1. Sir Owain ab Cadwgan, Lord of Powys, called also Syr Owain Farchog. He was knighted by Henry I, in Normandy, with whom he and his father Cadwgan had had great wars, that were then over. In 1114, however, at the instigation of Henry I, he and Llywarch ab Trahaiarn ab Ithel, marched an army against Gruffydd ab Rhys ab Tewdwr, prince of South Wales; and when Gerald de Windsor, the constable of Pembroke Castle, heard that Sir Owain had arrived in Ceredigion, calling to mind what Owain had done to his wife Nest, he meditated revenging that injury, and went with his men against Sir Owain and his men; and early in the onset, Owain was slain by an arrow; and so it happened to him for the injuries he had done to the nation of the Cymry, greater than had ever been inflicted before him. by the worst traitor ever known. From him originated the Mawddwy banditti. 2. Llywelyn ab Cadwgan, who was killed in 1098, by the men of Brecheiniog, in the interest of Bernard de Newmarch; it was in this same year that his father, Prince Cadwgan, returned from Ireland, and regained his territories. 3. Goronwy ab Cadwgan. Prince Cadwgan had another son, named Gwrgau, by his wife Elyw, the daughter of Cadifor ab Dyfnwal, Lord of Castell Hywel. EINIAWN AB CADWGAWN succeeded his father as Lord of Meirionydd. In 1113, he, together with his cousin Gruffudd, the second son of Prince Maredudd ab Bleddyn, besieged and took the castle of Cymmer in Meirionydd, which belonged to Uchdryd, Lord of Cyfeiliog, one of the sons of Edwyn ab Goronwy, Prince of Tegeingl, and which Uchdryd had built, and took from him the provinces of Meirionydd, Cyfeiliawg, Mawddwy, and Penllyn, and divided the territories between them. Prince Cadwgawn ab Bleddyn had given these districts to Uchdryd, as Iwerydd, the mother of Owain and Uchdryd, was full sister of his father, Bleddyn ab Cynfyn, and he, at the same time, hoped that Uchdryd would have been a faithful friend, both to himself and his sons, and an assistance against their enemies. But he proved to be their enemy and opponent. Having, therefore, recovered these provinces, they apportioned them so, that Cyfeiliawg, Mawddwy, and half of Penllyn fell to Gruffudd ab Maredudd, whose eldest son was called Owain Cyfeiliawg. The other half of Penllyn, and the cantref of Meirionedd, containing the comots of Tal y Bont, Pennal, and Ystym Aner, fell to the sons of Cadwgan ab Bleddyn. Einiawn ab Cadwgawn died in 1121, without issue, and bequeathed his land and territory to his brother Maredudd; but Prince Maredudd ab Bleddyn, his uncle, and his cousin Ithael ab Rhirid ab Bleddyn, took his lands and territory from him; and when Gruffydd ab Cynan, King of Gwynedd, heard in what manner that happened, he sent his two sons, Cadwallawn and Owain, with a strong force, to Meirion to execute justice, and restore to his nephew, Maredudd ab Cadwgawn, his territory and lands. Cadwallawn and Owain subdued Prince Maredudd ab Bleddyn, and regained the country for Maredudd ab Cadwgawn, and cruelly ravaged the lands of Llywarch ab Trahaiarn ab Caradawg, for assisting Maredudd ab Bleddyn. Einiawn, therefore, was succeeded by his brother MAREDUDD AB CADWGAWN, who enjoyed the Lordship but for a short time, for in the following year a quarrel arose between Maredudd and his younger brother Morgan, and in this quarrel Morgan killed his brother Maredudd with his own hand. This occurred in 1122. In 1127, Morgan ab Cadwgawn ab Bleddyn, who had been very active in the work of killing and pulling out eyes, began to feel the compunctions of conscience; and on his repentance, went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and, on his return, he died in the island of Cyprus, in the Grecian Sea. Soon after this the Lordship of Meirionydd passed into the hands of Maredudd ab Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd, and his brother Gruffudd ab Cynan ab Owain. În 1137, "Y gwrthladwyt Maredudd ab Cynan o Veirionydd y gau Hywel ab Gruffydd y nei ab y vrawt ac yd yspeilwyt yn Llwyr eithyr y varch.”1 In 1142, a quarrel arose between Anarawd, one of the sons of Gruffydd ab Rhys, Prince of South Wales, and his father-in-law, Cadwaladr ab Gruffydd ab Cynan ab Iago, and Cadwaladr stabbed Anarawd in his ribs so that he died, and Rhydderch ab Iestyn and Roderig ab Hywel caught Maredudd ab Cynan ab Owain, and put him in prison. Maredudd ab Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd, and his brother, Gruffydd ab Cynan ab Owain, founded the Abbey of Cymmer, in the parish of Llanfachraith, in the comot of Tal y Bont, in the cantref of Meirionydd. Gruffydd subsequently took the religious habit in the Abbey of Aber Conwy, where he died in 1202. Maredudd ab Cynan was lord, also, of Lleyn : but in 1202, Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of Wales, took this province from him for his want of fidelity, and soon afterwards deprived him of his Lordship of Meirionydd. Upon this, he fled for protection to Gwenwynwyn, Prince of Upper Powys, who gave him the manors of Rhiwhiraeth, Neuadd