![COA Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Prince of of Gwynedd and Powys](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/COA_Bleddyn_ap_Cynfyn%2C_Prince_of_of_Gwynedd_and_Powys.svg)
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn ( owl, Bledẏnt uab Kẏn
ỽẏn; AD 1075),
sometimes spelled Blethyn, was an 11th-century
Welsh king.
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the C ...
and
Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson ( 102925 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was killed ...
installed him and his brother,
Rhiwallon, as the co-rulers of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
on his father's death in 1063, during their destruction of the kingdom of their half-brother,
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ( 5 August 1063) was King of Wales from 1055 to 1063. He had previously been King of Gwynedd and Powys in 1039. He was the son of King Llywelyn ap Seisyll and Angharad daughter of Maredudd ab Owain, and the great-gre ...
. Bleddyn became king of
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
and co-ruler of the Kingdom of Gwynedd with his brother Rhiwallon from 1063 to 1075. His descendants continued to rule Powys as the
House of Mathrafal
The Royal House of Mathrafal began as a cadet branch of the Welsh Royal House of Dinefwr, taking their name from Mathrafal Castle, their principal seat and effective capital. They effectively replaced the House of Gwertherion, who had been ruling ...
.
Background
Bleddyn was born to a poorly documented Powys nobleman named
Cynfyn ap Gwerystan, known only from the late traditional pedigrees reporting Bleddyn's parentage.
Cynfyn's claimed father, Gwerstan or Gwerystan, is given contradictory Welsh pedigrees consisting mostly of otherwise unknown names, a possibly spurious derivation since his name perhaps actually represents a rendering of the Anglo-Saxon name Werestan.
[Davies, Sean, ''The First Prince of Wales?: Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, 1063-75'', University of Wales Press, 2016, pp. 9-11] Cynfyn, likely a supporter of king
Llywelyn ap Seisyll
Llywelyn ap Seisyll (died 1023) was an 11th-century King of Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth.
Llywelyn was the son of Seisyll, a man of whom little is known. Llewelyn first appears on record in 1018, the year he defeated and killed Aeddan ap Blegyw ...
, would after the latter's 1023 death marry the widowed queen, Angharad,
daughter of
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Maredudd of
Dyfed
Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel.
Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was also the name of the area's county council and the name remains in use f ...
, whose realm had been lost to the Irish pretender
Rhain before its conquest by Llywelyn. Angharad and Cynfyn had at least two sons, Bleddyn and Rhiwallon, probably born in the late 1020s,
[Davies, ''The First Prince of Wales?'', pp. 11-12] who were thus maternal half-brothers of
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ( 5 August 1063) was King of Wales from 1055 to 1063. He had previously been King of Gwynedd and Powys in 1039. He was the son of King Llywelyn ap Seisyll and Angharad daughter of Maredudd ab Owain, and the great-gre ...
, Angharad's son by her first husband. Gruffydd, aged about ten and passed over for succession at the time of his father's death, slowly rebuilt his father's realm, annexing its successor states. Cynfyn and Rhiwallon first appear in the documentary record in 1063.
Bleddyn may have been residing in Powys, where he married Haer ferch Cillyn, daughter of the
Lord of Gest Cillyn y Blaidd Rudd ("Cillyn the Red Wolf").
Reign
Gruffydd's consolidation of power and alliance with
Ælfgar of
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
made him a threat to
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the C ...
,
earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.
Earls of Hereford, First Creation (1043)
* Swegen Godwinson (1043–1051)
''earldom forfeit 1051–1052''
Earl ...
. Upon Ælfgar's death in 1060, Harold and his brother
Tostig
Tostig Godwinson ( 102925 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was kille ...
quickly invaded; the following year, they invaded again and were left in mastery of Wales after traitors among his men killed Gruffydd during a retreat. The south was restored to the Houses of
Dinefwr and
Morgan, but Powys and Gwynedd were given to Gruffydd's half-brothers Bleddyn and
Rhiwallon. These two submitted to Harold and swore themselves vassals and allies of
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Æth ...
.
Closely allied with Harold, the brothers joined the Saxon resistance to
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
following his
conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
. In 1067, they joined the
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
n
Eadric the Wild
Eadric ''the Wild'' (or Eadric ''Silvaticus''), also known as Wild Edric, Eadric ''Cild'' (or ''Child'') and Edric ''the Forester'', was an Anglo-Saxon magnate of Shropshire and Herefordshire who led English resistance to the Norman Conquest, acti ...
in his attack on Norman
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
, ravaging the lands as far as the
River Lugg
The River Lugg ( cy, Afon Llugwy) rises near Llangynllo in Radnorshire, Wales. It flows through the border town of Presteigne and then through Herefordshire, England, where it meets its main tributary, the River Arrow, to the south of Leomi ...
. In 1068, they joined Earls
Edwin of Mercia
Edwin (Old English: ''Ēadwine'') (died 1071) was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's d ...
and
Morcar of Northumbria
Morcar (or Morkere) ( ang, Mōrcǣr) (died after 1087) was the son of Ælfgār (earl of Mercia) and brother of Ēadwine. He was the earl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066, when he was replaced by William the Conqueror with Copsi.
Dispute with t ...
in their attacks as well.
