Bleddyn ap Cynfyn

Bleddyn was born to a poorly documented Powys nobleman named Cynfyn ap Gwerystan, known only from the late traditional pedigrees reporting Bleddyn's parentage. Cynfyn's claimed father, Gwerstan or Gwerystan, is given contradictory Welsh pedigrees consisting mostly of otherwise unknown names, a possibly spurious derivation since his name perhaps actually represents a rendering of the Anglo-Saxon name Werestan.Davies, Sean; The First Prince of Wales?: Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, 1063–1075, University of Wales Press, 2016, pp. 9–11

Cynfyn, likely a supporter of King Llywelyn ap Seisyll, would after the latter's 1023 death marry the widowed queen, Angharad, daughter of King Maredudd ab Owain of Dyfed, member of the House of Dinefwr, whose realm had been lost to the Irish pretender Rhain before its conquest by Llywelyn.[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Laws_of_Howel_the_Good/The_Houses_of_Cunedda_and_Rhodri_Mawr The Houses of Cunedda and Rhodri Mawr], Welsh Medieval Law: The Laws of Howell the Good (1909) by Hywel ap Cadell, translated by Arthur Wade Wade-Evans. See: Meredydd (Maredudd) and Owen (King Owain)Lloyd, J. E.; (1959). [https://biography.wales/article/s-BLED-APC-1025 BLEDDYN ap CYNFYN (died 1075)], prince. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 4 March 2024Pierce, T. J.; (1959). [https://biography.wales/article/s-LLYW-APS-1023 LLYWELYN ap SEISYLL (died 1023)], king of Deheubarth and Gwynedd. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 4 March 2024{{Citation |url=https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/files/20577287/null |year=2013 |publisher=Bangor University |last=Jones |first=Owain |title=Historical writing in medieval Wales |page=253}}

Angharad and Cynfyn had at least two sons, Bleddyn and Rhiwallon, probably born in the late 1020s,Davies, The First Prince of Wales?, pp. 11–12 who were thus maternal half-brothers of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, Angharad's son by her first husband. Gruffydd, aged about ten and passed over for succession at the time of his father's death, slowly rebuilt his father's realm, annexing its successor states.

Cynfyn and Rhiwallon first appear in the documentary record in 1063. Bleddyn may have been residing in Powys, where he married Haer ferch Cillyn, daughter of the Lord of Gest Cillyn y Blaidd Rudd ("Cillyn the Red Wolf").

File:William the Conqueror after Hastings.png invades England, engraving of the new king after the Battle of Hastings, 1066.]]

Gruffydd's consolidation of power and alliance with earl Ælfgar of Mercia made him a threat to Harold Godwinson, earl of Hereford. Upon Ælfgar's death in 1062, Harold and his brother Tostig quickly invaded; the following year, they invaded again and were left in mastery of Wales after traitors among his men killed Gruffydd during a retreat. The south was restored to the Houses of Dinefwr and Morgan, but Powys and Gwynedd were given to Gruffydd's half-brothers Bleddyn and Rhiwallon. These two submitted to Harold and swore themselves vassals and allies of Edward the Confessor.{{refn|group=n|K. L. Maund is of the opinion that Bleddyn ruled Gwynedd and Rhiwallon Powys.}}{{Cite book |last=Middleton |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R63ACQAAQBAJ&dq=Bleddyn+ap+Cynfyn&pg=PA356 |title=World Monarchies and Dynasties |date=2015-06-01 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-45158-7 |language=en}}

At the time of the Norman Conquest, Bleddyn was the most powerful king in Wales.Davies, R. R.; (1987). Conquest, Coexistence and Change: Wales 1063–1415. History of Wales, Vol. 2. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 28–30 Closely allied with Harold, the brothers joined the Saxon resistance to William the Conqueror following his conquest of England.[https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/Kings-Princes-of-Wales/ Kings and Princes of Wales, Historic UK, Ben Johnson]The First Prince of Wales?: Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, 1063–1075, Sean Davies, 2016 In 1067, they joined the Mercian Eadric the Wild in their struggle against William and attacked the Normans at Hereford, ravaging the lands as far as the River Lugg.Lloyd, J. E.; (1959). BLEDDYN ap CYNFYN (died 1075), prince. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 16 August 2023, from https://biography.wales/article/s-BLED-APC-1025 In 1068, they joined earls Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria in their attacks as well. The earls both later submitted to William.

