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Gruffudd ap Cynan

King of Gwynedd

Years: 1055 - 1137

Gruffudd ap Cynan (c. 1055 – 1137) is King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137.

In the course of a long and eventful life, he becomes a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and is remembered as King of all Wales.

As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr, Gruffudd ap Cynan is a senior member of the princely house of Aberffraw.

Through his mother, Gruffudd hads close family connections with the Norse settlement around Dublin and he frequently uses Ireland as a refuge and as a source of troops.

He three times gains the throne of Gwynedd and then loses it again before regaining it once more in 1099 and this time keeping power until his death.

Gruffudd lays the foundations that will be built upon by his son Owain Gwynedd and his great-grandson Llywelyn the Great.

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Gruffydd ap Cynan is a descendant of …

Gruffydd ap Cynan is a descendant of the traditional ruling house of Gwynedd, and had previously made an attempt to claim the kingdom in 1075, but had been defeated by Trahaearn ap Caradog and forced to take refuge in Ireland.

Having gathered a force of Danes and Irishmen to support his claim, Gruffydd launches an invasion in 1081, from Waterford in Ireland.

He lands not in Gwynedd but further south near St. David's (in what will become the Paladin of Pembrokeshire).

At the church of St. David's, he meets with Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of Deheubarth, who had shortly before been driven from power by Caradog ap Gruffydd of Glamorgan and Gwent helped by Meilir ap Rhiwallon of Powys and Gruffydd's old nemesis Trahaearn ap Caradog of Gwynedd.

Gruffydd and Rhys make a pact and set forth to give battle.

The battle of Mynydd Carn takes place about a day's march north of St David's.

In the evening Gruffydd and Rhys came up with the forces led by Trahaearn and Caradog ap Gruffydd, who are reported to have had Norman arbalisters in their army.

According to his biography, Gruffydd ap Cynan, insisted on an immediate attack, overruling Rhys who wished to wait until the following morning.

The result is a complete victory for Gruffydd ap Cynan and Rhys ap Tewdwr, with Trahaearn ap Caradog, Caradog ap Gruffydd and Meilir ap Rhiwallon all being killed.

Gruffydd ap Cynan gains control of Gwynedd, and despite later being captured and imprisoned by the Normans for some years, will escape and reigned until 1137, becoming one of the most successful leaders of Gwynedd.

Rhys ap Tewdwr regains Deheubarth and will reign until 1093.

These two are later to play a prominent part in Welsh resistance to the Normans.

The immediate aftermath of the battle helps the Normans, who take advantage quickly of this internal Welsh struggle which has weakened all the major Welsh kingdoms and killed three of their leaders.

Later this year, William the Conqueror becomes the first Norman King to enter Wales and signals his power by marching straight through modern day South Wales along to St. David's, where he receives homage from Rhys ap Tewdwr, who accepts William's overlordship.

The death of Caradog ap Gruffydd splits his kingdom, leaving it in disarray and helping to ensure Norman dominance of the lowlands of Gwent and Glamorgan, leading to the effective collapse of what had formerly been one of the most powerful Welsh kingdoms.

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The Normans, following their invasion of England …

The Normans, following their invasion of England in 1066, and the subsequent conquest of large parts of Wales, had proceeded towards North Wales in the late eleventh century.

While the Normans had experienced a setback in 1094, the Norman earls Hugh of Montgomery and Hugh d'Avranches finally manage to conquer North Wales and Anglesey in 1098, forcing Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, to flee to Ireland.

The Norwegian king Magnus Barefoot goes on an expedition with a large fleet into the Irish Sea early in 1098, seeking to assert Norwegian rule over the Kingdom of the Isles.

After he has subdued most of the Isles and set up his base on Mann, he goes further south and appears with six ships (according to the English chronicler Orderic Vitalis), off the coast of Anglesey, only a few days after the Norman capture.

According to Orderic Vitalis, Magnus enters the Menai Strait with a red shield on the mast, which is the usual sign to signal peace and trade.

While Magnus may have sought trade, or to get provisions for his ships, he may also have intended to take possession of the island as a base for further operations.

When Magnus approaches Anglesey in June or July, the Normans do not permit him to land.

The fighting starts with the two sides shooting arrows at each other, the Norwegians while still onboard their ships, and the Normans while standing on the shore.

As the Normans prepare to attack the Norwegians, Hugh of Montgomery, who is fully armored except for an opening for his eyes, is shot through one eye with an arrow and dies instantly.

Contemporary non-Norse sources all agree that Magnus Barefoot himself was responsible for the shot, while the Norse sagas are somewhat less inclined to attribute the decisive shot to Magnus alone, noting that his shot hit Hugh almost simultaneously with that of another of his men.

Since some sources indicates that Magnus regretted the deed when he realized who he had killed, Magnus may originally have been interested in alliances with the Normans.

The Normans retreated from Anglesey to England following the defeat.