Gruffydd Maelor I

Coat of arms of Gruffydd Maelor I

Gruffydd ap Madog , also Gruffydd Maelor I († 1191 ) was a prince of the Welsh principality of Powys . He was the founder of the ruling family that ruled the northern part of Powys in the 13th century. He got his nickname after Maelor, a part of his empire, and to distinguish it from his grandson Gruffydd Maelor II († 1269).

He was a son of Madog ap Maredudd and his wife Susanna, a daughter of Gruffydd ap Cynan . After her father and eldest brother Llywelyn died in 1160, the surviving sons divided the kingdom among themselves. Her cousin Owain Cyfeiliog , who had already been subordinate of Cyfeiliog under her father, now became ruler of the southern part of Powys. The northern part north of the Rhaeadr was given to Gruffydd and his brothers Owain Fychan and Owain Brogyntyn . Gruffydd received the Commotes Maelor and Iâl. Later he was able to expand his empire to include Nanheudwy and, after the death of his brother Owain Fychan in 1187, to Cynllaith and Lower Mochnant. So he was able to reunite the northern part of Powys except for Penllyn and Edeirnion, who were owned by his half-brother Owain Brogyntyn.

He married his cousin Angharad, a daughter of Owain Gwynedd . He had two sons, Madog and Owain.

Web links

• Thomas Jones Pierce: Gruffydd ap Madog or Gruffydd Maelor I (d. 1191) , Welsh Biography Online, The National Library of Wales, [1] , accessed June 30, 2014