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Historical person
1173–1240
Llywelyn the Great was a thirteenth-century ruler of Gwynedd who became the dominant Welsh prince of his generation. Through war, diplomacy and marriage, he expanded his authority and negotiated with both King John and Henry III of England.
Llywelyn the Great also held the offices or ranks of list of rulers of Gwynedd. Llywelyn the Great belonged to the House of Gwynedd and operated within Wales. Llywelyn the Great was born in Dolwyddelan and died in Aberconwy Abbey.
Sharon Kay Penman’s Dragon’s Lair introduces the young Llywelyn ap Iorwerth through the Welsh political world encountered by Justin de Quincy while investigating missing ransom money in 1193. Here Be Dragons makes Llywelyn a central protagonist, following his consolidation of Gwynedd, marriage to King John’s daughter Joanna and repeated conflicts with English royal power. David Crouch’s Medieval Britain, C. 1000–1500 places Llywelyn’s principality within the wider interaction of English expansion and the distinct political traditions of Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Series
The trilogy follows native Welsh rulers and their families across the thirteenth century, from Llywelyn the Great and Joanna through Simon de Montfort’s baronial reform movement to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s final struggle against Edward I. It treats Welsh politics, marriage, kinship and resistance alongside English royal expansion.
All books in this series
These medieval mysteries follow the fictional royal agent Justin de Quincy in 1193, while Eleanor of Aquitaine governs for the captive Richard I and John manoeuvres for the throne. Each investigation links murder, theft or conspiracy to the political instability of the Angevin realm.
All books in this series
Non Fiction
Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.
