Murdered in 1075 by Rhys ap Owain

BLEDDYN ap CYNFYN (d. 1075), prince, was the son of Cynfyn ap Gwerstan, otherwise unknown, and Angharad, widow of Llywelyn ap Seisyll (d. 1023) (q.v.), and mother of the famous Gruffudd ap Llywelyn (d. 1063) (q.v.). Late authorities supply Gwerstan with a distinguished pedigree, but the name has the air of being a derivative of the English Werestan. As half-brothers of Gruffudd, Bleddyn and his brother Rhiwallon succeeded to his domains, but no longer in independence, but as vassals and allies of Edward the Confessor. They continued Gruffudd's policy of alliance with Mercia and aided the Mercians in their struggle with William the Conqueror, supporting Edric the Wild in 1067, when they ravaged Herefordshire as far as the Lugg, and Edwin and Morcar in 1068. In 1070 they had to meet a threat nearer home; two sons of Gruffudd challenged their power in the battle of Mechain, an encounter in which Bleddyn proved victor and the only survivor of the four. He was now threatened by the advance of the Normans into North Wales; in 1073, Robert of Rhuddlan established himself on the banks of the Clwyd and shortly afterwards surprised Bleddyn in a stealthy attack, in which the Welsh leader lost much booty and narrowly escaped capture. His career was cut short in 1075, when Rhys ab Owain (q.v.) and the nobles of Ystrad Tywi contrived his death. The tragedy was much deplored in Mid Wales, and when his cousin, Trahaearn ap Caradog (q.v.), defeated Rhys (1078) in the battle of Goodwick and drove him into headlong flight, it was held to have been signally avenged.
High praise is bestowed upon Bleddyn by the chronicle which was now kept at Llanbadarn. His virtues were those of the ideal prince ó clemency, kindness, affability, liberality to the weak and defenceless, respect for the rights of the Church. Some colour is given to this eulogy by the fact that Bleddyn is one of the few princes who appear as having made amendments in the laws of Hywel the Good. To later generations he was best known as the ancestor of all later princes of Powys, for, within a few years after his death, his sons had established themselves as rulers throughout the whole of this province.

Bibliography:
Hist. W., 367, 369, 372, 374, 377-8, 382, 392-3.
Author:
Sir John Edward Lloyd, D.Litt., F.B.A., F.S.A. (1861-1947), Bangor

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn
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Bleddyn ap Cynfyn (died 1075) was a Prince of the Welsh Kingdoms of Gwynedd and of Powys.

Contents [hide]
1 Lineage
2 Marriage
3 Submission to Harold Godwinson & Reward
4 Anti-Norman Welsh & Saxon Alliance
5 Challenges at Home
6 Killed By Deheubarth
7 Legacy
8 Notes
9 References



[edit] Lineage
Bleddyn was the son of Princess Angharad ferch Maredudd (of the Dinefwr dynasty of Deheubarth) with her second husband Cynfyn ap Gwerstan, a Powys Lord, about whom little is now known. He may have been son of an English Saxon - the name has been postulated as being derived from Werestan.

His mother Angharad was previously widow of Llywelyn ap Seisyll and also mother of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn.


[edit] Marriage
Bleddyn was married to Hear of Powys.


[edit] Submission to Harold Godwinson & Reward
When Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was killed by his own men after being defeated by the Saxon Harold Godwinson in 1063, his realm was divided among several Welsh Princes. Bleddyn and his brother Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn, as half brothers to Gruffudd succeeded to his lands but first as vassals and allies of the Saxon King of England, Edward the Confessor and then submitted to Harold and from him received Gwynedd and Powys.[1]


[edit] Anti-Norman Welsh & Saxon Alliance
They continued Gruffudd's policy of allying to the Mercian Saxons to resist the threat from William the Conqueror.

In 1067 Bleddyn and Rhiwallon joined with the Mercian Eadric the Wild in an attack on the Normans at Hereford, ravaged the lands as far as the River Lugg then in 1068 allied with Earl Edwin of Mercia and Earl Morcar of Northumbria in another attack on the Normans.


[edit] Challenges at Home
Bleddyn was challenged by the two sons of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, but defeated them at the battle of Mechain in 1070, one being killed and the other dying of exposure after the battle. Bleddyn's brother Rhiwallon was also killed in this battle, Bleddyn emerging as the only one of the four to survive the bloody encounter and he ruled Gwynedd and Powys alone until his death.

In 1073 Robert of Rhuddlan stealthily established his forces on the banks of the River Clwyd and attempted to ambush and capture Bleddyn, narrowly failing but seizing valuable booty from the raids further south.


[edit] Killed By Deheubarth
He was killed in 1075 by Rhys ab Owain of Deheubarth and the nobility of Ystrad Tywi in South Wales, a killing which caused much shock throughout Wales.

When Rhys ab Owain was defeated in arms at the Battle of Goodwick and forced to become a fugitive by Bleddyn's cousin and successor as King of Gwynedd, Trahaearn ap Caradog in 1078 and killed by Caradog ap Gruffydd of Gwent shortly afterwards, this was hailed as "vengeance for the blood of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn".

Bleddyn is said in the Brut y Tywysogion to have been a benevolent ruler:

"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 ...".
and

"the mildest and most clement of kings" and he "did injury to none, save when insulted.... openhanded to all, terrible in war, but in peace beloved."

