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- Nesta, Princess of Deheubarth was the daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, King of South Wales and Gladys of Powys. She married Gerald fitz Walter, son of Walter fitz Otho and Gladys ap Comyn, circa 1100. She died before 1136. She was heiress of the lands of Carew, near Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. She was also known as Nest of Wales. She gained the title of Princess Nesta of Deheubarth.
Nest ferch Rhys, born about 1085, was a legitimate daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, last King of Deheubarth by his wife, Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of Powys. In 1093, her father was killed in battle, her older illegitimate half-brothers killed, executed, or imprisoned; what happened to Nest is unknown. She came to King Henry's attention sometime after 1100, and bore him a son, Henry fitzHenry (killed in battle in 1158). Sometime thereafter, the King married Nest to Gerald de Windsor (aka Geraldus FitzWalter) a younger son of Walter FitzOther, Constable of Windsor Castle and Keeper of the Forests of Berkshire, by his wife Beatrice. Gerald had lately been in rebellion against King Henry, together with the powerful Montgomery clan, but, with Nest as his wife, was restored by Henry to his former position in South Wales. After her husband's death, Nest was married to Stephen, Constable of Cardigan. By the latter, Nest had at least one son, Robert FitzStephen, a leader of the Norman invasion of Ireland. By Gerald she had five children, from whom descend the famous Fitzgerald clan of Ireland.
Nest ferch Rhys (b. c. 1085 - d. before 1136) was the only legitimate daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, last King of Deheubarth, by his wife, Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of Powys. She is sometimes known, incorrectly, as "Nesta" or "Princess Nesta".
Nest had two younger brothers, Gruffydd ap Rhys and Hywel, and several older illegitimate half-brothers and half-sisters. After their father's death in battle in 1093, "the kingdom of the Britons fell" and was overrun by Normans. Nest's brother Gruffydd was spirited into Ireland for safety; their brother Hywel was captured by Arnulf de Montgomery. The immediate fate of Nest and her mother is unknown. In any event, after she reached puberty, she came to the attention of the youngest son of William the Conqueror, Henry I of England, by whom she bore Henry FitzHenry (c. 1103-1158), one of his numerous illegitimate children.
Ancestry
First Marriage
Some time after the rebellion of the powerful Montgomery clan of Normandy and England, King Henry married Nest to Gerald de Windsor, Arnulf de Montgomery's former constable for Pembroke Castle and one of the recent Montgomery rebels. By Gerald, Nest is the maternal progenitor of the FitzGerald dynasty, one of the most celebrated families of Ireland and Great Britain. They are referred to as Cambro-Normans or Hiberno-Normans, and have been Peers of Ireland since 1316, when Edward II created the earldom of Kildare for John FitzGerald.
Rape and Abduction
The details of this most famous episode of Nest's life are obscure and vary, depending on who is relating it. Either Nest and Gerald were present at an eisteddfod given, during a truce, by Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, prince of Powys; or they were not present, and Nest and her husband were "visited" by Owain ap Cadwgan, one of Cadwgan's sons, or they were not visited by Owain, merely attacked by Owain and his men. The usual tale is that Owain hears at the eisteddfod that Gerald is in the neighbourhood, that Gerald's wife is very beautiful, and so he goes to visit her "as his kinswoman", but this is unlikely. The earliest account, that of Caradoc of Llancarfan, relates that "At the instigation of the Devil, he [Owain] was moved by passion and love for the woman, and with a small company with him...he made for the castle by night." The castle was called Cenarth Bychan (possibly modern Cilgerran Castle); Carew Castle is also mentioned, but is unlikely.
Tradition has it that, during Owain's firing of some of the outbuildings, Nest persuaded her husband and his men to escape via a lavatory chute, rather than face Owain, outnumbered, but this, too, is unlikely. Owain and his men burst into the castle, searched frantically for Gerald, but failed to find him. Nest allegedly told them, "He whom you seek is not here. He has escaped." An infuriated Owain then raped Nest in front of her children - either her two sons and daughter and Gerald's son by a concubine; or Gerald's two sons by a concubine and Nest's two sons; or any other variant - following which Owain abducted Nest and her children, and took them to a hunting lodge by the Eglwyseg Rocks north of the Vale of Llangollen.
