Welsh prince (born 1172)

Llywelyn the Great

Llywelyn ab Iorwerth or Llywelyn Fawr was Prince of Gwynedd from 1199 to 1240. His reign saw Gwynedd transformed from a territory suffering from thirty years of civil war into a polity which could exercise suzerainty over most other native Welsh rulers. He received official recognition of his status from the English Crown, but experienced difficulty establishing lasting control over his ostensible vassals and struggled to ensure a smooth succession for his chosen heir, Dafydd ap Llywelyn, son of Llywelyn and Joan, a daughter of King John. He suffered a paralytic stroke in 1237, and died on 11 April 1240, leaving Dafydd to succeed him to the precarious principality.