CYNAN ab OWAIN (died 1174), prince

was the son of Owain Gwynedd by an unknown mother. In 1145, he and his brother Hywel joined in an attack upon Cardigan; the town was sacked, but the castle was not taken. Two years later the two brothers invaded Meirionnydd and drove out their uncle Cadwaladr; as they entered the cantref from opposite directions it would seem that Cynan was now established in Ardudwy. In 1150 it is recorded that he was imprisoned by his father. He took an active part in the resistance to Henry II in 1157, sharing with his brother David the ambush laid in the woods of Hawarden which nearly led to the collapse of the royal expedition. Less creditable was his part in the attempt of five earls in 1159 to capture Rhys ap Gruffydd (1132 - 1197). On the death of his father in 1170 he probably held Eifionydd, Ardudwy, and Meirionnydd, which were later ruled by his posterity. In 1188, the elder son, Gruffydd, had Meirionnydd and (probably) Ardudwy, and the younger, Maredudd, had Eifionydd.

Author

• Sir John Edward Lloyd, (1861 - 1947)

Sources

• J. E. Lloyd, A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest (London 1911), 490, 497-8, 511, 549 n., 550-1, 564

Further Reading

• Wikipedia Article: Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q5199872

Published date: 1959

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-RUU/1.0/