The rape of Nest aroused the wrath of the Normans, as well as of the Welsh who had been victimised by Owain and his followers. The truce was broken. The Norman lords, the Justiciar of Salop, and at least one bishop, bribed Owain's Welsh enemies to attack him and his father, which they promptly did. Owain's father tried to persuade him to return Nest, but to no avail. According to Caradoc, Nest told Owain, "If you would have me stay with you and be faithful to you, then send my children home to their father." She secured the return of the children. Owain and his father were driven to seek exile in Ireland. Nest was returned to her husband.
In recent years, Nest has been given two specious children by her rapist, Llywelyn and Einion. In fact, Owain had a brother, but not a son, named Einion, and Welsh geneaologies do not name the mother of Owain's son Llywelyn. The omission of the name of a mother with the highborn status of Nest would be startling, if it were true.
In the 19th century, this "abduction", as well as the fighting which followed, earned Nest the nickname "Helen of Wales". She was depicted at having connived with Owain at her rape and abduction, given more children than she had borne, along with more lovers than she had had.
In 1112, her brother Gruffydd returned from Ireland, spending most of his time with Gerald and Nest. When he was denied his inheritance from his father, and accused to the king of conspiring against him, he allied with the prince of Gwynedd, and war broke out. Owain ap Cadwgan had, by now, been pardoned by the king, and was prince of Powys; in 1111, his father had been assassinated by Owain's cousin and former comrade in arms, Madog ap Rhiryd, whom Owain captured, castrated, and blinded. Being then on the king's good side, Owain was ordered to rendezvous with a Norman force to proceed against Gruffydd. En route, he and his force chanced to run into none other than Gerald FitzWalter. Despite Owain being a royal ally, Gerald chose to avenge his wife's rape, and slew Owain.
Some historians have recently cast doubts on the account, suggesting it may have been revised or rewritten at a later date, by an author who had a motive to both demean Gerald and enhance the reputation of Owain. Thus,"we should hesitate to take it at full face value."
Issue by first marriage
Nest bore five children to Gerald. The two eldest sons married two daughters of Arnulf of Montgomery.
William FitzGerald, Lord of Carew and Emlyn (d. c.1173). By his wife Marie de Montgomery, William was the father of
Odo de Carew
Raymond FitzGerald le Gros
Griffin
Richard
Ralph
William, Justice of Eyre
Robert
Isabella, who m. William Hay (Gulielmus de Haia Wallenisis).
(Note: William Hay is frequently, and incorrectly, noted as an illegitimate son of Nest; the speculation is based on Nest's grandson, Gerald of Wales, naming William as one of the Geraldines, which he was, if only by marriage. William's father is usually given one "Hayt", a Flemish sheriff of Pembroke in 1130.)
Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan, Naas and Maynooth, (died 1 September 1177). By his wife Alice de Montgomery, the sister of Marie, Maurice was the father of
Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly
Alexander
William (1st Baron Naas)
Maurice of Kiltrany
Thomas
Robert
Nest
David FitzGerald, Archdeacon of Cardigan and Bishop of St David's who was the father of:
Milo FitzBishop of Iverk
Angharad, who married (2) William FitzOdo de Barry (William de Barry), by whom she was the mother of
Philip de Barry, founder of Ballybeg Abbey at Buttevant in Ireland
Robert de Barry
Edmond de Barry
Gerald of Wales
Gwladys, mother of
Milo de Cogan
Second Marriage and Issue
After Gerald's death, Nest's sons married her to Stephen, her husband's constable of Cardigan, by whom she had another son, possibly two; the eldest was Robert Fitz-Stephen (d. 1182), one of the Norman conquerors of Ireland; the second son, if such there were, may have been named Hywel. Some sources say that Robert was a bastard. This is unlikely to be the case as Robert's heirs were the de Carew family - the representatives of his eldest half-brother, William de Carew. According to Rev. Barry, they "...should not have gone to them, but to the Crown, if Robert FitzStephen were illegitimate".[6] With Nest's son Maurice FitzGerald, his half-brother, Robert laid siege to the town of Wexford in 1169. With Maurice, he was granted joint custody of the town.
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Abt 1085 - Bef 1136 (~ 50 years)
, d. Apr 1093 (Age 28 years)