Welsh Journals

on; by the end of the year complaints were already being made about his conduct in office.24 He was accused of interfering with rights of pasture (his answer was that he was defending the king's interests) and of levying amercements for non-suit to the county and hundred courts from tenants who had already made fine to be excused. A jury at the sessions found him not guilty. Had these been the only charges brought against Cynwrig it might be assumed that he was a capable and conscientious official unjustly maligned, but there were to be many more. On 29 October 1341 he was summoned to the sessions to answer charges that he and the sheriff of Flintshire, William de Praers, had committed a number of offences against the community of Englefield.25 These included false accusations and indictments which, it was alleged, had driven many tenants from their homes to beg their bread in England, the imposition of extortionate fines for the earl's protection (in reality that offered by Cynwrig), the persecution of the Bishop of St. Asaph, Dafydd ap Bleddyn (who happened to be Cynwrig's cousin) and the ill-advised harassment of Robert ap Gruffydd, a member of the Ednyfed Fychan lineage and the brother of Sir Rhys ap Gruffydd, the virtual ruler of the principality of south Wales. Reliefs were being demanded for people long dead, in one case since 1295, and a cart was sent around the tenants in the cantref to be filled with corn for the rhaglaw. When Cynwrig's daughter Alice married the sheriff's son he gave his new son-in-law 180 marks, not from his own resources but collected from the community. His brothers Bleddyn, Tudur, Dafydd, Ieuan and Llywelyn also appeared in court, accused of conspiring with him and Praers to commit some of these crimes.26 Given the nature of the charges it is hardly surprising that Cynwrig did not risk putting himself on the country and submitting to the verdict of a jury; he placed himself on the earl's mercy and was fined 300 marks. His brothers were also fined sums ranging from 200 marks to five pounds; the heaviest fines were imposed on the two clerical brothers, Llywelyn and Dafydd.27 These were not the only charges brought against Cynwrig and Praers at these sessions. They were also accused of conspiring to manipulate an inquisition to find that Cynwrig had a share in Gronant marsh.28 This stemmed from an instruction to him in 1337 to mark out the bounds of Gronant and Gwespyr and to divide the waste 24. PRO CHES 30/7. m.33b. 25. PRO CHES 30/8. m.2b: this case is discussed in detail in FMA (2), xxii-xxix. 26. PRO CHES 30/8, m.3a 27. FMA (2), 11-12. The fines were: Llywelyn, 200 marks; Dafydd, 100 marks; Bleddyn and Tudur, £ 10 each: Ieuan, 10 marks: and Cynwrig's son Ithel, £ 5. 28. PRO CHES 30/8. m.2a.