Today, I spoke at the Northeast Louisiana Scottish Scociety meeing in W. Monroe, Louisiana. I’m a member though I am Welsh and not Scottish. My topic was the sad story of Gwenllian, daughter of Llywelyn the Last. She was the last descendent of Llywelyn the Last. Her mother Eleanor died giving her birth. After her father Llywelyn died near Irfon Bridge, December 11, 1282, Edward Longshanks was determined that all of Llywelyn’s descendents would disappear. Her girl cousins were never heard from again. The boy cousins were imprisoned. Gwenllian was taken from her cradle (she was seventeen months old) and taken to a Gilbertine priory at Sempringham in Lincolnshire. She remained there for 54 years. She died June 7, 1337, never really having known her family, her heritage, or her native tongue. Plaid Cymru (Welsh Independence Movement) and other Welsh have made her a symbol. Efforts are underway to locate her body and return it to Wales, and many want a mountain in Snowdonia to be named after her. A plaque near the location of the monastery where she lived out her life is now a shrine, visited by thousands every year. You can learn more about Gwenllian here:
Bard of the South
Rickey Pittman – Author, Folksinger, Songwriter and Storyteller
