Linda Asman: 'Nest ferch Rhys – Princess of Deheubarth' (2023)

Description

Lede
Linda Asman relates the story of Princess Nest, the Medieval ‘Helen of Wales’, famous for her legendary beauty which, like Helen of Troy, ultimately led to her abduction and civil war.

Story
Very few women are written about in the high Medieval period; often a mere mention as someone’s wife or mother. Not so with Nest. Born in c.1085, Princess Nest was the daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of Deheubarth, the old Welsh kingdom of southwest Wales. During a battle outside Brecon in 1093, Rhys was killed and south Wales overrun by a Norman force. Whilst her brother Gruffydd ap Rhys was taken to safety in Ireland, Nest, at the tender age of 13, was taken as a hostage to the English court of William Rufus.

This beautiful young hostage attracted the attentions of none other than the King’s brother, Prince Henry Beauclerc (later to become Henry I) and entered into a liaison, which was to result in at least one child – Henry Fitzhenry. It was no brief affair, and Nest openly became Henry’s mistress. This was to change when Henry seized the crown and wed Matilda of Scotland. Nest could no longer remain in court and was given in marriage to Gerald, Castellan of Pembroke. However, the marriage appears to have been a happy one, resulting in three sons and a daughter Angharad (the mother of Gerald of Wales). Nest brought with her Carew as a dowry and there Gerald built their first castle.

The story of Nest’s abduction by Owain ap Cadwgan in 1106 is recounted in Brut Y Tywysogion, the Chronicle of the Princes. Gerald had built a second castle at Little Cenarth (Cilgerran). On hearing that Nest was in the castle, Owain accompanied by a small retinue, went to visit her as his kinswoman. Owain was well received by Gerald but left the castle mad with lust for his beautiful cousin. ‘Smitten by the Devil’, Owain returned with a small force of men, broke into the castle and laid siege to the room in which Nest and her husband lay. Nest took charge of the situation, persuading Gerald to escape through a garderobe and convinced the interlopers that he was not there. Owain then seized her together with her children, fired the castle and carried them off into Powys.

There is conjecture as to whether Nest welcomed Owain’s advances. However, the Brut informs us that she only promised to stay with Owain on condition that he release the children back to their father. Out of love for her, Owain agreed. Nest’s abduction incensed King Henry and the Norman lords. Owain’s Welsh enemies were bribed to attack him, but he escaped to the safety of Ireland. Accounts vary as to whether or not Nest accompanied him there, but she was eventually returned to Gerald.

In 1112, Nest’s brother, Grufudd, returned from exile to reclaim his father’s kingdom and led a Welsh rebellion against the Normans. However, as Gerald was on friendly terms with Gruffudd, Pembroke was spared the Welsh raids to which Cardigan, Carmarthen, Gowerland and Cemaes were subjected. It was during these troubles that Gerald was finally able to exact his revenge against Owain who, having become reconciled to Henry I, was now fighting on the side of the King. Gerald, riding with a force of Flemings, happened upon Owain with a small force and killed him. After this incident, we hear no more about Gerald and do not know when and where he eventually died.

Nest was later married to two other men: the Sheriff of Pembroke, William Hait with whom she had a child, William Fitzhait and then Stephen, the Constable of Cardigan by whom she had another son, Robert Fitzstephen, who was one of the first conquerors of Ireland. The date of Nest’s death is unknown and it has been suggested that it would have been c.1136. Her legacy really lies in her many children: from her sprang a dynasty - the Fitzgeralds, the Fitzhenrys and the Carews, who led the campaigns against Ireland. She was grandmother of Gerald of Wales and among her eminent descendants was President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

• https://perma.cc/N9QX-JAX4 (link opens in new window)