House of Gwynedd

The House of Gwynedd is the Royal house of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, in Medieval Wales, and is divided between the House of Cunedda and the House of Aberffraw.

Flag of Gwynedd

History

The House of Gwynedd, divided between the earlier House of Cunedda, which lasted from c.401 to 825, was eventually replaced by the later House of Aberffraw, beginning in 844. The first is so named after Cunedda (386-460), the founding King of Gwynedd; and the second after Aberffraw, the old capital of Gwynedd.

This House was the first not being descended from the male line of Cunedda. Through inheritances from the great uncle of Merfyn the Oppressor, the line of Cunedda continued from the maternal side through the House of Aberffraw, and through the House of Dinefwr through Rhodri's son, king Cadell ap Rhodri.[1][2][3][4]

The Senior line of the House of Aberffraw descended from Prince Llywelyn the Great in patrilineal succession and became extinct on the death of Owain Lawgoch in 1378, while the House of Dinefwr was succeeded by its cadet branch, the House of Mathrafal.[5][6]

Lineage

Under the laws of Hywel Dda, which were adapted from the much earlier pagan Molmutine Laws, any son can inherit from his father. This refers even to illegitimate sons if they are acknowledged by their father. The throne cannot be inherited through the female line unless both her father and the ancestry of her spouse were royal. In many examples cousins were inter-married, which made the distinction somewhat academic.

The House of Aberffraw began with the accession of Rhodri Mawr to the throne of Gwynedd. His father Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad had seized the throne of Gwynedd on the death of the last of the old royal line Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog. He was his maternal grandnephew via the former king's niece Esyllt verch Cynan ap Rhodri Molwynog.

See also
  • House of Gwynedd topics
  • Medieval Wales topics
  • Monarchs of Gwynedd

References
  1. "MERFYN FRYCH (died 844), king of Gwynedd". biography.wales. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  2. "RHODRI MAWR ('the Great') (died 877), king of Gwynedd, Powys, and Deheubarth". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
  3. Koch, John Thomas,"Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia", ABC-CLIO, 2006, p 945.
  4. Davies, R. R., 'Native Wales, 1172–1240', The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415, History of Wales (Oxford, 2000; online edn, Oxford Academic, 3 Oct. 2011), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208785.003.0010, accessed 17 July 2023.
  5. Davies, John (2007). A History of Wales. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-0-14-192633-9. Retrieved 23 December 2019. The plot was carried out (by a Scot) in 1378, and Saint Leger on the banks of the Garonne (opposite Chateau Calon Segur - not a Welsh name, alas) became the burial place of the last of the senior male line of the house of Aberffraw. Following the extinction of that line,...
  6. Davies, R. R., 'Native Wales, 1172–1240', The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415, History of Wales (Oxford, 2000; online edn, Oxford Academic, 3 Oct. 2011), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208785.003.0010, accessed 17 July 2023.
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