Kingdom of Gwynedd

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 rulers of Gwynedd repeatedly rose to dominance and were acclaimed as "King of the Britons" before losing their power in civil wars or invasions. The kingdom of Gruffydd ap Llywelynthe King of Wales from 1055 to 1063was shattered by a Saxon invasion in 1063 just prior to the Norman invasion of Wales, but the House of Aberffraw restored by Gruffudd ap Cynan slowly recovered and Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd was able to proclaim the Principality of Wales at the Aberdyfi gathering of Welsh princes in 1216. In 1277, the Treaty of Aberconwy between Edward I of England and Llewelyn's grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffudd granted peace between the two but would also guarantee that Welsh self-rule would end upon Llewelyn's death, and so it represented the completion of the first stage of the conquest of Wales by Edward I.

Welsh tradition credited the founding of Gwynedd to the Brittonic polity of Gododdin ( Old Welsh , earlier Brittonic form ''Votadini'') from Lothian invading the lands of the Brittonic polities of the Deceangli, Ordovices, and Gangani in the 5th century. The sons of their leader, Cunedda, were said to have possessed the land between the rivers Dee and Teifi. The true borders of the realm varied over time, but Gwynedd proper was generally thought to comprise the cantrefs of Aberffraw, Cemais, and Cantref Rhosyr on Anglesey and Arllechwedd, Arfon, Dunoding, Dyffryn Clwyd, Llŷn, Rhos, Rhufoniog, and Tegeingl at the mountainous mainland region of Snowdonia opposite.

Etymology

The name ''Gwynedd'' is believed to be an early borrowing from Irish (reflective of Irish settlement in the area in antiquity), either cognate with the Old Irish ethnic name , "Irish People", from Primitive Irish * "Forest People"/"Wild People" (from Proto-Indo-European *' "wood, wilderness"), or (alternatively) Old Irish "war band", from Proto-Irish * (from Proto-Indo-European *' "chase, pursue, suppress").

Ptolemy in the 1st century marks the Llŷn Peninsula as the "Promontory of the Gangani", which is also a name he recorded in Ireland, it's theorised in the 1st century BC some of the Gangani tribe may have landed in what is now the Llŷn Peninsula and drove out the Deceangli or the Ordovices tribe from that area either peacefully or by force. The late and post-Roman eras, Irish from Leinster may have arrived in Anglesey and elsewhere in northwest Wales with the name ''Llŷn'' derived from ''Laigin'', an Old Irish form that means "Leinstermen, or simply Leinster."

The 5th-century Cantiorix Inscription now in Penmachno church seems to be the earliest record of the name. It is in memory of a man named Cantiorix, and the Latin inscription is : "Cantiorix lies here. He was a citizen of Gwynedd and a cousin of Maglos the magistrate". The use of terms such as "citizen" and "magistrate" may be cited as evidence that Romano-British culture and institutions continued in Gwynedd long after the legions had withdrawn.

History, background and familial descent

The background involving the Kingdom of Gwynedd starts with the history of Wales. After the last ice age, Wales was settled during the prehistoric times. Stone Age sites have been discovered with tools made from flint, such as near Llanfaethlu, a site was rediscovered from 6000 years ago which was originally used for cooking. Further examples of human activity in Gwynedd and Anglesey are involved in places such as Bryn Celli Ddu on Anglesey, which was built in phases starting 5000 years ago. Archeological findings from the Bronze Age, millenniums ago include findings such as the Arthog cauldron, a bronze cauldron from 1100 BC found near the Merioneth border, also named 'The Nannau Bucket' (similar to the Dowris bucket). And the Moel Hebog shield which is also 3,000 years old (similar to the Rhyd-y-gors example), and more recently the Trawsfynydd tankard, which was used to drink mead and beer between 100 BC and 75 AD.

Examples of early settlement in Gwynedd are Bryn Eryr near Llansadwrn, Anglesey, now found at the St Fagans National Museum of History, and Garn Boduan, a Celtic hillfort on the Llŷn Peninsula. Iron Age forts were being adapted until after the Roman conquest of Britain, 'Castle of Buan' (Garn Boduan) in Llŷn was recorded as being fortified until the 7th century. During the Roman period, new roads and forts were constructed throughout the Roman empire and for centuries in Wales and England, Welsh examples include Caer Gybi (fort) on Anglesey, and Segontium in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. Also the establishment of Christianity in Wales gave rise to a new era, the Romans founded towns with churches, and installed governors. During the centuries of sub-Roman Britain, new political structures were established. The Brythonic Kingdom of Gwynedd was established in the 5th century, and it proved to be the most durable of these Brythonic states, surviving until the late 13th century.

Boundaries and names emerging from the 1st millennium AD onwards are still being used today to define towns and counties of the region. Noteworthy descendants from the Kingdom of Gwynedd include royalty such as Owain Glyndŵr, and the titular Prince of Wales, also the Salusbury family via Katheryn of Berain. The people mentioned can be associated with the Anglesey based Tudors of Penmynydd family. The Tudors were ancestors and namesake to the former English Royal House of Tudor, they were descended from the Welshman Maredudd ap Tudur, Ednyfed Fychan being his famous ancestor, his family were seneschals to the Kings of Gwynedd. The Tudor dynasty became ancestors to the House of Stuart, and the Stuarts formed the European Jacobite family, they include direct descendants in United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy and other countries on the continent of Europe, and all around the world.

Gwynedd in the Early Middle Ages

Cunedda and his sons

The region became known as ''Venedotia'' in Latin. The name was initially attributed to a specific Irish colony on Anglesey but broadened to refer to Irish settlers as a whole in North Wales by the 5th century. According to 9th-century monk and chronicler Nennius, North Wales was left defenseless by the Roman withdrawal and subject to increasing raids by marauders from the Isle of Man and Ireland, a situation which led Cunedda, his sons and their entourage, to migrate in the mid-5th century from '' Manaw Gododdin'' (now Clackmannanshire) to settle and defend North Wales against the raiders and bring the region within Romano-British control. Whether they were invited to keep out the invaders or were raiders themselves however is unknown. According to traditional pedigrees, Cunedda's grandfather was Padarn Beisrudd, ''Paternus of the red cloak'', "an epithet which suggests that he wore the cloak of a Roman officer", and perhaps it was evidence of a high-ranking officer. Nennius (translated by John Allen Giles who wrote that Cunedda arrived in Gwynedd 146 years before the reign of his great-grandson Maelgwn backdated in the usual Welsh Calendrical calculations from his death date in 547, which makes 401 the year of his arrival ) recounts how Cunedda (flourished in the 5th century) brought order to North Wales and after his death Gwynedd was divided among his sons: Dynod was awarded '' Dunoding'', another son Ceredig

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