BattlefieldsLlywelyn the Great Captures Builth 1208
Medieval

Llywelyn the Great Captures Builth 1208

1208
Brecknockshire, Wales
Also known as: Llywelyn seizes Builth from de Braose 1208
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Brecknockshire, Wales
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
de Braose (Marcher lord)
Forces
de Braose garrison c.200–500.
VS
Victor
Gwynedd (Llywelyn the Great)
Forces
Llywelyn c.2,000–4,000
Outcome
Builth Castle captured; de Braose family's Welsh power temporarily weakened
The Battle

History & Significance

Llywelyn the Great captured Builth Castle from the powerful de Braose family in 1208 as part of his systematic expansion of Gwynedd power into the middle March. The de Braose lords had been the dominant Marcher power in Breconshire for generations. Llywelyn's relationship with the de Braose family later became complicated when he hanged William de Braose for adultery with his wife Joan in 1230 — one of the most dramatic personal episodes of the period.

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