Wen, Llysin, and Coed Talog. Maredudd ab Cynan bore quarterly, gules and argent, four lions passant gardant counterchanged. In 1215, Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of Wales, accompanied by most of the Welsh princes and chieftains, marched an army into South Wales, and reduced that country to obedience by defeating the English and Normans, and taking their Castles of Gower, Caermardden, Llanstephan, Tal y Charn, St. Clare, the Castle of Emlyn, and the Castles of Trefdraith, Aberystwyth, and Cilgerran, after which all the Welsh princes who were with him returned to their countries, happy and joyful with victory. The princes who took part in this expedition were-Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of Gwynedd; Hywel ab Gruffydd ab Cynan; Llywelyn ab Maredudd ab Cynan, from Gwynedd; Wenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliawg; Maredudd ab Rotpert, of Cyde1 Brut y Tywysogion, Llyfr Coch o Hergest. wen; the family of Madog ab Gruffydd Maelawr; and the two sons of Madog ab Cadwallawn. From South Wales, Maelgwn ab Rhys; Rhys Grûg, his brother; and Rhys leuanc and Owain, the sons of Gruffydd ab Rhys.1 In 1216, John, King of England, devastated Maes Wy fed (Radnorshire), and from thence he proceeded to Croes Oswalt which he burnt and destroyed." 3 In 1255, Maredudd ab Llywelyn ab Maredudd ab Cynan departed this life, leaving an only son and heir, by Gwenllian, daughter of Maelgwn. Gwenllian was the daughter (by the Princess Angharad, his wife, daughter of Llewelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of Wales) of Maelgwn Fychan, son of Maelgwn, an illegitimate son of the Lord Rhys ab Gruffydd, Prince of South Wales. Gwenllian died at Llanvihangl Gelynrod, and was buried in the Abbey of Strata Florida, in 1255; and soon afterwards, on the Feast of St. John, died Rhys, the only son of Maelgwn Fychan, who had taken the habit of religion at Strata Florida, and there he was buried. In the same year, the Devil stirred up a quarrel between the sons of Gruffydd ab Llywelyn, Prince of North Wales, viz., Owain Goch, and his younger brother, David ab Gruffudd, on one side, and Llywelyn ab Gruffudd on the other. Whereupon a battle was fought at Bryn Derwyn, in which Llywelyn was victorious, and David fled, and Owain Goch was taken prisoner.* In this year also died Margaret, the daughter of Maelgwn Fychan ab Maelgwn, Lord of Ceredigion Uwch. Aeron, and wife of Owain ab Maredudd ab Rotpert, Lord of Cydywen (see p. 86). In 1256 Llewelyn ab Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, unable any longer to submit to the tyrannical oppression of the English king and his son Edward, invaded that district which now forms the counties of Denbigh and Flint, which had been given to Prince Edward by the king, and subdued the whole of it before the end of the week, except the Castles of Diganwy and Diserth. He 1 Brut y Tywysogion, from the Lyfr Coch o Hergest. VOL. I. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 7 the M then went to Memory 44, which be so took possession of an Lywoya as Mareluia ab Gyman, të Loci of Marongia, fad diet with the Engle Eng bu nog, me oliver of Royal and other Letter L. erotice olleen ardale of the Reign of Heary III, gives a letter which was argarety written at the time, from Llywelyn ab Marotund to the king, to which he prays the king to make wome providion for Lim und ls can recover Lis land of Merlonydd, from which he had been ejected by Pines Lyweyn ab Gr.#.444 On August 8th, 1253, the boeriff of Europelire and Sufforetire had orders to pay to Llywayn, the son of Mareinid, who had been dinherited on account of his adherence to the king, the wam of forty marks, which the king granted to him, to be received annually, for the support of himself and his wife and children; and on May 30th, 1269, the king ordered the then Sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire, in which it is stated that the former sheriff, William Bagod, had received the above-mentioned order, but that the said Llywelyn had only received ten marks from the said William Bagod; and the present sheriff is therefore ordered to pay Llywelyn the remaining thirty marks out of the issues of his bailiwick. This Llywelyn ab Maredudd is sometimes styled Llywelyn Fawr ab Maredudd. He had a brother called Llywelyn Fychan ab Maredudd, as we find from an extract from the record of an inquisition held at Bala on the next Monday after the Festival of St. Michael the Archangel, 6 Henry VI; relative to Einion ab Seisyllt, of Mathafarn, in the parish of Llanwrin, in Cyfeiliawg. "Et etiam (Juratores) dicunt quod quidam Eignion ab Seysyllt fuit scizitus in dominico suo ut de feodo de tota terra que fuit & est inter Aquas de Dyvi & Dewlas tempore Llywelyn ab Iorwerth nuper Principis. Et quod terra illa tune fuit pars & parcella Comoti de Estimaner in Comitatu Merioneth & adhuc de jure esse debet. Et quod idem Eignion ab Seysyllt terram illam tunc tenuit de Llywelyn Fawr ab 1 History of the Princes of South Wales. 2 Hengwrt MS. 119. |