Gwriad ap Elidyr ( en, Gwriad son of Elidyr) or Gwriad Manaw was a late-8th century figure in

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 ...

. Very little is known of him, and he chiefly appears in the historical record in connection to his son

Merfyn Frych Merfyn Frych ('Merfyn the Freckled'; Old Welsh ''Mermin''), also known as Merfyn ap Gwriad ('Merfyn son of Gwriad') and Merfyn Camwri ('Merfyn the Oppressor'), was King of Gwynedd from around 825 to 844, the first of its kings known not to have ...

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 ...

from around 825 to 844 and founder of the Merfynion dynasty.

Background

Almost nothing is known about Gwriad's background. He married

Ethyllt ferch Cynan Ethyllt ferch Cynan, also known as Ethil, was the daughter of King Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri of Gwynedd. Marriage In 768 she was married to Gwriad ap Elidyr, although it is possible this was a later invention to legitimise the claims to Gwynedd ...

, 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 ...

. Their son

later became the first king of Gwynedd known not to have come from the dynasty of its founder

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 ...

. Merfyn evidently claimed the throne through his mother rather than through Gwriad, and bolstered this atypical matrilineal claim through his own power and reputation. According to 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 ...

, Gwriad was the son of a certain Elidyr and was a descendant of

Llywarch Hen Llywarch Hen (, "Llywarch the Old"; c. 534 – c. 608), was a prince and poet of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain (modern southern Scotland and northern England). Along with Taliesin, A ...

and

Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...

, rulers from the ''

Hen Ogledd Yr Hen Ogledd (), in English the Old North, is the historical region which is now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands that was inhabited by the Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages. Its population spo ...

'' or "Old North", the Brittonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The bardic poetry indicates that Merfyn was "from the land of Manaw", a Brittonic place name applied to several districts, including

Manaw Gododdin Manaw Gododdin was the narrow coastal region on the south side of the Firth of Forth, part of the Brythonic-speaking Kingdom of Gododdin in the post-Roman Era. It is notable as the homeland of Cunedda prior to his conquest of North Wales, and ...

, the area around the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

. This locale in the Hen Ogledd would be consistent with Gwriad's descent from Llywarch's northern lineage. An origin in Manaw Gododdin was supported by scholars such as

William Forbes Skene William Forbes Skene Writer to the Signet, WS FRSE Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA(Scot) Doctor of Civil Law, DCL Legum Doctor, LLD (7 June 1809 – 29 August 1892), was a Scotland, Scottish lawyer, historian and antiquary. He co-founde ...

and

John Edward Lloyd Sir John Edward Lloyd (5 May 1861 – 20 June 1947) was a Welsh historian, He was the author of the first serious history of the country's formative years, ''A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest'' (1911). Ano ...

. Other scholars connect Gwriad to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, known in Welsh as ''Ynis Manaw'' rather than Manaw Gododdin, especially following the 1896 discovery of an 8th- or 9th-century cross on Man inscribed ''Crux Guriat'' ("Cross of Gwriad"). Lloyd wrote that this discovery "undoubtedly strengthens the case" for a Manx origin.

John Rhys John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

suggested that Gwriad may have taken refuge on the Isle of Man during the bloody dynastic struggle in Gwynedd between

and

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 ...

prior to Merfyn's accession to the throne. Still other locations for "Manaw" have been suggested, including Ireland,

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or i ...

and Powys. Rhys further noted that the

Welsh Triads The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ...

mention a "Gwryat son of Gwryan in the North", counted among the "Three Kings who were the Sons of Strangers", which he suggests is a reference to the father of Merfyn. However, this conflicts with the Jesus College MS 20 pedigree, in which Gwriad's father is Elidyr. James E. Fraser suggests that the Gwriad of the Triad is instead to be identified with the King

Guret of Alt Clut Guret (died 658) was a ruler of Alt Clut, the Brittonic kingdom later known as Strathclyde, during the mid-7th century. He is known only from an obituary note in the '' Annals of Ulster'', which records ''Mors Gureit regis Alo Cluathe'' ("the death ...

recorded by the

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...

as dying in 658.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwriad ap Elidyr Monarchs of the Isle of Man 8th-century Welsh monarchs

Background

See also

References