David or
Dafydd ap Gruffydd (c.1235 -
1283)
was a prince of
Gwynedd, a younger son of
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and his wife, Senena, and thus grandson of
Llywelyn the Great. During his career, Dafydd had repeatedly switched allegiances between his elder brother,
Llywelyn the Last and King
Edward I of England, but it was his rash attack on
Hawarden Castle in March,
1282, that caused the final conflict with
Norman England, in the course of which Welsh independence was lost. The last Prince of Gwynedd and Wales, he ruled only for a few months after Llywelyn's death, effectively an outlaw. Seeking refuge from the English forces in the mountains of Gwynedd, he was eventually captured and
executed at
Shrewsbury, and is identified by some sources as the first victim of hanging,
drawing and quartering. His two sons and several daughters, mostly by Elizabeth (or Eleanor) Ferrars, were sent to prison and convents respectively after his death, and none ever emerged alive to threaten English domination.
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