The Ancestry of Owain Glyndwr

THE ANCESTRY OF OWAIN GLYNDWR
By Darrell Wolcott

According to the entry in The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, Owain Glyndwr was the son of Gruffudd Fychan ap Madog ap Gruffudd Fychan ap Gruffudd Maelor II. [1] Since Gruffudd Maelor II is elsewhere [2] cited as "ap Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor I ap Madog ap Maredudd ap Bleddyn ap Cynfyn", and the obit of the second Gruffudd Maelor is noted in 1269, [3] we would assign his birth to c. 1195 as:

           1025 Bleddyn ap Cynfyn (obit 1075)
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       1065 Maredudd (obit 1132)
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      1098 Madog (obit 1160)
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          1130 Gruffudd Maelor I (obit 1191)
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      1160 Madog (obit 1236)
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           1195 Gruffudd Maelor II (obit 1269)

If Owain Glyndwr were born 4 generations later, as claimed by the DNB entry, he woiuld occur c. 1320. That is clearly a full generation too early for a man whose active floruit is known to have been c. 1385/1415.

Peter Bartrum's chart of the family [4] not only inserts another Gruffudd as the grandfather of Owain, but derives that Gruffudd from Madog Fychan ap Madog Crupl ap Gruffudd Farwn Gwyn ap Gruffudd Maelor II. This places Owain Glyndwr 6 generations after Gruffudd Maelor II or c. 1380. In order to assign Owain's birth to 1359 [5], Bartrum places two of the charted ancestors in the same generation with these estimated birthdates:

1200 Gruffudd Maelor II
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1230 Gruffudd Farwn Gwyn
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1230 Madog Crupl
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1270 Madog Fychan
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1300 Gruffudd
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1330 Gruffudd Fychan
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1359 Owain Glyndwr

A correct ancestry for Owain Glyndwr would place him in the 5th generation after Gruffudd Maelor II, and this is exactly where R.R.Davies places him in his 1997 work "The Revolt of Owain Glen Dwr" [6]:

Gruffudd Maelor II
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Gruffudd Fychan
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Madog
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Gruffudd
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Gruffudd Fychan
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Owain Glwn Dwr

The first "Gruffudd Fychan" in this chart is the man Bartrum calls "Gruffudd Farwn Gwyn", son of Gruffudd Maelor II. And his son is the "Madog" others call "Madog Crupl"

It was not Bartrum's sources which erred, but his linking of two different citations. One group of citations [7] yield "Owain Glyndwr ap Gruffudd Fychan ap Gruffudd", while another group [8] mention a "Gruffudd Fychan ap Gruffudd ap Madog Fychan ap Madog Crupl". But these two groups of citations actually refer to two different men named Gruffudd Fychan ap Gruffudd; one is the father of Owain Glyndwr and the other is a 2nd cousin of Owain:

1195 Gruffudd Maelor II

1225 Gruffudd (Fychan or Farwn Gwyn)

1260 Madog Crupl

_________________l____________

l l

1290 Madog Fychan 1295 Gruffudd

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1320 Gruffudd 1325 Gruffudd Fychan

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1350 Gruffudd Fychan 1359 Owain Glyndwr

To test our construction and dating, we must examine the spouses and other children assigned to the men in our chart, Since the divergence begins after the c. 1260 Madog Crupl, we shall begin with him. His wife is cited [9] as Marged ferch Rhys Ieuanc ap Rhys Mechyll ap Rhys Gryg ap Lord Rhys;

1123 Lord Rhys

1165 Rhys Gryg

1200 Rhys Mechyll

1230 Rhys Ieuanc

1270 Marged======Madog Crupl 1260

Even if we date Marged c. 1260 (by narrowing the generational gaps after Rhys Gryg to an average 32 years), she still fits well as the wife of a man born c. 1260.

The wife cited for Madog Fychan ap Madog Crupl [10] is Gwenllian ferch Ithel Fychan ap Ithel Gam, descended from Maredudd ap Uchdryd of Cyfeiliog. We chart that family as:

1020 Edwin of Tegeingl

1055 Uchdryd

1085 Uchdryd Cyfeiliog [11]

1120 Maredudd

1155 Ithel Gam Hen

1190 Ithel Llwyd

1220 Ithel Gam

1260 Ithel Fychan

1290 Gwenllian====Madog Fychan 1290

While she was probably not the first wife of Madog Fychan, nor the mother of Gruffudd, this Gwenllian is of the right generation to have married Madog Fychan ap Madog Crupl.

