__NOTOC__ Cynan Dindaethwy ( en, "Cynan of

Dindaethwy Dindaethwy was in medieval times one of two commotes of the cantref of Rhosyr, in the south-east of the Isle of Anglesey. It was between the Menai Strait and Conwy Bay (to the south), and the Irish Sea and Red Wharf Bay (to the north). It incl ...

") or Cynan ap Rhodri ("Cynan son of Rhodri") was a

king of Gwynedd Prior to the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, Conquest of Wales, completed in 1282, Wales consisted of a number of independent monarchy, kingdoms, the most important being Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd, Kingdom of Powys, Powys, Deheubarth (originally ...

(reigned c. 798 – c. 816) in

Wales in the Early Middle Ages Wales in the early Middle Ages covers the time between the Roman departure from Wales c. 383 until the end of the 10th century. In that time there was a gradual consolidation of power into increasingly hierarchical kingdoms. The end of the early ...

. Cynan was the son of

Rhodri Molwynog Rhodri Molwynog ("Rhodri the Bald and Grey"; died ), also known as Rhodri ap Idwal ("Rhodri son of Idwal") was an 8th-century king of Gwynedd. He was listed as a King of the Britons by the ''Annals of Wales''. This era in the history of Gwynedd ...

and ascended to the throne of Gwynedd upon the death of King

Caradog ap Meirion Caradog ap Meirion (died ) was an 8th-century king of Gwynedd in northwest Wales. This era in the history of Gwynedd was not notable and, given the lack of reliable information available, serious histories such that as by Davies do not mention ...

in 798. His

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

refers to the

commote A commote (Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales ...

in the

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which were ...

Rhosyr Rhosyr is a community in the far southern corner of Anglesey, Wales. It includes the villages of Dwyran and Newborough, Llangeinwen and Llangaffo. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 2,226. and includes Llanddwyn Island a ...

. Unlike later kings of Gwynedd, usually resident at

Aberffraw Aberffraw is a village and community on the south west coast of the Isle of Anglesey ( cy, Ynys Môn), in Wales, by the west bank of the Afon Ffraw (Ffraw River). The community includes Soar and Dothan. Located near the A4080 and the nearest ...

in western

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, Cynan maintained his

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

Llanfaes Llanfaes (formerly also known as Llanmaes) is a small village on the island of Anglesey, Wales, located on the shore of the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the north Wales coast. Its natural har ...

on the southeastern coast. Cynan's reign was marked by a destructive dynastic power struggle with a rival named

Hywel Hywel (), sometimes anglicised as Howel or Howell, is a Welsh masculine given name. It may refer to: * Saint Hywel, a sixth-century disciple of Saint Teilo and the king of Brittany in the Arthurian legend. *Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog, 9th-century kin ...

, usually supposed to be his brother. There is no historical record of Cynan's early years as king, but his reign ended in a combination of natural disasters and military reverses. In 810, there was a bovine plague that killed many cattle throughout Wales. The next year

Deganwy Deganwy (Middle Welsh ''Degannwy'', Brythonic *''Decantouion'') is a town and electoral ward in Conwy County Borough in Wales with a population of 3,936 (2011). It lies in the Creuddyn Peninsula alongside Llandudno (to the north) and Rhos-on-Se ...

, the ancient wooden court of

Maelgwn Gwynedd Maelgwn Gwynedd ( la, Maglocunus; died c. 547Based on Phillimore's (1888) reconstruction of the dating of the ''Annales Cambriae'' (A Text).) was king of Gwynedd during the early 6th century. Surviving records suggest he held a pre-eminent position ...

, was struck by lightning. A destructive war between Cynan and Hywel raged on

between 812 and 816, ultimately ending with Cynan's defeat and banishment. Cynan and Hywel are said to be brothers in historical works such as Lloyd's ''History of Wales'', although Lloyd does not cite its source. The ''

Annals of Wales The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later ed ...

'' mention the pair only by name, without any title, relation, or

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

. (In comparison, it takes care to point out the brotherly nature of Elisedd's slaughter of Gruffydd ap Cyngen in

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 ...

around the same time.) The

genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 The genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 are a medieval Welsh collection of genealogies preserved in a single manuscript, Oxford University, Bodleian Library, Jesus College, MS 20, folios 33r–41r. It presents the lineages of a number of medi ...

deny Cynan and Hywel were brothers at all, instead making Hywel the son of

and a distant cousin of Cynan Dindaethwy son of Rhodri Molwynog. The

Harleian genealogies __NOTOC__ The Harleian genealogies are a collection of Old Welsh genealogies preserved in British Library, Harley MS 3859. Part of the Harleian Library, the manuscript, which also contains the ''Annales Cambriae'' (Recension A) and a version of th ...

agree with this. Cynan died within a year of his exile according to the ''Annals of Wales'' and the

Irish Annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over t ...

After Cynan's death, there was a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

at his former court at

on Anglesey noted by the chronicles, — 818, the ''Annales Cambriæ'' but the combatants are not identified.Various historical works assume it was an invasion by 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 ...

ns, by

Ecgberht of Wessex Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlema ...

, or by the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

, but there is no authority for those claims. As it took place at Cynan's court, it could as easily have been a struggle between Hywel and remnants of Cynan's supporters. Cynan's daughter Esyllt became the mother of Merfyn ''Frych'' ap Gwriad, the first King of Gwynedd (825–844) known not to have descended from the male line of

Cunedda Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' ( 5th century), was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe. Name The name ''Cunedda'' (spelled ''Cuned ...

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* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri 8th-century births 810s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Monarchs of Gwynedd 8th-century Welsh monarchs 9th-century Welsh monarchs

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