ABSTRACT
Heroic in deed, dynastic in ambition and rulers by intent, the princes were the elite of a privileged aristocratic class. In their efforts to extend their hegemony over native Wales, the princes of Owain Gwynedd were seeking to define the nature of their relationship with the other native rulers whom they attempted to make their vassals. Gerald de Barri's vivid story of revenge could likely be replicated in the courts of the Welsh princes. Royalty was an obligation not for the faint-hearted since an heir to a Welsh crown needed more than simply pedigree, status and seniority to succeed; strength of character, martial courage, ruthless politicking and not a little luck, were among some of the essential ingredients. Disputed succession and territorial fragmentation was a fact of Welsh political life during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Principally by means of war the princes of Gwynedd extended their direct authority over Powys and Deheubarth and became princes of the Welsh.
