#10 - Iarddur ap Cynddelw

#10 - IARDDUR AP CYNDDELW

Under this heading, Bartrum presented 3 pedigrees:

(1) "Iarddur ap Kynddelw ap Trahaiarn ap Bod ap Kysgen ap Helic ap Glannoc"

(2) "Iarddur ap Kynddel ap Trahayarn ap Bod ap Kysgen ap Helic ap Glynnoc ap Gwgon gleddyfrydd ap Kariadoc freichfras ap Llyr merini ap Einion yrth ap Kunedda wledic. Yr Iarddur hwnn a briodes Elen verch Gynihwr brenin o Ewerddon, a thair merched a wnaeth i Gyniher yma ar unwaith. Un att Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Katrin oedd i henw. Y 3dd verch Gynihwr, Katrin vechan gwraic Maredudd Ddu ap Grono ap Maredudd ap Iorwerth ap Llowarch ap Bran. Ar Iarddur hwnn oedd debiti yn Ywerddon un amser Llywelyn ap Iorwerth a chwedi ef yn amser Ed. Kwngkwerwr"

(3) Gwervyl goch verch Gynan ap Owain Gwynedd, gwraic Iarddur ap Trahayarn ap Kynddelw ap Ririt ap Bod ap Kysgen, hon a wnaeth Bettws Gwerfyl goch, ai chladdv yNinmael"

In his notes on these pedigrees, Bartrum says:

"of Arllechwedd Uchaf (Pen 129 p. 31). Born c. 1180? nemus Eardur filii Kendelu is mentioned in a charter of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth to the Abbey of Aberconwy. Mad' ap Iarddur and Ior' ap Iarddur are mentioned in RC 104 and 109-110 respectively, probably living in Anglesey in 1348-49. Although our Iarddur's two sons were Madog and Iorwerth, they could not have been living at this time. Hywel ap Gruffudd ap Dafydd [ap Tudor ap Madog ap Iarddur] was living in 1352-3 in Arllechwedd Uchaf (RC 12, Dwnn ii.165-6). The traditions that Iarddur was a contemporary of Llewelyn ap Iorwerth are strongly supported by the genealogies of his descendants. That Iarddur had a brother also named Iorwerth is conformed by Pen 138 p. 77: Iarddur, Rodpert, Ieva, Iorwerth meibon Kynddelw ap Trahaiarn ap Bod ap Kysgen ap Helic ap Glanoc. This Iorwerth was ancestor of Gutun Owain."

"Iarddur is described as ancestor of one of Pymtheg Llwyth Gwynedd in the list of Ieuan Brechfa (NLW Journal XII. 232) but not in the commoner lists. He is also so described in some of the pedigrees, e.g. Pen 131 p.292, Dwnn ii. 11, 73, 75, 154, 173, 340."

"Catrin Fechan, the third daughter of Cynihwr, must have been the wife of Maredudd ap Iorwerth ap Llywarch ap Bran, not of his grandson Maredudd Ddu. But see Dwnn ii, 207, 208."

In both this 1963 work and his 1974 Welsh Genealogies AD 300-1400, Bartrum portrays a single man named Iarddur, perhaps born c. 1180 but he isn't sure (thus the ? in his notes). Both the pedigree evidence and that of the Aberconwy Abbey charter point to three different men named Iarddur, two of them having a father named Cynddelw and one being a son of Trahaearn. Let's review Bartrum's 3 pedigrees individually.

PEDIGREE #1:

This seems to be an accurate pedigree of the earliest man named Iarddur ap Cynddelw, born c. 1115. He is the only one for whom a nemus (woods) could have been named, the edge of which formed part of the border of the lands in Creuddyn described in the 1198 grant to Aberconwy Abbey. Did Bartrum really think a woods would be named after an 18 year old boy? And if a single Iarddur was "of Arllechwedd Uchaf", why would he have a woods over in Rhos east of the Conwy? Not only that river, but the entire commote of Arllechwedd Isaf, separates Creuddyn from Arllechwedd Uchaf.

PEDIGREE #2:

This pedigree, while incomplete, refers to the second man named Iarddur ap Cynddelw. Before proceeding with it, we should give a translation of the Welsh contained therein:

"This Iarddur married Elen ferch Cynihwr, king of Ireland. There were three daughters of Cynihwr. Catrin was the oldest; she married Gruffudd ap Llewelyn ap Iorwerth. The third daughter of Cynihwr was Catrin Fychan who was the wife of Maredudd Ddu ap Gronwy ap Maredudd ap Iorwerth ap Llowarch ap Bran. This Iarddur was probably in Ireland in the time of Llewelyn ap Iorwerth, according to rumors told in the time of King Edward I."

Gruffudd ap Llewelyn ap Iorwerth was born c. 1195 while Maredudd Ddu was born c. 1255. The Iarddur ap Cynddelw who was contemporary with Llewelyn ap Iorwerth was the grandson of the man in Pedigree #1 above, born c. 1185. While Irish sisters might have married two of these men (ladies born c. 1200) we suspect they were simply three ladies who had an Irish father named "Cyngar" or "Cynchwr" and not sisters at all. The wife of Gruffudd ap Llewelyn Fawr was named Senena[1], not Elen, and nothing recorded about her says she was an Irish lady. But Gruffudd ap Llewelyn ap Seisyll (c. 1011-1063) is thought to have married an Irish lady about 1040, and this might be a reference to him[2]. Maredudd Ddu ap Gronwy definately married an Irish lady and his son was called Ieuan Wyddel because his mother was Irish[3].

