Cyngen ap Cadell (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Cyngen son of Cadell) or also (Concenn), was 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 ...

from 808 until his death in 854 during a pilgrimage to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Biography

Cyngen was of the line of

Brochwel Ysgithrog Brochwel son of Cyngen ( cy, Brochwel ap Cyngen, died c. 560), better known as Brochwel Ysgrithrog, was a king of Powys in eastern Wales. The unusual epithet ''Ysgithrog'' has been translated as "of the canine teeth", "the fanged" or "of the tusk" ...

, and, after a long reign as king of Powys, he went on a pilgrimage to

and died there in 854. He is thought to be the first Welsh ruler to visit Rome after the healing of the breach between the Welsh branch of the

Celtic Church Celtic Christianity ( kw, Kristoneth; cy, Cristnogaeth; gd, Crìosdaidheachd; gv, Credjue Creestee/Creestiaght; ga, Críostaíocht/Críostúlacht; br, Kristeniezh; gl, Cristianismo celta) is a form of Christianity that was common, or held ...

and Rome over the date of

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. Cyngen raised a pillar, originally a round-shafted cross, in memory of his great-grandfather

Elisedd ap Gwylog Elisedd ap Gwylog (died c. 755), also known as Elise, was king of Powys in eastern Wales, son of Gwylog ap Beli. Little has been preserved in the historical records about Elisedd, who was an ancestor of Brochwel Ysgithrog. He appears to have recl ...

which stands near the later abbey of Valle Crucis. This memorial had a lengthy inscription and is known as the

Pillar of Eliseg The Pillar of Eliseg – also known as Elise's Pillar or Croes Elisedd in Welsh – stands near Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire, Wales rid reference It was erected by Cyngen ap Cadell (died 855), king of Powys in honour of his great-grandfath ...

owing to a typographical mistake by the original carver. Cyngen was the last of the original line of kings of Powys. He had three sons, but on his death Powys was annexed by

Rhodri Mawr Rhodri ap Merfyn ( 820 – 873/877/878), popularly known as Rhodri the Great ( cy, Rhodri Mawr), succeeded his father, Merfyn Frych, as King of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd in 844. Rhodri annexed Kingdom of Powys, Powys c. 856 and Seisyllwg c. 8 ...

, ruler 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 ...

. Certain later manuscript pedigrees (like Jesus College 20) claim that Rhodri was the son of Cyngen's sister,

Nest ferch Cadell Nest ferch Cadell was the daughter of Cadell ap Brochfael, an 8th-century King of Powys, the wife of Merfyn Frych, King of Gwynedd. On the death of her brother Cyngen ap Cadell in 855, authority over the Kingdom of Powys was claimed by Rhodri t ...

, although others (like Mostyn 117) claim he was the son of Essyllt ferch Cynan (thought to be the daughter of

Cynan Dindaethwy __NOTOC__ Cynan Dindaethwy ( en, "Cynan of Dindaethwy") or Cynan ap Rhodri ("Cynan son of Rhodri") was a king of Gwynedd (reigned c. 798 – c. 816) in Wales in the Early Middle Ages. Cynan was the son of Rhodri Molwynog and ...

, of Gwynedd). In any case, traditional Welsh law does not seem to allow female inheritance, so Rhodri is presumed to have taken Powys by conquest. Cyngen had the following children: *

Elisedd ap Cyngen Elisedd ap Cyngen ap Cadell Biography He was a son of Cyngen ap Cadell the last King of Powys of the Gwertherion ( Vortigern) Dynasty who claimed descent through Brochwel Ysgithrog. Cyngen died in Rome in 855 having fled the aggression of Gwyned ...

* Ieuaf ap Cyngen * Aeddan ap Cyngen * Gruffydd ap Cyngen

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cyngen ap Cadell 790 births 854 deaths Year of birth uncertain Monarchs of Powys House of Gwertherion 9th-century Welsh monarchs

Biography

See also

Notes

References