In 1070, Gruffydd's sons, Idwal ap Gruffydd and
Maredudd ap Gruffydd
Maredudd ap Gruffydd (1131–1155) was a prince of the kingdom of Deheubarth in Southwest Wales.
Maredudd was the fifth of six sons of Gruffydd ap Rhys, and the third of four by Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd;Cadw, Welsh Government (Crown Copyright), ...
, challenged Bleddyn. Rhiwallon, Idwal and Maredudd all died in the
Battle of Mechain
The Battle of Mechain was fought in Powys, Wales, in 1070, for rule of the Welsh kingdoms of Gwynedd and Powys. A written account is included in the ''Brut y Tywysogion'', the medieval Welsh chronicle of the princes. It is also referred to in ...
. Bleddyn was the king of both Gwynedd and Powys.
In 1073,
Robert of Rhuddlan
Robert of Rhuddlan (died 3 July 1093) was a Norman adventurer who became lord of much of north-east Wales and for a period lord of all North Wales.
Robert was the son of Humphrey de Tillieul (or Bigod) and Adeliza de Grentemesnil, brother of Arna ...
stealthily established his forces on the banks of the
River Clwyd
The River Clwyd (Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd'') is a river in Wales that rises in the Clocaenog Forest () northwest of Corwen. Its total length is .
It flows due south until, at Melin-y-wig, it veers north-eastwards, tracking the A494 and passing t ...
and attempted to ambush and capture Bleddyn. He narrowly failed, but seized valuable booty in raids further south. Bleddyn was killed in 1075 by
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Rhys ab Owain
Rhys ab Owain (died 1078) was a king of Deheubarth in southern Wales.
Rhys was the son of Owain ab Edwin of the line of Hywel Dda, and member of the Dinefwr dynasty. He followed his brother Maredudd as king of Deheubarth in 1072. Together with ...
of
Deheubarth
Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House of ...
, having been betrayed by the lords of
Ystrad Tywi
Ystrad Tywi (, ''Valley of the Tywi'') is a region of southwest Wales situated on the banks of the River Tywi and possibly the River Loughor. Although Ystrad Tywi was never a kingdom itself, it was historically a valuable territory and was fough ...
. When Rhys was later defeated at the 1078 Battle of Goodwick (or Pwllgwdig) by Bleddyn's successor,
Trahaearn ap Caradog
Trahaearn ap Caradog (1044 – 1081) was a King of Gwynedd. Trahaearn was a son of Caradog ap Gwyn, ruler of Arwystli (in the south of present-day Montgomeryshire, Wales), a small state, on the south-western border between Gwynedd and Powys. H ...
, and killed by
Caradog ap Gruffydd
Caradog ap Gruffydd (died 1081) was a Prince of Gwent in south-east Wales in the time of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and the Norman conquest, who reunified his family's inheritance of Morgannwg and made repeated attempts to reunite southern Wales by c ...
of
Gwent shortly afterwards, this was hailed as vengeance "for the blood of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, his first cousin." After his death, Gwynedd was seized by Trahaearn and later recovered for the
House of Aberffraw
The Royal House of Aberffraw was a cadet branch of the Kingdom of Gwynedd originating from the sons of Rhodri the Great in the 9th century. Establishing the Royal court ( cy, Llys) of the Aberffraw Commote would begin a new location from which t ...
by
Gruffudd ap Cynan
Gruffudd ap Cynan ( 1137), sometimes written as Gruffydd ap Cynan, was King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was remembe ...
; but in Powys, Bleddyn was the founder of a dynasty which lasted until the end of the 13th century.
Legacy
Bleddyn's legacy in the ''
Chronicle of the Princes
''Brut y Tywysogion'' ( en, Chronicle of the Princes) is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. ''Bru ...
'' was that of a benevolent ruler:
Bleddyn was also responsible for a revision of the
Welsh law
Welsh law ( cy, Cyfraith Cymru) is an autonomous part of the English law system composed of legislation made by the Senedd.Law Society of England and Wales (2019)England and Wales: A World Jurisdiction of Choice eport(Link accessed: 16 March 2022 ...
which continued in force in his dynasty's domain of Powys.
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
's
Venedotia
The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: ; Middle Welsh: ) was a Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.
Based in northwest Wales, the ...
n Code noted that he changed the legal composition of the
homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
*Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...
(') for purposes of inheritance etc., varying its size depending on the social status of the owner. The homestead of a nobleman (') was 12 Welsh acres, that of a
serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
(
',
') had 8, and that of a bondsman or slave (
Med. ') had 4. (The text, however, notes the uncommonness of this division and says it was generally understood as 4 acres regardless of status.)
Children
Bleddyn had at least five children:
*
Maredudd (d. 1132)
*
Cadwgan Cadwgan is a Welsh people, Welsh given name, meaning "battle glory" (from ''cad'' "battle" and ''gwogawn'' "glory"). The name occurs in the Mabinogion as the son of Iddon. The name Cadogan (disambiguation), Cadogan is derived from it.
Bearers of t ...
(d. 1111)
* Madog
*
Rhirid (1049–1088)
*
Iorwerth (d. 1111)
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
*.
*.
*.
* . &
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleddyn Ap Cynfyn
1075 deaths
Monarchs of Gwynedd
Monarchs of Powys
House of Mathrafal
11th-century Welsh monarchs
Year of birth unknown