CYNAN ab OWAIN
(d.
1174
),
prince
,
was the son of
Owain Gwynedd
(q.v.)
by an unknown mother. In
1145
, he and his brother
Hywel
joined in an attack upon
Cardigan
; the town was sacked, but the castle was not taken. Two
years later the two brothers invaded
Meirionnydd
and drove out their uncle
Cadwaladr
; as they entered the cantref from opposite directions it would seem that
Cynan
was now established in
Ardudwy
. In
1150
it is recorded that he was imprisoned by his father. He took an active part in the resistance to
Henry
II
in
1157
, sharing with his brother
David
the ambush laid in the woods of
Hawarden
which nearly led to the collapse of the royal expedition. Less creditable was his part in the attempt of five earls in
1159
to capture
Rhys ap Gruffydd
(
1132
-
1197
) (q.v.)
. On the death of his father in
1170
he probably held
Eifionydd
,
Ardudwy
, and
Meirionnydd
, which were later ruled by his posterity. In
1188
, the elder son,
Gruffydd
, had
Meirionnydd
and (probably)
Ardudwy
, and the younger,
Maredudd
, had
Eifionydd
.
Bibliography:
-
A History of Wales
, 490, 497-8, 511, 549 n., 550-1, 564.
Author:
Sir John Edward Lloyd, D.Litt., F.B.A., F.S.A. (1861-1947), Bangor