The c. 1295 Gruffudd whom we chart as the grandfather of Owain Glyndwr is the man sometimes called Gruffudd o'r Rhuddallt. We would make him a younger brother of Madog Fychan (Bartrum incorrectly charts him as the son of Madog Fychan, confusing him with the c. 1320 Gruffudd who is sometimes called Gruffudd Llwyd. [12] Gruffudd of Rhuddallt is cited as marrying Elisabeth, daughter of John LeStrange of Knockin. Bartrum assigns that lady a birthdate of c. 1300; we suggest her father was John LeStrange IV born 1282 and estimate her birthdate as 1310. Whether born nearer 1300, or as late as 1310, Elisabeth LeStrange fits chronologically as the wife of the c. 1295 Gruffudd and not the c. 1320 Gruffuydd.

In fact, Bartrum can be seen to be glossing over his chart error when he cites sources for Elisabeth's marriage. He claims she married "Gruffudd o'r Rhuddallt ap Madog Fychan" and lists 7 sources for that claim, but marks 6 of those "corrupt" because they do not support his claim. [13] We have not seen the original manuscripts to which he refers, but suggest they likely identify her husband simply as "Gruffudd ap Madog ap Gruffudd ap Gruffudd Maelor II".

To continue his lapse from reality, Bartrum charts a second wife for his Gruffudd ap Madog Fychan, a lady he says was born c. 1370. (He correctly dates Gruffudd to c. 1300. This lady, Lleuci ferch Deio ap Madog Llwyd ap Gruffudd ap Iorwerth Foel (descended from Tudor Trevor), is cited [14] as marrying a "Gruffuddd ap Madog Fychan" and may be the primary reason Bartrum thought the grandfather of Owain Glyndwr was named Madog Fychan. But we would chart this marriage as:

1260 Madog Crupl Iorwerth Foel 1270

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1295 Gruffudd Gruffudd 1300

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1325 Gruffudd Fychan Madog Llwyd 1330

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1355 Madog Fychan Deio 1360

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1385 Gruffudd============Lleuci 1395

With this chart, we suggest the 1355 Madog Fychan is the older brother of Owain Glyndwr whom most sources call Madog, and further say may have "died young" because they find no later trace of him. [15] He may have been named Madog and called "Fychan" by this source for no reason other than his father was called Fychan.

Turning now to Gruffudd Fychan, Bartrum charts a single man of this name as father to Owain Glyndwr. But he has assigned two consorts to his single Gruffudd Fychan: Elen ferch Thomas ap Llewelyn descended from Lord Rhys [16], and Alis ferch Ieuan ap Madog descended from Owain Brogyntyn [17]. According to Bartrum, Elen was his wife while Alis was a mistress. The ladies, however, were a full generation apart in age:

1123 Lord Rhys

1157 Gruffudd 1140 Owain Brogyntyn

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1185 Owain 1170 Bleddyn

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1215 Maredudd 1205 Owain

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1243 Owain 1240 Madog

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1270 Llewelyn 1270 Gruffudd

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1299 Thomas 1300 Madog

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1340 Elen 1335 Ieuan
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1365 Alis

We suggest that Elen was the mother of Owain Glyndwr and married to the c. 1325 Gruffudd Fychan, while Alis was the mother of a daughter, Lleuci, by the Gruffudd Fychan of c. 1350. That Lleuci, born c. 1380, married Y Badi ap Madog ap Iorwerth, a man born c. 1370 and descended from Meilyr ap Elidyr ap Rhys Sais II. [18]

In addition to Lleuci, we believe the Gruffudd Fychan of c. 1350 had another daughter named Isabel. Bartrum charts her as a sister of Owain Glyndwr and shows her husband as Adda ap Iorwerth Ddu ap Ednyfed Gam descended from Tudor Trefor. [19] That family had two cousin lines with a series of same-named men:

1025 Rhys Sais ap Ednyfed

1055 Tudor

1085 Bleddyn

_________________l__________

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1120 Tudor 1123 Owain

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1150 Bleddyn 1153 Iorwerth Hen (a)

