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Merfyn Frych Of Gwynedd (Wales)

Male - 844


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  • Name Merfyn Frych Of Gwynedd (Wales) 
    Nickname the Freckled 
    Gender Male 
    Died 844 
    Person ID I6100  MyTree
    Last Modified 23 Aug 2009 

    Father Gwriad ap Elidyr Of Man (Britain) 
    Mother Essylt ferch Cynan Of Gwynedd (Wales),   b. 750,   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Family ID F3484  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Nesta ferch Of Powys (Wales),   b. Abt 780,   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Children 
    +1. Rhodri Mawr ap Merfyn Of Wales,   d. 878
    Last Modified 17 Jul 2017 
    Family ID F3485  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Gwynedd is one of several Welsh successor states that emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the Deceangli which were collectively known as Venedotia in late Romano-British documents. Between the 5th and 13th centuries Gwynedd grew to include Ynys Môn and all of north Wales between the River Dyfi in the south and River Dee (Welsh Dyfrdwy) in the northeast.[1] The Irish sea (Môr Iwerddon) washes the coast of Gwynedd to the west and north and lands formerly part of the Kingdom of Powys border Gwynedd in the south-east.

      Gwynedd's strength lay in part due to the region's mountainous geography which made it difficult for foreign invaders to campaign in the country and impose their will effectively.[2]

      Popular tradition attributed to Nennius, a 10th-century Welsh chronicler, traced Gwynedd's foundation to Cunedda.[1] According to Nennius, Cunedda migrated with his sons and followers from Brythonic Lothian, in southern Scotland, in the 5th century. [1]

      The heart of Gwynedd was originally at Deganwy Castle, where Maelgwn Gwynedd (died 547) had his stronghold. The senior line of descendants of Rhodri the Great would make Aberffraw on Ynys Mon as their principle seat, and later rulers of Gwynedd would adopt the title "Prince of Aberffraw" or "Lord of Snowdon".

      The early 9th century saw a power struggle between two brothers, Hywel
      and Cynan, for control of the north-western kingdom of Gwynedd. The
      'Annales Cambriae' note:

      813 "Battle between Hywel and Cynan. Hywel was the victor."
      814 "Hywel triumphed over the island of Mona (Anglesey) and he drove
      Cynan from there with a great loss of his own army."
      816 "Hywel was again expelled from Mona. Cynan the king dies."

      Nine years later (825), the 'Annales' succinctly announce:

      "Hywel dies."

      The direct male line appears to have ended with Hywel's death, and he
      was succeeded by one Merfyn Frych ('the Freckled'). According to the
      'Harleian Genealogies', Merfyn was the son of Cynan's daughter,
      Essyllt (in other, later, genealogies, Essyllt appears as Merfyn's
      wife). Kari Maund, in 'The Welsh Kings', writes:

      In 825 a new dynasty came to power in Gwynedd following a civil war.
      The new ruler, Merfyn Frych (the Freckled), founded the royal house,
      which was to rule until 1283. His court was an important cultural
      centre, which welcomed Irish scholars on their way to the continent.
      Merfyn was succeeded in 844 by his son Rhodri Mawr (the great) who
      brought much of Wales under his rule although this did not survive
      him. He was regarded as a powerful ruler who succeeded in the face of
      threats from both Saxons and Vikings. It was during the ninth century
      that Viking raids on Wales began. The first recorded raid was in 853.
      Gwynedd, being so near to one of the centres of Viking power in
      Dublin, was particularly vulnerable, but Rhodri was usually able to
      hold his own.

      Merfyn's descent on his father's side is traced (Jesus College MS 20)
      back, via the legendary late 6th/early 7th century bard Llywarch Hen,
      who is associated with Powys (and who, incidentally, was at one time
      thought to be the author of the 'Canu Heledd'), along a branch of the
      line associated with the erstwhile kingdom of Rheged (north-west
      England), to Coel Hen. Further, tradition has it that Merfyn came
      "from the land of manaw". That could refer to either Manau Gododdin or
      The Isle of Man. Merfyn's father was Gwriad. An inscribed stone on the
      Isle of Man, which could date from the 9th century, reads "crux
      guriat" (cross of Guriat). Guriat is usually identified with Gwriad.

      At any rate, when Merfyn died (844), he was succeeded by his son
      Rhodri. According to the genealogies in Jesus College MS 20, Rhodri's
      mother was Nest of Powys, sister of Cyngen, king of Powys.

      Cyngen is the Concenn who erected Eliseg's Pillar, in memory of his
      great-grandfather, Eliseg (Elisedd). Elisedd would probably have been
      a contemporary of the powerful Mercian king, Offa (757-796). The
      pillar commemorates Elisedd's reclamation of Powysian territory from
      the English, and the 'Annales Cambriae' record several campaigns
      against the Welsh by Offa. At some point, Offa seems to have decided
      that there should be no doubt where the border between the English and
      the Welsh lay, and the massive earthwork, known as Offa's Dyke was
      constructed. Whether Offa's Dyke was more symbolic than truly
      defensive is the subject of debate. Even if it prevented Welsh
      incursions into England, it certainly it didn't prevent English
      incursions into Wales. 'Annales Cambriae' (822): "The fortress of
      Degannwy (Gwynedd) is destroyed by the Saxons and they took the
      kingdom of Powys into their own control."

      Cyngen died in 854, possibly having been forced into exile by Rhodri.
      Powys was subsequently annexed by Gwynedd. How this takeover was
      achieved is not recorded, but Powys was ruled as a subsidiary of
      Gwynedd until the late 11th century. In 853, the 'Annales Cambriae'
      had noted:

      "Mon (Anglesey) laid waste by black gentiles."

      The phrase "black gentiles" (and variations thereof, e.g. dark
      heathens, dark foreigners) means Danish, rather than Norwegian (fair
      heathens, fair-haired foreigners), Vikings. The first recorded Viking
      attack on Wales actually appears in the 'Annales' three years
      previously (i.e. in 850). They were responsible for the killing of one
      Cyngen, whose provenance is unknown.
      (Source: http://www.stephen.j.murray.btinternet.co.uk/wales.htm)