In 1070, King Gruffydd's sons, Idwal ap Gruffydd and Prince Maredudd ap Gruffydd, challenged Bleddyn. Rhiwallon, Idwal and Maredudd all died in the Battle of Mechain. Bleddyn was the king of both Gwynedd and Powys.

In 1073, Robert of Rhuddlan stealthily established his forces on the banks of the River Clwyd and attempted to ambush and capture Bleddyn. He narrowly failed but seized valuable booty in raids further south. Bleddyn was killed in 1075 by King Rhys ab Owain of Deheubarth, having been betrayed by the lords of Ystrad Tywi.{{cite ODNB |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/23462 |last1=Lloyd |first1=J. |last2=Thornton |first2=D. |title=Rhys ab Owain (d. 1078), ruler in Wales}}

When Rhys was later defeated at the 1078 Battle of Goodwick (or Pwllgwdig) by Bleddyn's successor, Trahaearn ap Caradog, and killed by Caradog ap Gruffydd of Gwent shortly afterwards, this was hailed as vengeance "for the blood of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, his first cousin".{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=R. R. |title=The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063–1415 |date=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |page=71 |isbn=978-0-19-820878-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klauMOoHXK0C&dq=vengeance+for+the+blood+of+Bleddyn+ap+Cynfyn&pg=PA71 |access-date=19 February 2022}} After his death, Gwynedd was seized by Trahaearn and later recovered for the House of Aberffraw by Gruffudd ap Cynan; but in Powys, Bleddyn was the founder of a dynasty which lasted until the end of the 13th century.{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|1310492216}} |last1=Jones |first1=Francis |title=Usher, Gwysaney and Owston (Book Review) |journal=Welsh History Review |volume=3 |issue=3 |date=June 1967 |page=299}}

File:Cyfraith Hywel Dda, folio 7r (4780062).jpg in which Bleddyn is featured during his reign.]]

Bleddyn's legacy in the Chronicle of the Princes was that of a benevolent ruler:

{{Blockquote|"The most lovable and the most merciful of all kings... he was civil to his relatives, generous to the poor, merciful to pilgrims and orphans and widows and a defender of the weak... the mildest and most clement of kings... [he] did injury to none, save when insulted... openhanded to all, terrible in war, but in peace beloved".}}

Bleddyn was also responsible for a revision of the Welsh law which continued in force in his dynasty's domain of Powys. Gwynedd's Venedotian Code noted that he changed the legal composition of the homestead ({{lang|cy|tyddyn}}) for purposes of inheritance etc., varying its size depending on the social status of the owner. The homestead of a nobleman ({{lang|owl|uchelwr}}) was 12 Welsh acres, that of a serf ({{abbr|Medieval Welsh}} {{lang|owl|eẏllt}}, {{abbr|Modern Welsh}} {{lang|cy|aillt}}) had 8, and that of a bondsman or slave (Medieval {{lang|owl|godaẏauc}}) had 4. (The text, however, notes the uncommonness of this division and says it was generally understood as 4 acres regardless of status.){{sfnp|Owen|1841|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zYZCAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA81 Book II, Ch. XII, §1]}}

File:Image from page 402 of "Annals and antiquities of the counties and county families of Wales" (1872).jpg

Bleddyn had at least five children: They continued to rule the House of Powys.

• Maredudd (d. 1132), king of Powys;
• Cadwgan (d. 1111), prince of Powys;
• Madog;
• Rhirid (1049–1088), king of Powys;
• Iorwerth (d. 1111), prince of Powys.

