Elystan Glodrydd (or, occasionally, Elstan Glodrydd; died 1010), also known as "Æthelstan the Famous" and "The Renowned," was, according to Welsh genealogical tracts, the founder of the fifth Royal Tribe of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He was the Prince of

Buellt Buellt or Builth was a cantref in medieval Wales, located west of the River Wye. Unlike most cantrefs, it was not part of any of the major Welsh kingdoms for most of its history, but was instead ruled by an autonomous local dynasty. During the No ...

, and later also of Fferreg (also known as Ferlix); in the century after his death, Fferreg split into

Maelienydd Maelienydd, sometimes spelt Maeliennydd, was a cantref and lordship in east central Wales covering the area from the River Teme to Radnor Forest and the area around Llandrindod Wells. The area, which is mainly upland, is now in Powys. During the M ...

and

Elfael Elfael was one of a number of Welsh cantrefi occupying the region between the River Wye and river Severn, known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, in the early Middle Ages. It was divided into two commotes, Is Mynydd and Uwch Mynydd, separated by the chain of ...

Very little is known about Elystan himself, but his descendants, including

Cadwallon ap Madog Cadwallon ap Madog was the son of Madog ab Idnerth who had died in 1140, while Idnerth was a grandson of Elystan Glodrydd who had died in around 1010 and had founded a dynasty in the Middle Marches of Wales, in the area known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren ...

, continued to rule Ferlix, a minor principality in mid Wales, and the main part of

Rhwng Gwy a Hafren Rhwng Gwy a Hafren ( en, Between Wye and Severn) was a region of medieval Wales, located in the Welsh Marches between Powys to the north and Brycheiniog to the south. It was bounded by the rivers Wye ( cy, Gwy) and Severn ( cy, Hafren). It covered ...

—the land between the Wye and the

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

. An early Welsh genealogical tract links him to

Gwrtheyrnion Gwrtheyrnion or Gwerthrynion was a commote in medieval Wales, located in Mid Wales on the north side of the River Wye; its historical centre was Rhayader. It is said to have taken its name from the legendary king Vortigern ( cy, Gwrtheyrn). For ...

, while other descendants of Gwrtheyrnion ruled

., and

Cedewain Cedewain (or Cydewain) was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. It possibly consisted of the commotes (''cymydau'') of Cynan, Hafren and Uwch Hanes. Other sources give the commotes as Cedewain, Eginlle and Ceri. It lay at the south of the ...

. These territories lay in an area roughly equivalent to the later counties of

Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...

and southern

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

, in today's county 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 ...

. It has been conjectured by historian Paul Remfry that these territories formed a polity known as

Cynllibiwg Cynllibiwg (or some variation) was evidently a place name in early medieval Wales. The earliest surviving reference to it is in the ''Historia Brittonum'', which describes a marvelous spring in the ''regione'' of ''Cinlipiuc'' that has an abundance ...

. However, this is not generally accepted. A Welsh genealogical source makes Elystan the seventh in descent from

Iorwerth Hirflawdd Iorwerth Hirflawdd was an ancestor of various medieval rulers in mid Wales. His epithet means 'long trouble', but nothing is known of how he acquired it, nor otherwise of his life. Nothing is known certainly of his life, but he must have lived in ...

, who probably died in the mid 9th century. Elystan married either Gwenllian, daughter of Einon ap

Hywel Dda Hywel Dda, sometimes anglicised as Howel the Good, or Hywel ap Cadell (died 949/950) 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 ...

, or Gwladis, daughter of Rhyn ap Ednowen, prince of Tegengl. One of his sons, Cadwgan, lord of Radnor, was the ancestor of the

Cadogan family Earl Cadogan is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Great Britain for the Cadogan family. The second creation, in 1800, was for Charles Cadogan, 3rd Baron Cadogan. History Of Welsh origin, the family name was spelt ''Cadw ...

References

Sources

Elystan Glodrydd
at ''

Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...

External links

Elystan Glodrydd
at elystan.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Elystan Glodrydd 10th-century Welsh people Welsh royalty 1010s deaths 11th-century Welsh people Year of birth unknown