In 1157 Henry came a second time, but with no better results. Twelve years later he led his armies into Wales for the third time, on this occasion starting from Oswestry, and crossing the mountains into the upper valley of the Dee. At Corwen Owen's army was drawn up in readiness, an army fairly representative of the whole of Wales. Before the English could reach him, however, the wind and the rain had done their work upon the invaders. Baggage was washed away, and to obtain adequate supplies became an {71} impossibility. Angry and disappointed, Henry was obliged hurriedly to retreat. This was the crowning triumph of Owen Gwynedd's life. He had successfully withstood one of the very greatest of English kings. In the November of the same year he died, and was buried in Bangor cathedral. In the years which immediately followed the death of Owen the dominating figure in Welsh politics was Rees ap Griffith, prince of Deheubarth, the "Lord Rees" as he was generally and familiarly styled. He inherited Owen's policy of unity and consolidation; but this time the work was to proceed from Cardigan, and not from the mountains of the North. The task of repelling the advance of the Normans was now less formidable than it had ever been; for the conquest of Ireland had begun, and the more turbulent and adventurous spirits were finding there an outlet for their energies in just the same way as their grandfathers had done in Wales. When king Henry II passed through Wales on his way to Ireland, he was met by the Lord Rees, and an amicable understanding was arrived at between them. In 1174 Rees was able to give proof of his friendship by assisting Henry to crush a revolt of his barons. {72} Slowly but steadily Rees extended his sway over all the princes and barons of the South; and even over Merioneth beyond the Dovey, the natural boundary between his dominions and those of the princes of Gwynedd. Not only was Rees a great warrior, and an able statesman; he was also a munificent and discriminating patron of culture. An Eisteddfod which he held at Cardigan in 1176 has become famous. There poets and musicians from every part of Wales competed; and so just were the awards that the prize for music was won by the South, and that for poetry by the North.