Bleddyn's sister Iwerydd married prince Edwin of Tegeingl.Pierce, T. J., (1959). [https://biography.wales/article/s-OWAI-ABE-1105 OWAIN ab EDWIN (died 1105)], a landowner in Tegeingl (modern Flintshire). Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 28 May 2025 They became the parents of prince Owain of Tegeingl, who sided with the Normans Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester, and Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, member of William the Conqueror's family.{{cite DNB|wstitle= Roger de Montgomery |volume= 49 |last= Kingsford |first= Charles Lethbridge |author-link= Charles Lethbridge Kingsford |pages= 101-103 |year= 1897 | short=1}}

Bleddyn's grandniece, queen Angharad, married the Welsh king Gruffudd ap Cynan, a great-grandson of the Norse king Sigtrygg Silkbeard, member of the Viking Ivar dynasty.Lloyd, John Edward (2004). A History of Wales: From the Norman Invasion to the Edwardian Conquest, p. 274 They became the parents of the first prince of Wales, Owain Gwynedd, and of prince Cadwaladr, who married a daughter of the Norman baron Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare, a cousin of William the Conqueror through his great-grandfather, Gilbert, Count of Brionne.White, Graeme J. (2016). "The Legacy of Ranulf de Gernons". In Dalton, Paul; Luscombe, David (eds.). Rulership and Rebellion in the Anglo-Norman World, C.1066–c.1216, p. 121-122

They also had a daughter, the warrior princess Gwenllian. She became the mother of Lord Rhys, prince of Wales, the daughter-in-law of king Rhys ap Tewdwr, who made an alliance with William the Conqueror, and the sister-in-law of princess Nesta, who married the Norman Gerald de Windsor, founder of the Fitzgerald dynasty of Ireland.Pierce, T. J., (1959). [https://biography.wales/article/s-GWEN-FER-1100 GWENLLIAN (died 1136)]. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 28 May 2025

{{Reflist|group=n}}

{{Reflist|25em}}

• {{Citation |last=Maund |first=Kari |author-link=K. L. Maund |title=The Welsh Kings: Warriors, Warlards and Princes |publisher=The History Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-7524-2973-1}}.
• {{Citation |last=Davies |first=R. R. |author-link=R. R. Davies |title=The age of conquest: Wales 1063–1415 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1991 |isbn=0-19-820198-2}}.
• {{Citation |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Thomas Jones |date=1952 |title=Brut y Tywysogyon: Peniarth MS. 20 version |publisher=University of Wales Press}}.
• {{Citation |editor-last=Owen |editor-first=Aneurin |date=1841 |title=Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales; Comprising Laws Supposed to be Enacted by Howel the Good, Modified by Subsequent Regulations under the Native Princes prior to the Conquest by Edward the First: And Anomalous Laws, Consisting Principally of Institutions which by the Statute of Ruddlan were Admitted to Continue in Force: With an English Translation of the Welsh Text, to which are Added A few Latin Transcripts, Containing Digests of the Welsh Laws, Principally of the Dimetian Code |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zYZCAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA90 |contribution=The Venedotian Code |location=London |publisher=Commissioners on the Public Records of the Kingdom}}, {{in lang|cy}} and {{in lang|en}}
• {{cite ODNB |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/48537 |last1=Pryce |first1=Huw |title=Bleddyn ap Cynfyn (d. 1075), king of Gwynedd and of Powys}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-hou|House of Mathrafal||Unknown||1075}}

{{s-reg}}

{{s-bef|before=Gruffydd ap Llywelyn|}}

{{s-ttl|title=King of Gwynedd and Powys|years=1063–1075}}

{{s-aft|after=Trahaearn ap Caradog (Gwynedd)
Iorwerth ap Bleddyn (Powys)}}

{{end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleddyn Ap Cynfyn}}

Category:1075 deaths

Category:Monarchs of Gwynedd

Category:Monarchs of Powys

Category:House of Mathrafal

Category:11th-century Welsh monarchs

Category:Year of birth unknown