CYNAN DINDAETHWY
(d.
816
),
prince
,
was, according to the oldest pedigree, the son of
Rhodri
, a grandson of
Cadwaladr
(d.
664
) (q.v.)
. Inasmuch as
Rhodri
(usually found with the epithet ‘Molwynog’) d. in
754
and
Cynan
is first mentioned in
813
, this descent is open to question. His brief appearance in history gathers round a struggle with a certain
Hywel
, whom
Dr.
David
Powel
treats as his brother, for the possession of
Anglesey
. In
814
Hywel
was the victor, but
Cynan
won back the island in
816
, only to die in that year. According to the life of
Gruffudd ap Cynan
(q.v.)
, his descendant, he was of
Castell Dindaethwy
, which has been identified with the hill-fort near
Plas Cadnant
, in the parish of
Llandysilio
(
Inv. Anglesey
, xciii). He left a daughter,
Ethyllt
(for the form see
Rhys
,
Celtic Folklore
, 480, n.), who became the mother of
Merfyn Frych
(d.
844
) (q.v.)
and thereby foundress of the royal houses of
Gwynedd
and
Deheubarth
in the
Middle Ages
.
Bibliography:
-
A History of Wales
, 231, 323.
Author:
Sir John Edward Lloyd, D.Litt., F.B.A., F.S.A. (1861-1947), Bangor
