William Cragh

William Cragh[a] (c. 1262 – after 1307) 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 began to show signs of life the day after his execution and over the subsequent few weeks made a full recovery, living 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.

[2] 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.

Edward's vastly superior forces soon crushed the uprising, but Rhys ap Maredudd remained at liberty until his capture and execution in 1292.

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.

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".

[6] Trahaern ap Hywel was a large and powerful man who struggled a great deal as he was hauled up from the ground by his neck, causing the crossbeam of the gallows to break.

[11] John of Baggeham reported that he cut down Cragh's body at about 4:00 pm and sent it into the town at the request of William de Briouze's wife, Lady Mary.

[16] John of Baggeham, when questioned about her motivation eighteen years after the event, could only reply that "Lady Mary had sought the body of this William"; he did not know why.

Between the time of his hanging and his appearance at the castle Cragh may have convinced himself he had been saved by Cantilupe, or he may simply have decided it would be prudent for him to go along with the story for his own safety.

[21] Once he was sufficiently recovered, Cragh undertook a pilgrimage to Hereford, accompanied by Lord and Lady de Briouze, to thank Cantilupe for restoring his life.

[24] The other six testifying to Cragh's execution included the hanged man himself,[27] despite William de Briouze's stated belief that he had died of natural causes about two years earlier.

[22] The official language of the proceedings was ecclesiastical Latin, but Cragh spoke only Welsh, therefore two Franciscan friars from Hereford – John Young and Maurice of Pencoyd – were recruited as translators.

Cragh is identified in the commission's records by his Welsh name, William ap Rhys, "of the parish of Swansea in the diocese of Saint Davids".

Thirty-eight posthumous miracles attributed to Thomas de Cantilupe were examined by the commissioners and submitted for consideration by the pope and his advisors.