Cynan Garwyn

Cynan Garwyn was king of Powys in the north-east and east of Wales, who flourished in the second half of the 6th century. Little reliable information exists which can be used to reconstruct the background and career of the historical figure. Available materials include early Welsh poetry, genealogies and hagiography, which are often late and of uncertain value.

Putative biography

He is thought to have been a son of his predecessor Brochwel Ysgithrog and his wife Arddun Penasgell, and the father of Selyf Sarffgadau, who may have succeeded him. Here he is presented as a warlord who led many successful campaigns throughout Wales: on the River Wye, against the men of Gwent, on Anglesey, and in Dyfed (where his opponent in Dyfed may have been Aergul Lawhir ap Tryffin), Brycheiniog and Cornwall ("Cernyw" in Welsh); although the latter is likely a mistranslation of the Cornovii, who had formed the kingdom of Pengwern to the east of Powys. Cynan is here described as a king of Rheinwg, which may be a geographical territory named after Rhain ap Cadwgan in Dyfed, in/near Brycheiniog, or on the border between modern-day Herefordshire and Brecknockshire, most likely in one or both of the former two. In the Welsh life of St Beuno, Cynan is credited for granting land at Gwyddelwern (in Edeirnion) to the saint.

Other sons beside Selyf Sarffgadau include Eiludd, who is sometimes mistaken for Selyf, and unreliable sources add Maredudd and Dinogad to the list. Some genealogies record that he married Gwenwynwyn 'of the Scots'. It is sometimes argued that he died with his son at the Battle of Chester in around 613 but any precise description would be based more on the desire to create a myth of the foundation of a dynasty or legend of Powysian glory than on available evidence.