House of Gwynedd explained

The House of Gwynedd was the royal house of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, in medieval Wales. It is divided between the House of Cunedda and the House of Aberffraw, and lasted from c.401 to 1283.

History

The House of Gwynedd, divided between the earlier House of Cunedda, which lasted from c.401 to 825, was eventually replaced by the later House of Aberffraw, beginning in 844. The first is so named after Cunedda (386-460), the founding King of Gwynedd in late Roman Britain; following the departure of Magnus Maximus in the 380s, and the second after Aberffraw, the old capital of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.^{[1] [2]}

This House was the first not being descended from the male line of Cunedda, as king Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog was the last in the direct male line. Through inheritances from the great uncle of Merfyn the Oppressor, the line of Cunedda continued from the maternal side through the House of Aberffraw, and through the House of Dinefwr through Rhodri's son, king Cadell ap Rhodri.^{[3] [1] [4] [5] [6]}

The Senior line of the House of Aberffraw descended from Prince Llywelyn the Great in patrilineal succession and became extinct on the death of Owain Lawgoch in 1378, while the House of Dinefwr was succeeded by its cadet branch, the House of Mathrafal.^{[7] [8]}

Lineage

The House of Gwynedd claimed descent from the mythical king Beli Mawr through the line of Cunedda (b. 386), as appears in the Harleian genealogies and Jesus College MS 20 genealogies.^{[9] [10] [11]}

The House of Aberffraw began with the accession of Rhodri Mawr to the throne of Gwynedd. His father Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad had seized the throne of Gwynedd on the death of the last of the old royal line Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog. He was his maternal grandnephew via the former king's niece Esyllt verch Cynan ap Rhodri Molwynog.

Family tree of the House of Gwynedd

See also: Family tree of Welsh monarchs.

Notes and References

1. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Laws_of_Howel_the_Good/The_Houses_of_Cunedda_and_Rhodri_Mawr The Houses of Cunedda and Rhodri Mawr
2. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Laws_of_Howel_the_Good/Introduction Welsh Medieval Law: The Laws of Howell the Good
3. Web site: MERFYN FRYCH (died 844), king of Gwynedd. 2022-09-16 . biography.wales.
4. s-RHOD-MAW-0877. RHODRI MAWR ('the Great') (died 877), king of Gwynedd, Powys, and Deheubarth. 2022-10-31.
5. Koch, John Thomas,"Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia", ABC-CLIO, 2006, p 945.
6. Davies, R. R., 'Native Wales, 1172–1240', The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415, History of Wales (Oxford, 2000; online edn, Oxford Academic, 3 Oct. 2011), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208785.003.0010, accessed 17 July 2023.
7. Book: Davies . John . A History of Wales . 2007 . Penguin UK . 978-0-14-192633-9 . 23 December 2019 . en . The plot was carried out (by a Scot) in 1378, and Saint Leger on the banks of the Garonne (opposite Chateau Calon Segur - not a Welsh name, alas) became the burial place of the last of the senior male line of the house of Aberffraw. Following the extinction of that line,....
8. Davies, R. R., 'Native Wales, 1172–1240', The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415, History of Wales (Oxford, 2000; online edn, Oxford Academic, 3 Oct. 2011), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208785.003.0010, accessed 17 July 2023.
9. Web site: The Dynasty of Cunedag and the 'Harleian Genealogies'. Nicholson. E. Williams B.. 1908. XXI. Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. London. 63–67–105 (Beli "magnus").
10. Web site: The Pedigrees of the Kings of Gwynedd. Ben Guy. 2020. 24 August 2022.
11. Web site: 11 The Britons and the Northumbrians, 547-685:The Evidence, by T.M. Charles-Edwards, page 343-380, November 2012. 27 August 2022.