Nations Gallery
Conwy Castle, Aberconwy & Colwyn, Wales
In the middle ages Welsh princes paid homage to English Kings in return for estate lands and privileges. With the Coronation of Edward I in 1274, the new King expected Llewellyn ap Gruffudd, grandson of Llewellyn the Great, to pay homage to him. Llewellyn refused - not once, but five times. Edward I mustered a vast army and invaded Wales in 1277 and 1282-3.
The Statute of Rhuddlan (1284) effectively ended the independence of the principality. What had comprised the lands of Llewellyn's Wales, became the new shires of Anglesey, Caernarfon, Merioneth, Cardigan and Carmarthen. Edwards' son, Edward II, born in Caernarfon, was proclaimed the first English Prince of Wales.
Conwy Castle was built between 1283-87, after the invasion and conquering of Wales by Edward I, and stood as a symbol of the subjection of the Welsh.
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