Edward I's unquenchable lust for the Welsh throne was sated in the death of Davydd ap Gruffydd on October 2, 1283 in Shrewsbury England. For many years Edward had been unable to unseat and bring the Welsh Prince, Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, to heel. Upon Llewelyn's death in December 1282 his brother, Davydd, became Prince of Wales and on June 21, 1283, Davydd, his wife (Edward's kinswomen), three young children and infant niece were betrayed, trapped and sent in chains to King Edward.

Davydd's real crime was being born an heir to the Welsh throne. But not so in King Edward's eyes. The king devised a method of execution men would not forget. One he deemed worthy of the crime of standing in the way of the King's desires.

When Davydd ap Gruffydd stood before the court to hear his sentence he and the others present never expected the sentence passed. He was found guilty of treason and for that crime he was to suffer the penalty of being dragged behind a horse through the streets of Shrewsbury to the High Cross. There at the gallows, for the crime of murder he was to be hanged, but to be cut down while still living. For the crime of sacrilege he would be disemboweled alive, his entrails thrown upon a fire and burned before his own eyes. After which, to pay for the crime of plotting the King's death, he would be beheaded, his body quartered, and those pieces sent to cities throughout the realm and put on public display. There would be no doubt in anyone's mind what befell traitors and rebels.

Throughout the trial, sentencing and punishment, Davydd maintained that he was Prince of Wales and did not recognize the court's authority to judge him. He argued that stating he was an English subject and subject to their laws did not make it so. It is said he went to his death bravely with a request to have it reported to Edward (who was not present for the spectacle) how a Welsh prince died. It's arguable the practice of being drawn, hung, disemboweled and quartered may have been in existence, but was certainly not common at this time. It is also interesting to note that waging war against the king was not a crime in medieval England. At least not until Edward I decided to call it high treason and make it so. Davydd, with his high profile, served the king's motives well. By the time Edward I's reign drew to an end the method would have silenced at least twenty political rivals, including William Wallace. Throughout the Middle Ages those found guilty of treason met Davydd's cruel fate.

Edward's punishment did not end with Davydd's cruel and vicious end. His wife, Elizabeth de Ferrer, was imprisoned and later released. She was never allowed to see any of her children again.

Davydd's oldest son, Llewelyn, imprisoned at age five, died in captivity in Bristol Castle in March 1288. Owain, his second son, imprisoned at age three, survived long into his captivity at Bristol Castle. For whatever reason, whether Edward viewed him as a threat, or it was simply malice, in 1305 Edward ordered that henceforth Owain be kept nightly in an iron bound cage. The last reports of him reflect he was still alive, having out lived Edward I, yet still a prisoner of the English Crown as late as August 1325.

Both, Davydd's infant daughter Gwladys and his infant niece Gwenllian were sealed away and pledged to God at their capture. Edward did not even allow them the comfort of settling them at the same convent. Gwladys died at Sixhills in 1336. Gwenllian died just before she reached the age of 55 in at Sempringham Priory in 1337.