 1055 - 1137 (82 years)
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| Name |
Gruffydd Ap Cynan |
| Prefix |
King |
| Birth |
1055 |
Of, Caernarvonshire, Wales  [3] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
1137 |
Caernarvonshire, Wales [4, 5] |
| Burial |
Bangor Cathedral |
| Person ID |
I55547 |
Cecilie Family |
| Last Modified |
31 Dec 2009 |
| Family |
Angharad Verch Owain, b. Abt 1065, Tegaingl, Flintshire, Wales d. 1162 (Age 97 years) |
| Marriage |
Abt 1082 [3] |
| Children |
| | 1. Owain Ap Gruffydd, b. Abt 1087, Of, Caernarvonshire, Wales d. Dec 1169, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales (Age 82 years) |
| | 2. Susanna Verch Gruffydd, b. Abt 1095, Caernarvonshire, Wales d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 3. King Owain Gwynedd Ap Gruffudd Of Gwynedd, b. Abt 1100, Aberffraw Castle, Angelesey, Wales d. Dec 1169, Bangor Cathedral, Is Gwyrfai, Caernarvonshire, Wales (Age 69 years) |
| | 4. Gwenllian Of Gwynedd, b. Abt 1090 d. 1136-1137 (Age 47 years) |
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| Family ID |
F23331 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
30 Dec 2009 |
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| Notes |
- King Of North Wales, Griffith, Prince Of Cadwgan And Powys.
Notes for Gruffydd ap Cynan:
Ruled Gwynedd, 1081-1137
The longest reigning of all Welsh rulers, Gruffydd was born in Ireland in about the year 1055. His father, Cynan, who was in exile in Ireland, was the son of Iago ab Idwal ab Meurig, which made Gruffydd seventh in direct descent from Rhodri Mawr. His mother, Ragnhildr, was a daughter of Olaf, the son of Sitric III, king of Dublin. Gruffydd thus had mixed Celtic and Norse blood.
On the death of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn in 1075, Gruffydd challenged Trahern ap Caradog for the throne of Gwynedd. He had some initial success, winning the cantref of Llyn and defeating Trahern at a battle in Meinonydd. Gruffydd then made two serious errors. First he attacked the castle of Robert of Rhuddlan, who had supported Gruffydd in his claim for the throne. Although Gruffydd did not take the castle, he lost Robert's support and this was vital when the men of Llyn rebelled against the Vikings whom Gruffydd had employed in his army and left in charge in Llyn. Trahern used this opportunity to attack Gruffydd at Bron-yr-Erw, near Clynnog, and Gruffydd was forced to flee back to Ireland.
His next opportunity came in 1081. in that year Rhys ap Tewdwr of Deheubarth was put to flight by his rivals. Rhys and Gruffydd joined forces to regain their respective thrones. They met their enemies at the battle of Mynydd Carn and were victorious, Gruffydd overthrowing Trahern. Unfortunately, Gruffydd had not long settled into his homeland when he was captured by the Normans and imprisoned at Chester for at least ten, perhaps twelve years. During that time the Normans established themselves firmly across North Wales, building castles at Bangor, Caernarvon and Aberlleiniog. When Gruffydd was given a conditional release he soon became involved in resistance, leading a rebellion against the Normans in 1094. For four years Gruffydd maintained an uneasy authority in Gwynedd, ensconced in his stronghold of Angllesey, but in 1098 the Normans, under William II, led a two-pronged attack from their castles at Chester and Shreswbury. The Welsh were soundly defeated and Gruffydd found himself trapped on Anglesey from which, eventually, he made his escape back to Ireland. When Gruffydd returned, in the following year, he reached an agreement with the Normans and was allowed to rule Anglesey as a vassal king. Over the next few years, for good behavior, he was allowed to extend his lordship across the Conway into parts of old Gwynedd. While he was still alive his sons continued to extend their control over the lands so that, by the time of his death in 1137, in his early eighties, Gruffydd's Geynedd was restored to its former self. Henry I made a show of strength in 1114, though Gruffydd and his sons retained their lands in return for Gruffydd accepting the authority of the Normans. If anything Gruffydd and Henry seemed like-minded and each was prepared to tolerate the other. Gruffydd showed no further hostility to the Normans and instead spent his time rebuilding the old glory of Gwynedd. He had a particular passion for music and stories of old, and has earned a reputation as a patron of the bardic tradition, laying down the basis for the modern 'eisteddfod.' His court poet was the legendary Meilyr Brydydd.
When Gruffydd died his reign had spanned over sixty-two years, of which nineteen were spent either in exile or in prison. He was clearly a survivor, and his strength, willpower, and ultimately, his tenacity brougth him the respect of the Normans, who allowed him to re-establish the kingdom of Gwynedd, when they could have dominated it. During the height of his reign, from 1100 to around 1120, Gruffydd rebuilt the pride and culture of the northern Welsh. He passed this legacy on to his own son, Owain Gwynedd.
Mike Ashley, 'British Monarchs'
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| Sources |
- [S1486] Bartrum, Peter C., Bartrum (1974), (Wales, UK: University of Wales Press.), chart 41. (Reliability: 3).
- [S1484] Ashley, Mike, Ashley (1998), (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1998.), p. 331 (Reliability: 3).
- [S1631] Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists, 7th, 239-5 (Reliability: 3).
- [S1625] Encyclopedia Britannica, Treatise on, UK-Wales Macropaedia p 124 (Reliability: 3).
- [S1631] Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists, 7th, 176-6 (Reliability: 3).
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