Background
William Cragh was born in about 1262 in the Welsh parish of Llanrhidian, to Rhys ap Gwilym and his wife Swanith. Between 1282 and 1283 King Edward I of England waged a military campaign in Wales that concluded with his annexation of that country. One of Edward's allies, Rhys ap Maredudd, found the post-war settlement unsatisfactory and launched a rebellion against the king in 1287. Edward's vastly superior forces soon crushed the uprising, but Rhys ap Maredudd remained at liberty until his capture and execution in 1292. Cragh probably took part in the rebellion on the Welsh side. He was apprehended in 1290 by the son of William de Briouze, the Lord of Gower, who was defending his father's lands against incursions by the rebels still at large. Cragh was one of 14 prisoners captured by de Briouze, 12 of whom were subsequently released. He was taken to Swansea Castle, where he was held in the dungeons awaiting trial, accused of killing 13 men.
The law in Wales at that time permitted condemned men to atone for their crimes by making a payment to their victims. Cragh's friends and family rallied round to offer 100 cows to de Briouze for his release, but the offer was refused. The substantial scale of the proposed compensation indicates that Cragh was an important man, although some witnesses described him as a thief rather than a rebel. Historian Jussi Hanska has suggested that de Briouze's refusal to accept the offer strengthens the case for Cragh being a rebel, as there is no other convincing reason to explain why he should have opted to "decline good income just to hang a thief".
Cragh pleaded innocence of the charges against him, but he was nevertheless found guilty and sentenced to be hanged.
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