#18 - MAREDUDD BENWYN
Bartrum presents two entirely different
pedigrees for this man:
(1) Maredudd Benwyn ap Gruffudd
ap Gronwy ap Gwyn Gwaednerth ap Kuan ap Cadian ap Cadfael Llwydcoed ap Bod Hen ap Brochwel ysgithrog
(2) Maredudd Benwyn ap Gruffudd
ap Ifor ap Iddig ap Gwynwas ap Brochwel ap Aeddan ap Cyngen ap Elisse
His comments on the pedigrees
reads:
"Maredudd Benwyn and his brother
Llywelyn Benwyn, born c. 1270, were ancestors of families in Arwystli.
"Bod Hen. From the pedigrees,
his birth would be about 1030. The alternative name, Mathew Hen, given by Dwnn does not appear in earlier authorities"
COMMENTS:
The first pedigree is
for the brothers Maredudd and Llewelyn, both dubbed "gray-headed", who descended from Bod Hen ap Brochwel but not the
6th century Brochwel Ysgithrog. "Bod" was a common pet form of Matthew which Dwnn realized and which Bartrum should
have admitted. These brothers were born c. 1260 and their ancestor was Brochwel III ap Aeddan III ap Selyf II ap Brochwel
II ap Aeddan II ap Selyf ap Brochwel ap Aeddan ap Cyngen ap Brochwel ap Eliseg ap Gwylog...being the Eliseg of c. 685 commemorated
by his 9th century great-grandson, Cyngen ap Cadell, with the Pillar of Eliseg. We would date the birth of Bod Hen c.
1040.
The second pedigree is for a
wholly different man called Maredudd Benwyn, born c. 1265. The Brochwel in his ancestry was Brochwel IV ap Aeddan IV
ap Selyf III ap Brochwel III, continuing as given above. The two men were related as follows:
685 Eliseg
l
715 Brochwel
l
750 Cyngen*
l
785 Aeddan
l
820 Brochwel
l
850 Selyf[1]
l
880 Aeddan II
l
910 Brochwel II
l
945 Selyf II
l
975 Aeddan III
l
1005 Brochwel III
________________l_______________
l
l
1040 Bod Hen
1045 Selyf III
l
l
1070 Cadfael
1075 Aeddan IV
l
l
1100 Cadian
1110 Brochwel IV
l
l
1135 Cuan
1140 Gwenwas
l
l
1165 Gwen Gwaednerth
1170 Iddig
l
l
1195 Gronwy
1200 Ifor
l
l
1230 Gruffudd
1235 Gruffudd
l
l
1260 Maredudd Benwyn**
1265 Maredudd Benwyn[2]
*Brother of Cadell ap
Brochwel, whose son Cyngen erected the Pillar of Eliseg c. 820
**He had a brother, possibly
his twin, called Llewelyn Benwyn
NOTES:
[1] This Selyf began an oft-repeated string of names when he named one
son Aeddan and another Beli. Each succeeding Selyf also named sons Aeddan and Beli, and both those sons continued the
string of male names begun by his same-named ancestor. However, Selyf IV ap Brochwel IV ended part of the tradition
by not naming a son Aeddan. He did, however, name one son Beli. Beginning with the earliest Beli ap Selyf, each
family headed by a Beli produced descendants called Pasgen ap Gwyn ap Gruffudd ap Beli ap Selyf...finally ending in the 13th
century after 4 repetitions
[2] No family is known to have descended from this man