Dafydd Gam - Biography

Biography

Dafydd Gam was a member of one of the most prominent Welsh families in Breconshire. His recent pedigree was 'Dafydd Gam ap Llywelyn ap Hywel Fychan ap Hywel ap Einion Sais', but beyond that the family claimed an ancient Welsh lineage going back to the Kings of Brycheiniog. Dafydd Gam was the grandson of Hywel Fychan, who held the manor of Parc Llettis near Llanover in Monmouthshire near Abergavenny, and fourth in descent from Einion Sais who held a castle at Pen Pont on the River Usk near Brecon and who had served at both the Battle of Crecy and the Battle of Poitiers. Their power base had developed mainly as consistently loyal supporters of the de Bohun family who were both earls of Hereford and Lords of Brecon from the 13th century onwards. Dafydd Gam's father, Llywelyn ap Hywel, purchased the estate of Penywaun near Brecon and Dafydd is thought to have been born there. His family was described as "a striking example of a native family that flourished under the rule of an English aristocratic family." Under Llywelyn ap Hywel, the family’s traditional loyalty was transferred to the new Lord of Brecon, Henry Bolingbroke, who had married Mary de Bohun in the 1380s. Some say Dafydd was previously in service to Henry's father John of Gaunt and, having killed a rival in Brecon High Street, had to leave Wales temporarily. Dafydd Gam was certainly being paid the substantial annuity of 40 marks by Henry’s estate in 1399, even before Bolingbroke became King, and later he and his brothers were described as King’s esquires. It seems likely they were prominent partisans of Henry in South East Wales as he gathered support for his overthrow of Richard II around 1399.

When the Owain Glyndŵr rebellion broke out in 1400, the family’s traditional loyalty to their liege lord remained unshaken and they played a leading role in opposition to the rebellion in the area. Their lands in and around Brecon became a target for Glyndŵr's attacks, and were extensively damaged as early as 1402-1403. The Scottish chronicler Walter Bower names Dafydd as a leader in the crushing defeat of Glyndŵr's men at the Battle of Pwll Melyn near Usk on 5 May 1405. After the battle, 300 of Glyndŵr's men were executed and his son, Gruffudd ab Owain Glyndŵr, was captured. Gam’s local knowledge might well have played a part in the Crown's victory here and in other battles like that at Grosmont around the same time, and may have won over local Welshmen to fight against Glyndŵr. The family's loyalty was rewarded with the gift of some of Glyndŵrs' supporters' confiscated estates in Cardiganshire. In 1412 Dafydd Gam was captured by Glyndŵr’s men and estimates of the amount paid as his ransom recorded at the time, range from 200 to 700 marks, a large amount. That it was paid directly and speedily from the King’s estates in Wales indicates the esteem in which Gam was held by Henry. Glyndŵr had made Gam swear an oath to never bear arms against him again or oppose him in any other way. On his release Gam told King Henry of Glyndŵr's whereabouts and attacked Glyndwr's men. Glyndŵr had Gam's Brecon estates attacked and burned in retaliation and his Brecon house was razed.