The Lineage

How To Read This Chart

• Each line runs from father to son, from the top down.
• A dashed connector marked generations omitted means we have left people out for clarity. These are usually also the links that rest on the genealogies rather than contemporary records.
• The coloured tags show how we know each person’s place in the line, as explained on the Rhodri Mawr page.
• The chart shows only medieval rulers, and only the male lines through which kingship passed.

The Descent Chart

The Line of Anarawd: Gwynedd

Anarawd succeeded his father in Gwynedd. In 881, he and his brothers defeated a Mercian army at the Battle of the Conwy, a victory remembered in the Welsh annals as divine vengeance for Rhodri’s death.

Anarawd’s descendants ruled Gwynedd for much of the following two centuries, but their hold on the kingdom was not continuous. During the 11th century, power was intermittently transferred to rulers outside his direct male line.

Gruffudd ap Cynan, who died in 1137, re-established the dynasty after a prolonged struggle for control of Gwynedd. His paternal descent from Anarawd is recorded in medieval genealogical tradition and in the account of his ancestry preserved in his medieval Life.

His son Owain Gwynedd and Owain’s grandson Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, known as Llywelyn the Great, helped make Gwynedd the leading Welsh principality. Llywelyn the Great’s grandson, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, secured recognition as Prince of Wales from Henry III under the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267.

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was killed near Cilmeri on 11 December 1282. His brother Dafydd continued the resistance, but was captured and executed in 1283. These events marked the conquest of Gwynedd and the end of its independent native principality, rather than the family's extinction.

The Line of Cadell: Deheubarth

Cadell ruled Seisyllwg after his father, Rhodri Mawr. His son Hywel Dda (“the Good”) brought Seisyllwg and Dyfed together to form Deheubarth. In 942, Hywel also took control of Gwynedd and probably Powys, bringing most of Wales under his authority, though the south-eastern kingdoms remained independent.

Hywel’s name became closely associated with medieval Welsh law, known as Cyfraith Hywel. Later legal tradition credited him with assembling scholars and lawyers to arrange and codify the laws. The surviving law manuscripts, however, date from the late 12th century onwards, more than two centuries after his death, rather than from his own reign.

Hywel’s descendants, known as the Dinefwr dynasty, ruled Deheubarth with interruptions and periods of rival rule. In 1093, Rhys ap Tewdwr was killed while resisting the Norman advance in Brycheiniog, near Brecon. The precise circumstances of his death remain uncertain, but it opened the way to extensive Norman conquest in south-west Wales.

His grandson, Rhys ap Gruffudd, known as the Lord Rhys, revived the dynasty’s power and recovered much of Deheubarth, although some territories remained under Norman control.

At Christmas in 1176, the Lord Rhys held a gathering of poets and musicians at Cardigan Castle, with competitions and prizes for their performances. Recorded in Brut y Tywysogion, this gathering is commonly described as the first recorded eisteddfod and an important predecessor of the modern festival.

Merfyn and Powys

Another of Rhodri Mawr’s sons, Merfyn, is traditionally associated with Powys. Later accounts describe him as having received the kingdom after his father’s death, although his rule is less well documented than that simple division suggests.

The later ruling dynasty of Powys, known as the House of Mathrafal, descended from Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, who died in 1075. It should not be treated as a straightforward continuation of Merfyn’s male line. Bleddyn’s mother, Angharad ferch Maredudd ab Owain, belonged to the southern royal family descended from Cadell, providing a separate connection to Rhodri Mawr.

Gwriad ap Rhodri

Gwriad is generally identified as a son of Rhodri Mawr and is recorded as having been killed alongside him in fighting against the Saxons in 877 or 878.

The surviving accounts are not entirely consistent: some describe Gwriad as Rhodri’s brother rather than his son. His place in the family should therefore be presented with that uncertainty acknowledged.

From The Royal Lines To Our Family

Our family traces its connection to the royal lines through Cadell’s branch, associated with Deheubarth. Our researched descent also passes through Gruffydd ap Rhys and his wife, Gwenllian ferch Gruffudd, daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd. Their marriage brings together the Deheubarth and Gwynedd royal families, connecting our account with both the Cadell and Anarawd branches of the House of Rhodri.

The distinction between documented ancestry and genealogical tradition matters. The surviving evidence needs to be considered generation by generation, rather than treating every link as equally certain. Our family’s connection is presented with that distinction in mind, without claiming that the entire descent has been independently verified.

This public account focuses on ancestors who lived long ago. The detailed family tree, supporting research and more recent generations remain in the members’ archive.

Family members can explore the full tree in the members’ archive.

Sources and Evidence

The chart is a summary of selected family relationships, not a complete record of every generation. Dashed lines indicate that intervening generations have been omitted.

The evidence tags distinguish between historically documented individuals and events, relationships recorded in genealogies, and claims resting on later tradition. A tag does not mean that every detail carries the same degree of certainty.

Biographical References

The following reference works support the dates, identities and relationships shown in the chart:

• Dictionary of Welsh Biography: entries for Anarawd ap Rhodri, Idwal Foel, Gruffudd ap Cynan, Iorwerth Drwyndwn, Hywel Dda and Rhys ap Tewdwr.
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: entries for Cadell ap Rhodri, Owain ap Hywel and Anarawd ap Rhodri. The Anarawd entry also discusses his brother Merfyn.

Genealogical Connections

The condensed descent from Idwal Foel to Gruffudd ap Cynan passes through Meurig ap Idwal, Idwal ap Meurig, Iago ab Idwal and Cynan ab Iago.

The condensed descent from Owain ap Hywel to Rhys ap Tewdwr passes through Einion ab Owain, Cadell ab Einion and Tewdwr ap Cadell.

These connections are presented as genealogical descents, rather than uninterrupted sequences of rulers.

Dates and Uncertainties

Cadell ap Rhodri’s death is given as 909 or 910 in different reference accounts. Iorwerth Drwyndwn’s death is dated approximately to 1174.

Merfyn ap Rhodri’s association with Powys rests on later tradition and should not be treated as a securely established kingship. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography dates his death to 904 in its entry for Anarawd ap Rhodri.