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The line below
continues the earlier Cunedda Wledig branch linked here |
| ** Generations 1-4 are
rulers of the Gwynedd Dynasty ** |
01. King Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad
 known
as "Merfyn the Freckled" was King from around 825 AD to 844. His
primary nobility is as the father of Rhodri the Great and founder of his
dynasty, which was sometimes called the Merfynion after him. He came
to the throne in the aftermath of a bloody dynastic struggle between two
rivals named Cynan and Hywell - generally identified as sons of Rhodri
Molwynog. |
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02. King Rhodri Mawr ap Merfyn
also
known as "Rhodri the Great" was born abt. 820 AD and died between 873-878. He succeeded his father as king of Gwynedd in 844. In 855, on the death of his uncle, Cyngen, he became king of Powys, and in 872, when Gwgon, king Seisyllwg (Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi) and brother to his wife, Angharad, died, the southern realm came under his rule. There was thus created for the first time a loose union of at least three major Welsh provinces, and though dissolved at Rhodri's death, this temporary association gave birth to an aspiration which coloured the outlook of successive generations of Rhodri's descendants as rulers of Deheubarth or Gwynedd down to the loss of Welsh independence.
In his life-time Wales was gravely menaced by the Danes, and evidence exists pointing to bold and vigorous leadership during this crisis.
It would appear that he died in battle against the Saxons, leaving six sons of whom two became founders of medieval dynasties, Anarawd of the house of Aberffraw, and Cadell, father of Hywel Dda, of the house of Dinefwr.
(source) |
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03a. King Anarawd ap Rhodri,
son of Rhodri the Great was born abt. 857 AD and died in 916. He is a
direct ancestor of King Llwelyn "The Great" (c1173-1240).
Click here to view his line. |
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03b. King Cadell ap Rhodri,
son of Rhodri the Great was
born abt. 850 AD and died in 909. He reigned from 872-909. Cadell was the second son of Rhodri the Great of Gwynedd and Angharad, a princess from Seisyllwg. In 872 Angharad's brother Gwgon, King of Seisyllwg, drowned without leaving an heir. Rhodri became steward over the kingdom, and while he was unable to make a legal claim to the throne, he was able to install Cadell as king.
He passed it to his son, Hywel Dda, at his death in 909. Cadell and Hywel together also conquered Dyfed in 904–905, establishing Hywel as the king in that region. After his father's death, Hywel ruled the kingdoms jointly as Deheubarth. |
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04. King Hywell Dda ap Cadell
sometimes known as "Hywell the Good" reigned from 942-949/50. Hywel is
highly esteemed among other medieval Welsh rulers. His name is particularly
linked with the codification of traditional Welsh law, which were
thenceforth known as the
Laws of Hywel Dda. The latter part of his name (Dda, lit.
"Good") refers to the fact that his laws were just and good. He was a king
of Deheubarth who eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole
king of Seisyllwg in 920 and shortly thereafter established Deheubarth, and
proceeded to gain control over the entire country from Prestatyn to
Pembroke. |
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05. King Owain ap Hywell
was
born abt. 913 AD and died about 987. Owain was one of the three sons of
Hywel the Good. Upon Hywel's death in 948, Owain, Rhodri, and Edwin divided
his lands among themselves according to
Welsh
law. The sons were not able to retain Hywel's hegemony over
Gwynedd, which was reclaimed for its earlier dynasty by the sons of
Idwal
Foel. Owain did not again try to reclaim Gwynedd; instead, he and his
son Einion turned eastwards to attack the kingdom of Morgannwg (modern
Glamorgan) in 960, 970, and 977. Owain was now aging, and it appears that
Einion took over the rule of the kingdom on behalf of his father. On a
further raid on the east in 984, Einion was killed by the noblemen of Gwent.
Following Einion's death, Owain's second son Maredudd took over his
position. In 986, he successfully returned to the north and seized Gwynedd,
ousting Ieuaf's son Cadwallon. Owain died in 988 and Maredudd became king of
Deheubarth as well, although he later consented to share his kingdom with
Einion's heirs Edwin and Cadell. |
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06a. King Maredudd ap Owain,
younger son of King Owain died in 999 AD. A member of the House of
Dinefwr, his patrimony was the kingdom of Deheubarth comprising the southern
realms of
Dyfed,
Ceredigion, and
Brycheiniog. Upon the death of his father King Owain around AD 988, he
also inherited the kingdoms of Gwynedd and Powys, which he had conquered for
his father. He was counted among the Kings of the Britons by the Chronicle
of the Princes. His wife's name is unknown. His daughter
Angharad (c982-1058) married King Llewelyn ap Seisll
(c980-1023). Angharad's son, King Gruffydd
(1007-1063) married Eldgyth (c1041-c1070), daughter of
Alfgar III, Earl of Mercia who is the son of
Lady Godiva.
