To what extent was Llywelyn ap Gruffydds political misjudgement Essay

To what extent was Llywelyn ap Gruffydds political misjudgement responsible for the downfall of the Welsh Principality in 1277 - Essay Example Llywelyn entered the governance of Wales in 1258 and he started soon to expand his power over the country through the achievement of a series of victories in the battles developed across England – British have been since the appearance of this country – Wales – extremely hostile towards the people that are originated in the specific region. In order to understand the responsibility of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd for the downfall of Wales in 1277 it is necessary to present primarily a series of details regarding the presence of Llywelyn in the throne of Wales and his main strategic decisions in order to protect the country from potential conquerors. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd has been characterized as a powerful monarch who has based his power on his military successes across the country. Despite his achievements in the field of battles had been considerable, his ability to govern the country can be doubted. The research on the particular issue proved that Llywelyn has been a competent leader but with limited diplomacy skills; this fact has probable caused to the increase of hostility against him by the majority of politicians in Wales at that particular period of time (the term ‘politician’ in this case should be related with the political and social power of certain people, i.e. of their ability to influence the polit ical decisions in the country). Llywelyn ap Gruffudd – who is also known as Llewely the Last or as ‘Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf’ was ‘one of the four sons of Gruffydd, the illegitimate son of Llywelyn the Great’ (Wales Online, 2004, online article). He was born in 1228 and he died in 1282 and has been the last prince of Wales. In 1258 Llywelyn ap Gruffudd became the prince of Wales; his high ambitions regarding the conquest of territories and the expansion of his power soon led to the increase of hostility between Llywelyn and the rest Welsh princes. Llywelyn should have tried to