Gruffudd ap Cynan

Gruffudd ap Cynan (–1137) was King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule.

As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great), Gruffudd ap Cynan was a senior member of the princely House of Aberffraw.

Children The family line of Gruffudd shows he had many children by several different women. With wife Angharad (daughter of Owain ab Edwin) he had: Owain Gwynedd (Owain ap Gruffudd), married (1) Gwladus (Gladys) ferch Llywarch, daughter of Llywarch ap Trahaearn (2) Cristin ferch Goronwy, daughter of Goronwy ab Owain; Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd, married Alice de Clare, daughter of Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare; Mareda/Marared ferch Gruffudd; Susanna ferch Gruffudd, married Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys; Ranulht/Rannillt ferch Gruffudd, married Madog ap Idnerth, King of Cynllibiwg; Agnes/Annest ferch Gruffudd; Gwenllian ferch Gruffudd, married Gruffydd ap Rhys, prince of Deheubarth.

The FitzRery family of Swords, County Dublin, who were prominent in Dublin politics and commercial life until the seventeenth century, claimed descent from Gruffudd: since he was born in Swords, and maintained close links with Ireland, the claim is not implausible.

Ancestry