caus, Shropshire, and had two sons, Thomas and Peter Corbet, 2nd Baron Corbet.^[2][9]

Legacy

In the 1380s, when Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March was considered a possible heir to King Richard II, Welsh bard Iolo Goch referred to his descent from Welsh royalty through Gwladus Ddu as a potential prophecy.^[10]

During the Wars of the Roses, both the House of Lancaster and House of York used Welsh mythological traditions to strengthen their cause. Edward IV claimed descent from the Kings of Gwynedd and Llewellyn the Great via the line of Gwladus Ddu through his grandmother Anne Mortimer to bolster his claim to the English throne.^[8][10][11]