Bleddyn ap Cynfyn

Coat of arms of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn († 1075 ) was a king of the Welsh principalities of Powys and Gwynedd .

Bleddyn was the son of Cynfyn ap Gwerstan, a nobleman from Powys and Angharad, the widow of Llywelyn ap Seisyll and daughter of Maredudd from Owain , a king of Deheubarth . Through his mother he was a half-brother of the Welsh prince Gruffydd ap Llywelyn .

Bleddyn and his brother Rhiwallon were followers of their half-brother Gruffydd and allies of the Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor . After Gruffydd's death in 1063, Eduard appointed him and Rhiwallon as vassal kings. Bleddyn supported the Anglo-Saxons in the fight against the Norman conquerors . In 1067 he undertook a raid to Herefordshire in support of Eadric Cild , in 1068 he supported the rebellion of Edwin and Morcar against William the Conqueror . In 1070 Bleddyn and his brother Rhiwallon had to accept a challenge in their homeland when Maredudd and Ithel, the two sons of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, demanded part of their father's kingdom. In the Battle of Mechain, Bleddyn was able to defeat and kill them, but his brother Rhiwallon also fell. This made Bleddyn the sole king of Powys and Gwynedd, but from 1071 he came under increasing Norman pressure. From 1071 Robert of Rhuddlan conquered north-east Wales and surprised Bleddyn with an attack, which he narrowly escaped.

The Welsh principalities in the 11th century

1075 Bleddyn was killed in a war against Rhys from Owain von Deheubarth and the allied chiefs of Ystrad Tywi. After his death, his empire fell apart. His successor in Gwynedd was his cousin Trahern ap Caradog , who was able to defeat Rhys ap Owain in 1078 at the Battle of Goodwick. In Powys, his son Madog and later his other sons could claim rule. Powys became the leading Welsh principality among them and their grandchildren in the first half of the 12th century.

Bleddyn is considered to be one of the few Welsh princes who passed new laws. He had at least five sons and four daughters from at least four different wives, including at least five

• Madog
• Rhiryd
• Cadwgan
• Iorwerth
• Maredudd

Web links

• Huw Pryce: Bleddyn ap Cynfyn (d. 1075). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
• John Edward Lloyd: BLEDDYN ap CYNFYN (d. 1075). In: Dictionary of Welsh Biography, The National Library of Wales

predecessor	Office	successor
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn	King of Gwynedd 1063-1075	Trahern ap Caradog
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn	King of Powys 1063-1075	Madog ap Bleddyn