MERFYN FRYCH
(d.
844
),
king of Gwynedd
;
son of
Gwriad
, probably a
Manx chieftain
and a reputed descendant of
Llywarch Hen
, by
Ethyllt
, a
princess
of
Gwynedd
. On the death, in
825
, of
Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog
(q.v.)
, his mother's uncle, he became
king
in
Anglesey
, and later, on the death of
Hywel ap Caradog
, appears to have acquired the kingship of the adjacent mainland cantrefs. Thus were united the inheritances of the last direct descendants in
Gwynedd
of the line of
Cunedda Wledig
. He m.
Nest
, daughter of
Cadell ap Brochwel
of
Powys
.
Rhodri Mawr
(q.v.)
was their son.
Author:
Professor Thomas Jones Pierce, M.A., F.S.A., (1905-1964),
Aberystwyth