Descents from Lady Godiva to gateway ancestor Robert Abell are outlined on
her page. |
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06b. Prince Enion ab Owain,
older
son of King Owain born abt. 940 AD and died abt. 984. He was a medieval
Welsh prince of the House of Dinefwr and eldest son of King Owain. He
married Nest Verch Owain
(c934-). The
Chronicle of the Princes records Einion assisting
King
Iago of
Gwynedd in driving the
Irish and their
Danish allies from Wales in 966. Einion then raided
Gower again the next year, "on the pretense" of opposing the pagan
Vikings and their supporters. This prompted a retaliatory raid by
King
Owain of
Morgannwg, who brought Gower back under his control, and an invasion by
King
Edgar of England, who forced Einion's father Owain to swear fealty to
him at
Caerleon upon Usk. A third raid in 976 went little better: Einion is
recorded devastating the area so thoroughly it provoked famine but Owain ap
Morgan's brother
Ithel defeated him and restored the plunder to its owners. At some
point, he seems to have annexed
Brycheiniog for Deheubarth and King Hywel of Gwynedd—with the support of
Ælfhere of Mercia - then invaded in 980 and 981.Einion defeated them at
Llanwenog and in Brycheiniog but the country was heavily despoiled by
the northerners and the English and by a Viking raid against St. David's in
980 or 982 |
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07. Cadell Dinefwr ap Enion, son of Prince Enion was born abt. 970 AD
and died in abt. 1018. Son of Prince Enion ab Owain, he married
Elinor Verch Gwerstan
(c980-1041). |
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08. Tewdr Mawr ap Cadell born abt. 1000 AD. He married
Gwenllian Verch Gruffydd
(1000-1069) |
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09. King Rhys ap Tewdwr
born
abt. 1040 AD and died in 1093. A member of the House of Dinefwr, claimed the
throne of Deheubarth following the death of his second cousin
Rhys ab Owain, who was beheaded after the battle of Gwdig (modern day
Goodwick) against
Caradog ap Gruffydd in 1078. He married more than once. His first
wife was Catrin (Gwladus) verch Iestyn
(b. 1041 in Powys). The name of his last wife was Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon
daughter of
Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of the Mathrafal dynasty of Powys. |
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10. Prince Gruffydd ap Rhys
born
abt. 1090 and died in 1137 was Prince of Deheubarth in Wales. He was
the father of Rhys ap Gruffydd, known as "The Lord Rhys", who was one of the
most successful rulers of Deheubarth during this period. His second
wife was Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd
and they had 8 children including son Rhys. |
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11. King Rhys ap Gruffydd
born
abt. 1132 and died on Apr 28, 1197. Also known as "The Lord Rhys", he
was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to
1197 and also Prince of Wales. He married
Gwenllian ferch Madog (c1131-1211) and was the
father of many children including |
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12. Prince Rhys ap Rhys
born
abt. 1190 and died in 1234. Was also known as Rhys Gryg
"Rhys the Hoarse" or Rhys Fychan "Rhys the Younger."
He was a Welsh prince who ruled part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth. He
was the fourth son of Rhys ap Gruffydd and his wife Gwenllian. He
married Mathilde,
daughter of Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford. In Rhys ap Gruffydd's
old age he had a great deal of trouble keeping control of his sons, and a
bitter feud broke out between Gruffydd ap Rhys II and Maelgwn ap Rhys. Rhys
Gryg formed an alliance with Gruffydd against Maelgwn, then in 1195 joined
with another brother, Maredudd, in a conspiracy against their father and
captured
Dinefwr Castle. Their father, however, retaliated by capturing both of
them and imprisoning them in
Ystrad Meurig Castle. Rhys supported Llywelyn during the remainder
of his career. In the war of 1231 he joined with his brother Maelgwn's son,
Maelgwn the Younger, to burn Cardigan and then capture the castle for
Llywelyn. In 1234 he joined with Maelgwn Fychan again to attack
Carmarthen, but received wounds of which he died at Llandeilo Fawr
shortly afterwards. He was buried in St Davids Cathedral and was
succeeded by his son
Maredudd. He left another son known as
Rhys Mechyll (d.1244), who had a son named Rhys Fychan ap Rhys Mechyll
and a daughter named Gwenllian Mechyll, who eventually became his heiress
and married Gilbert Talbot (d.1274), grandfather of
Gilbert Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot (d.1345/6). The ancient arms of the
House of Dinefwr Gules, a lion rampant or within a bordure or
were inherited and assumed in lieu of the Talbot paternal arms as "arms
of alliance" on marriage to a great princess. |
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13. Prince Mechyll ap Rhys
son of
Rhys Gryg, died in 1244. He married
Matilda de Braose (1200-c1248).
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14. Gwenllian verh Rhys, daughter of Prince Mechyll married
Sir Gilbert De Talbot (c1215-1274). This
line is continued on the Talbot surname page. |
