Welsh Journals

Iolyn, Rhys Fawr's old home, were shown in an earlier number of the same journal in 1888.33 Many of the landed families in North Wales today can claim direct descent from Rhys ap Maredudd, and are proud to do so. Rhys Fawr, by reason of his long and distinguished lineage and because of the extent of his estates, was a Welsh nobleman, and by marrying Lowri, the daughter and heiress of Hywel ap Gruffudd Goch, the Lord of Rhos and Rhufoniog, he had strengthened his position in every way. They had a family of five sons and six daughters, whose fortune need not be traced here, except to note that the most distinguished of them all was the third son, Sir Rhobert ap Rhys closely associated with Cardinal Wolsey as crossbearer and chaplain, who moved in court circles, and 'was a very great man at the time of Henry VIII'. Gresham and Hemp wrote: 'Robert ap Rice, clerk, although in orders, had a large family of at least thirteen sons and five daughters.'34 [Surely a remarkably generous and elastic view of celibacy! Many of the priests were married at that time — as Robert was in spite of the official ecclesiastical rule.] His son, Cadwaladr, moved across the hills to Bala, and was the founder of the Price family of Rhiwlas. It is evident that Rhys Fawr and his family lived in circumstances of considerable affluence and comfort at Plas Iolyn. Nowadays the new house and the ruins of the old manor, together with the adjacent old fortified farmhouse of Giler, nestle in the hills remote from the constant pounding of the traffic on the London to Holy- head road; but five centuries ago the houses were in close proximity to the inter- section of the rough tracts that crossed the high moorland in all directions. His hearth at Plas Iolyn was a cultural centre in the sense that he was well known as a patron of the bards and minstrels, who were always warmly received at his home. Laudatory expressions of thanks for his generous hospitality have been preserved. Tudur Penllyn35 and Tudur Aled,36 two eminent contemporary poets, have sung the praise of Rhys and Lowri in commendatory cywyddau; and Tudur Aled composed an elegy in cywydd form when Rhys Fawr died.37 As the head of an old and loyal Lancastrian family it was inevitable that Rhys Fawr would arrange to meet Henry, with other Welsh supporters, on Long Mountain near Welshpool. Rhys took with him a contingent of 'Gwyr y Wlad Ucha' men of the upland countryside of Hiraethog to the pre-arranged meeting place for the Welsh forces. Henry's subsequent route was through Shrewsbury, Newport and Stafford where he had an inconclusive interview with Sir William Stanley. The final stage of the march was through Lichfield to Bosworth, where he arrived on Sunday, 21 August. Such is a brief outline of Rhys Fawr to whom Henry trusted the Standard of the Red Dragon. The fate of Sir William Brandon shows that the medieval Standard-Bearer, because of the nature of his responsible and extremely hazardous duty, was a focus for particularly aggressive attention. Capturing or casting down the Standard would have been a spectacular triumph for one side, and a mark of humiliation of distressing proportions for the other. Rhys Fawr, as Sir William's successor, it may be safely assumed, was desperately placed as the attack on the