Esyllt ferch Cynan Dindaethwy

This Welsh name means Esyllt daughter of Cynan Dindaethwy.
Esyllt ferch Cynan Dindaethwy
A fanciful illustration of Esyllt from the Historie of Cambria (1584)[1]
SpouseGwriad ap Elidyr
IssueMerfyn Frych ap Gwriad
DynastyFirst Dynasty of Gwynedd
FatherCynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri

Esyllt ferch Cynan Dindaethwy was an eighth century princess of the Kingdom of Gwynedd in North Wales. She was the daughter of King Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri of Gwynedd.[2]

Marriage and dynastic descents

Esyllt ferch Cynan was an eighth century princess of the Kingdom of Gwynedd in North Wales. At some point, she was married to Gwriad ap Elidyr, also known as Gwriad Manaw.[3] It is possible this was a later invention to legitimise the claims to Gwynedd by the descendants of Merfyn Frych King of Gwynedd from c. 825 to 844.[4]

According to some source Merfyn was Esyllt's son, in others he was her husband, which then made Esyllt the mother of Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great)[5] although Nest ferch Cadell, daughter of Cadell ap Brochfael of the Kingdom of Powys is considered a more likely candidate for this role.[6]

Whichever the case, Esyllt was a key matriarchal figure for the royal houses of Gwynedd and Deheubarth in Wales in the Early Middle Ages, giving a matrilineal link of descent to the line of King Cunedda.[2]

After the death of Esyllt's father Cynan in 816, the throne was secured by her uncle Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog.[7][8] On Hywel's death, the throne was claimed by Merfyn Frych with his descent via Esyllt playing a part in his claim to the throne.[4]

Records of Esyllt descent and descendants are found in the late fourteenth century Genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 compiled from earlier but unidentified Welsh sources.[9]

Sources

  • Powell, David (1584). The historie of Cambria, now called Wales: a part of the most famous Yland of Brytaine, written in the Brytish language aboue two hundreth yeares past. Translated by Llwyd, Humphrey. London: Rafe Newberrie and Henrie Denham. IA historieofcambri00cara.

References

  1. ^ Powell 1584, pp. 24, 84.
  2. ^ a b Maund, K. L. (1996). Gruffudd Ap Cynan: A Collaborative Biography. Boydell & Brewer. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-85115-389-6.
  3. ^ Brady, Lindy (4 August 2022). The Origin Legends of Early Medieval Britain and Ireland. Cambridge University Press. pp. 151–152. ISBN 978-1-009-22565-6.
  4. ^ a b Thornton, David E. (2004). "Merfyn Frych (d. 844), king of Gwynedd". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18587. Retrieved 6 April 2025. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ Thornton, David E. (2003). Kings, Chronologies, and Genealogies: Studies in the Political History of Early Medieval Ireland and Wales. Occasional Publications UPR. pp. 87–98. ISBN 978-1-900934-09-1.
  6. ^ Thornton, David E. (2004). "Rhodri Mawr (b. before 844, d. 878), king of Gwynedd". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/23456. Retrieved 6 April 2025. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  7. ^ "CYNAN DINDAETHWY (died 816), prince | Dictionary of Welsh Biography". biography.wales. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Governance of Gwynedd, 754-825". www.ancientwalesstudies.org. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  9. ^ Siddons, Michael. "Genealogies, Welsh." In Celtic Culture. A Historical Encyclopedia, ed. John T. Koch. 5 vols. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2006. pp. 800–2.
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