Iarddur ap Cynddelw lived a short distance east of Llewelyn Fawr in Arllechwedd Uchaf, between Aber and the Conwy river. By tradition, he was commissioned by that Gwynedd king to stall the approach of King John in 1211 when John "gathered a mighty host and made for Gwynedd, planning to dispossess Llywelyn and to destroy him utterly"[4]. Local lore says that Iarddur was so fearful of the size and strength of the English army that he welcomed it into his lands and did not warn Llewelyn of an impending attack. Unfortunately for him, Joan the wife of Llewelyn Fawr (and base daughter of King John) was able to intercede and save her husband, who after making new agreements with John, was left in control of Gwynedd. Iarddur had to flee to Ireland to escape Llewelyn's wrath. It was during his exile that he married the Irish lady. This Iarddur ap Cynddelw was born c. 1185 and was probably the grandson of the c. 1115 Iarddur.

It was this Iarddur ap Cynddelw who had sons named Iorwerth and Madog, men born c. 1215 and probably in Ireland. The story of Iarddur's loss of his lands has been mangled by early historians, some of whom date the event a generation later. One account[5] reads:

"Iarddur held his lands in capite from the prince, and died having issue two sons, Madog and Iorwerth. Madog being therefore required, did attend and serve the prince in person in the wars, as by the tenure of the lands he was bound to do. But Iorwerth denied his service; therefore the prince seized upon all his lands and granted the same...unto Madog ap Iarddur, the eldest brother....Madog afterwards enjoying the whole lands and armies, out of his affection toward his brother Iorwerth, gave unto his said brother part of the lands and part of the armies."

In fact, Iarddur and Madog never returned from Ireland to Gwynedd; instead they found shelter in south Wales with the family descended from Lord Rhys. Both men, as well as Tudor the son of Madog, married ladies from that Deheubarth family[6]. It was only after the Edwardian conquest that Tudor ap Madog reclaimed his ancestral lands in Arllechwedd. But Iorwerth ap Iarddur, upon reaching his adulthood, did return to Gwynedd to serve its prince and was granted at least the lands of Gorddinog in Arllechwedd Uchaf[7]. Such examples of distorted history abound in early accounts as writers gave their own "spin" to events, perhaps influenced by later men who descended from Madog.

While the pedigree is correct back to Heilig ap Glannog, the earlier generations are not. The Caradog Freich Fras in the ancestry of this family was not the one who was a son of Llyr Merini from the Arthurian era, and neither Caradog was descended from Einion Yrth The father of Glannog was Gwaithfoed ap Gwgan Gleddyfrudd ap Caradog Freich Fras. This family held all the coastal lands from the Menai strait to Tegeingl and we believe it descended from the Hywel ap Caradog[8] who contested Cynan Tyndaethwy for Anglesey in 816.

PEDIGREE #3:

Clearly a different man from the others called Iarddur, this was a son of Trahaearn ap Cynddelw ap Rhiryd ap Bod...a cousin line with common ancestors. He was born c. 1150 and it is not clear what part of the paternal lands he held. We suspect, however, that his son became Lord of Arllechwedd Uchaf after Iarddur ap Cynddelw fled to Ireland. His wife, Gwerfyl ferch Cynan ap Owain Gwynedd, was born c. 1165. The Welsh phrase in the pedigree says she "built Bettws Gwerfyl Goch and is buried in Dinmael". Then only a manor, it grew into a town of the same name in the commote of Dinmael in Edeyrnion. Clearly south of any lands held by Iarddur, this land must have come to Gwerfyl from her father.

The chart of the early generations of this family looks like this:

915 Glannog

950 Heilig

985 Kysgen or Pasgen[9]

1015 Bod

_____________l______________

l l

1045 Trahaearn 1050 Rhiryd

l l

1080 Cynddelw 1085 Cynddelw

l l

1115 Iarddur (a) 1120 Trahaearn

l l

1150 Cynddelw (b) 1150 Iarddur (c)

1185 Iarddur (d)

(a) The man whose woods in Creuddyn were mentioned in a 1198 land grant

(b) He is probably the brother of Maelog Crwm of Arllechwedd Isaf[10]

(d) The man who fled to Ireland c. 1211

One must proceed with care when tracing the families which descended from each branch of this family. Both men named Iarddur (shown at the bottom of our chart) had a son named Madog. Each of those Madogs had a son named Tudor, and each Tudor had sons named Tudor Fychan, Gruffudd, Dafydd and Hywel. All the same-named men lived a full generation apart, so careful adherence to the timeline is necessary to tell them apart. Neither the medieval genealogists, nor Bartrum, made any such attempt but rolled them all into a single family.

The Iorwerth described as a brother of Iarddur was, based on the timeline of his family, born c. 1185 and this man belongs to the family on the left in our chart. The noted medieval poet and genealogist, Gutun Owain (c. 1435-1498) descended from him as follows[11]:

1150 Cynddelw

1185 Iorwerth

1215 Tegwared

1255 Dafydd

1285 Gruffudd Goch

1315 Hwfa Llwyd

1345 Iorwerth

1375 Owain

1405 Huw

1435 Gruffudd a.k.a. Gutun Owain