William Cragh

William Cragh (born ca. 1262, died some time after 1307), or William the Scabby (cragh means "scabby" in Welsh), or William ap Rhys, was a medieval Welsh warrior and supporter of Rhys ap Maredudd, lord of the lands of Ystrad Tywi, in his rebellion against King Edward I of England. Captured in 1290 by the son of William de Briouze, the Cambro-Norman Lord of Gower, he was tried and found guilty of having killed thirteen men. Cragh was executed just outside Swansea within sight of de Briouze's Swansea Castle, twice, as the gallows collapsed during his first hanging. Lady Mary de Briouze decided for reasons unknown to intercede on Cragh's behalf, and prayed to the deceased Bishop of Hereford, Thomas de Cantilupe, asking him to ask God to bring Cragh back from the dead. Cragh began to show signs of life the day after his execution, and over the subsequent few weeks made a full recovery, living for at least another eighteen years.

The main primary source for Cragh's story is the record of the investigation into the canonisation of Thomas de Cantilupe, which is held in the Vatican Library. Cragh's resurrection was one of thirty-eight miracles presented to the papal commissioners who in 1307 were charged with examining the evidence for Cantilupe's saintliness. The hanged man himself gave evidence to the commission, after which nothing more is known of him. Cantilupe was formally canonised by Pope John XXII on 17 April 1320.