[edit] Legacy
He was responsible for a revision of Welsh law in the version used in Gwynedd. After his death Gwynedd was seized by Trahaearn ap Caradog and later recovered for the line of Rhodri the Great by Gruffydd ap Cynan, but in Powys Bleddyn was the founder of a dynasty which lasted until the end of the 13th century.


[edit] Notes
^ K. L. Maund is of the opinion that Bleddyn ruled Gwynedd and Rhiwallon Powys.

[edit] References
R.R. Davies (1991). The age of conquest: Wales 1063-1415. O.U.P. ISBN 0-19-820198-2.
Thomas Jones (ed) (1952) Brut y Tywysogyon: Peniarth MS. 20 version (University of Wales Press)

Mathrafal
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Mathrafal near Welshpool, in Powys, Mid Wales, was the seat of the Kings and Princes of Powys probably from the 9th century until its destruction in 1212 by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth of Gwynedd.

Contents [hide]
1 Location
2 Description
3 House of Mathrafal
4 Sources
5 External links



[edit] Location
Mathrafal is located about six miles northwest of Welshpool at the junction of the A495 and B4389 on the banks of the River Banwy.


[edit] Description
The site known today as "Mathrafal Castle" is a roughly 100 m square rectangular compound defended by ditches. Little remains of the original walls. Little is known about what the original structure looked like, however the reports of the excavations of University of York in 1991 provide a little insight;

"The twelfth season of excavation showed that the castle can still produce new features and artefacts of interest: namely the vaulted cellar and its forecourt, the curving inner face of the North Tower, and, most spectacularly, the figurine of St Gwynllym. The North Tower and the area between it and the north ditch provided the greatest interest. The back (south) wall of the Tower was exposed and was still standing to at least 2m high. There was a splayed window opening, centrally placed in this wall, and it was in a cavity in the window base that the figurine was excavated by Richard Thomas. The artefact, in iron and bronze, was a discovery of the first significance."[1]

The remaining structures probably date from their construction around the 11th century and probably replaced an earlier hillfort, about 1 km away, which may date from around the time of the fall of the neighbouring Kingdom of Pengwern in the 7th century, or perhaps as early as 520 when the capital of Powys was moved from the old Roman town of Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter). Prince Gwenwynwyn ab Owain of Powys moved his capital from Mathrafal to Welshpool (Y Trallwng) after it was destroyed during warfare between Powys and Gwynedd in 1212.


[edit] House of Mathrafal
House of Mathrafal

Arms of the Mathrafal House of Powys
Country Wales
Parent house House of Dinefwr
Titles King of Gwynedd and Powys, Prince of Powys, Prince of Powys Wenwynwyn, Prince of Powys Fadog, Lord of Glyn Dyfrdwy, Lord of Powys, Baron Grey of Powis
Founder Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Gwynedd and Powys
Founding year 1063
Ethnicity Welsh
Cadet branches
The Mathrafal dynasty began as a cadet branch of the Dinefwr dynasty, taking their name from Mathrafal Castle which was their principal seat and served as the capital of Powys. Members of this family trace their lineage to Rhodri the Great who had replaced King Cyngen ap Cadell of Powys when he died on pilgramage to Rome (claiming the throne through his marriage to Cyngen's sister). The former ruling family were either exiled or reduced to the level of minor land owners (see Sir Gruffudd Vychan.

Rhodri's grandson Hywel Dda took possession of Powys in 916. His grandson Maredudd ab Owain ruled as king of Deheubarth and Powys until his death in 999, when it passed to his own grandson Llywelyn ap Seisyll, through his daughter Angharad (with her first husband Seisyll ab Owain). By 1063 however, it was their son Bleddyn ap Cynfyn that would found the line known as the House of Mathrafal that would continue to rule in Powys until the early 14th century (see Powys Wenwynwyn), when they were finely displaced by the Marcher lordship of Mortimer.

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn was able to take possession of Gwynedd when Gruffudd ap Llywelyn died in 1063. From this point forward the family jockeyed with the Dinefwr and Aberffraw dynasties for control of Wales. Their influence was greatest between 1063 to 1081, but lost control of Gwynedd to the resurgent Aberffraw family in the battle of Mynydd Carn. By 1191 Powys was divided between a northerly Powys Fadog, which became a loyal vassal of Gwynedd, and a southerly Powys Wenwynwyn (roughly modern Montgomeryshire), which remained frequently at logger heads with Gwynedd. Historian John Davies points out that with the division of Powys, the dynasty from 1191 could not be considered as "equal" to that of Aberffraw or Dinefwr. Indeed, Mathrafal Castle was utterly destroyed by Gwynedd in 1212 reducing the realm to one entirely dependent on England for its survival. However, the Mathrafal dynasty would continue to exert some influence, undermining and eventually betraying Llywelyn the Last during the Edwardian Conquest of 1282-3. They exchanged their royal pretences for an English lordship at the Parliament of Shrewsbury in 1283.

Members of the Mathrafal Dynasty include Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Maredudd ap Bleddyn, Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon, Trahaearn ap Caradog, Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog, Griffith and Owen de la Pole.

The other principal royal sites in Wales are Aberffraw for Gwynedd and Dinefwr for Deheubarth.


[edit] Sources
John Davies, History of Wales, Penguin Books, 1990, 1993.

[edit] External links
photo of part of the site today on geograph.org.uk
Mathrafal on Castle Wales website
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathrafal";