Notes |
- Biography
Angharad verch Maredydd Queen of Powys was born in about 0982
Parents
Angharad's father was Maredydd ap Owain, son of Owain ap Hywel and Angharad verch Llewelyn.
994 First Marriage to Llywelyn ap Seisyll
In 994 Angharad married Llywelyn ap Seisyll.
The marriage of Angharad and Llywelyn is confirmed by the Chronicle of the Princes of Wales which records that "Bleddyn son of Cynvyn and Gruffudd son of Llywelyn were brothers by the same mother Angharad daughter of Meredudd king of the Britons".
Llywelyn was aged 14 at the time (so born in 980). The Gwentian Chronicle records that "Llywelyn son of Seisyllt lord of Maes Essyllt although but a youth not more than fourteen years of age" married "Yngharad, daughter of Meredydd on of Owain" in 994
1023 Anghard's Second Marriage to Cynfyn ap Gwerstan
As the widow of Llywelyn, Angharad married secondly in 1023 Cynfyn ap Gwerstan, King of Powys, son of Gwerstan.
Death
She died in Wales in 1077 (83-91)
Issue
Angharad had children by two marriages. Her second husband Cynfyn likely had children by a previous wife, and these children are sometimes mis-attributed to Angharad.
1.) Gruffydd ap Llewelyn, son of Angharad and her first husband Llewelyn. Gruffydd, king of Gwynedd & Powys was born about 1011 in Rhuddlan, Flintshire, Wales and died 5 August 1063. He was the child of Llywelyn ap Seisyllt and Angharad verch Maredudd. Gruffydd did not succeed his father, possibly because he was too young to do so when his father died in 1023. Gruffydd went on to become the first King of Wales, however he was killed by his own men in 1063. Gruffydd's own sons Maredudd and Idwal died in 1069, fighting at the Battle of Mechain. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn inflicted a series of defeats on the English, and made alliances with the enemies of King Edward the Confessor. Gruffydd fought a long campaign against rival kings to win overall control of Wales. By 1055, he had become master of Deheubarth and had expanded his rule to the lesser kingdoms of Morgannwg (Glamorgan) and Gwent. In 1063, Earl Harold Godwinsson (later Harold II) and his brother Tostig made a joint attack on Gwynedd. At the same time, Deheubarth rebelled against Gruffydd's rule. Gruffydd fled and was murdered by his own men. Gruffydd married Ealdgyth, a daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia. Ealdgyth married second in circa 1064 to Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England. Ealdgyth and Gruffydd had a son: Maredudd ap Gruffydd who was excluded from the throne by his uncles Bleddyn ap Cynfyn and Rhywallon ap Cynfyn. Gruffydd ap Llewelyn, king of the Britons
2.) Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn ap Gwerystan, son of Angharad and Cynfyn, born c. 1024, was elevated to king of Powys after the death of Gruffudd ap Llewelyn Rhiwallon was killed in the Battle of Mechain, about 1068. This is the most concrete date associated with Rhiwallon. Warriors were generally young men, though the princes for whom they fought were often older and also expected to fight. Estimate that Rhiwallon was aged 45 at Mechain, and his birth year would be, say, 1025, or if the first born of his mother's second marriage, 1024. Florence of Worcester records that he was appointed King of Powys by King Edward "the Confessor" after the defeat of Gruffydd. The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales records in 1106 that "Bleddyn and Rhiwallon, sons of Cynvyn, were brothers, from Angharad daughter of king Maredudd". Florence of Worcester records that he was appointed King of Powys by King Edward "the Confessor" after the defeat of Gruffydd. The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales records that "the action of Mechain took place between Bleddyn and Rhiwallon, sons of Cynvyn, Maredudd and Ithel, sons of Gruffudd" in 1068, adding that "Ithel was killed in the battle and Maredudd died of cold in his flight, and Rhiwallon son of Cynvyn was slain". The name of Rhiwallon´s wife is not known.
3.) Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, born c. 1025, who was made king of Gwynedd after Gruffudd's death in 1063, and additionally king of Powys when Rhiwallon was killed in 1069 Bleddyn ap Cynfyn of Deheubarth was born in 1025 and died in 1075. Bleddyn ap Cynfyn born about 1025 Montgomeryshire, Bleddyn ap Cynfyn was the son of Princess Angharad ferch Maredudd (of the Dinefwr dynasty of Deheubarth) and her second husband Cynfyn ap Gwerstan, The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales records in 1106 that "Bleddyn and Rhiwallon, sons of Cynvyn, were brothers, from Angharad daughter of king Maredudd". He succeeded his uterine half-brother in 1063 as King of Gwynedd and Powys. He married secondly m. Haer ferch Gillin, and thirdly a daughter of Brochwel
4.) Gwerfyl, born c. 1026, who married Gwrgan ap Ithel Ddu of Glamorgan, and was mother to Iestyn ap Gwrgan. Without naming her, Boyer, following Bartrum, notes a daughter of Cynfyn who married Gwrgan ab Ithel ab Idwallon ap Morgan Mawr (who was King of Morgannwg).
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