CYNAN DINDAETHWY (died 816), prince

was, according to the oldest pedigree, the son of Rhodri, a grandson of Cadwaladr (died 664). Inasmuch as Rhodri (usually found with the epithet 'Molwynog') died in 754 and Cynan is first mentioned in 813, this descent is open to question. His brief appearance in history gathers round a struggle with a certain Hywel, whom Dr. David Powel treats as his brother, for the possession of Anglesey. In 814 Hywel was the victor, but Cynan won back the island in 816, only to die in that year. According to the life of Gruffudd ap Cynan, his descendant, he was of Castell Dindaethwy, which has been identified with the hill-fort near Plas Cadnant, in the parish of Llandysilio (Inv. Anglesey, xciii). He left a daughter, Ethyllt (for the form see Rhys, Celtic Folklore, 480, n.), who became the mother of Merfyn Frych (died 844) and thereby foundress of the royal houses of Gwynedd and Deheubarth in the Middle Ages.

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), 231, 323

Further Reading

• Wikipedia Article: Cynan Dindaethwy

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q2670643

Published date: 1959

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