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1180 Owain 1190 Iorwerth Fychan (b)

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1210 Iorwerth 1225 Iorwerth Foel

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1240 Iorwerth Fychan (c) 1260 Ednyfed Gam (d)

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1270 Iorwerth Foel (e) 1295 Iorwerth Ddu (f)

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1305 Ednyfed (g) 1330 Adda (h)

1340 Iorwerth Ddu (j)

1370 Adda (k)

(a) Served as seneschal to Powys king Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor ap Madog ap Maredudd whose reign was c. 1191/1236 [20]

(b) Served as seneschal to Powys king Gruffudd Maelor II whose reign was c. 1236/1269 [21]

(d) Had daughter Marged born c. 1295 who married Gwilym ap Madog Llwyd ap Llewelyn ap Meilyr Gryg II, he born c. 1285 [23]

(e) Married Gwladys ferch Iorwerth ap Griffri ap Heilyn ap Cynferth ap Iddon ap Trahaearn ap Iorwerth ap Mael I, she born c. 1270 [24]

(f) Had daughter Morfydd born c. 1325 who married Dafydd ap Llywarch ap Bleddyn ap Gwilym ap Meurig ap Edryd ap Iorwerth ap Iddon ap Ithel ap Edryd ap Inethan descended from Marchudd ap Cynan, that Dafydd born c. 1310 [25]

(g) Married Gwladys ferch Llewelyn ap Madog ap Einion ap Rhiryd ap Madog ap Iorwerth ap Madog ap Owain ap Edwin of Tegeingl, she born c. 1305 [26]

(h) This Adda was a full generation too old to have married a sister of Owain Glyndwr. He had son Ieuan, born c. 1360, who married Angharad ferch Ednyfed ap Tudor ap Gronwy ap Tudor ap Gronwy ap Ednyfed Fychan, she born c. 1375 [27]

(j) Married Angharad ferch Adda Goch ap Ieuaf ap Adda ap Awrr, she born c. 1355 [28]

(k) Married Isabel ferch Gruffudd Fychan ap Gruffudd ap Madog Fychan (not the Gruffudd Fychan who was the father of Owain Glyndwr), she born c. 1380. [29]

Although the medieval pedigrees repeat all the nicknames for both lines of the family, we suggest only one of the men called Iorwerth was known as "Hen" and only one of the men named Ednyfed was known as "Gam". It is also possible a single Iorwerth was actually called "Ddu" and only one of them was actually called "Foel". Like Bartrum, most of the 16th century genealogists did not examine the family timeline and thought the two family cadets were a single branch and thus added the nicknames to both groups of same-named men.

When we correctly assign Lleuci ferch Gruffudd Fychan and Isabel ferch Gruffudd Fychan to the man born c. 1350, not to the father of Owain Glyndwr born c. 1325, we find only 2 sisters and two brothers for Owain:

a. Lowri, born c. 1360, who married Robert Puleston, son of Richard. [30]

b. Morfydd, born c. 1355, who married Dafydd ap Ednyfed Gam ap Iorwerth Foel (the Ednyfed born c. 1305), that Dafydd born c. 1340 [31]

c. Tudor, born c. 1365, who was slain in 1405 at the Battle of Pwll Melyn during the Glyndwr revolt.

d. Madog, born c. 1355, the man mentioned earlier herein who is cited as Madog Fychan. Since he is nowhere found during the Glyndwr revolt, he may have died prior to 1399 leaving a young son named Gruffudd.

Those modern sources which claim Owain Glyndwr had a brother named Gruffudd find no confirmation in the early pedigree manuscripts.

NOTES:
[1] The 1959 edition, pages 691/692 contributed by Prof. Thomas Jones Pierce

[2] Pen. 131,179; Pen. 129, 57 & 59; Pen. 127, 24 & 156 cite Gruffudd Maelor II ap Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor, while ABT 12 extends the first Gruffudd Maelor back to Bleddyn

[3] ByT cites his obit in 1269

[4] Welsh Genealogies AD300-1400 on charts labeled "Bleddyn ap Cynfyn" pp 4/5

[5] While Bartrum's chart assigns Owain Glyndwr to his Generation 11 (defined as c. 1370), he notes his birthdate as "b. 1359"

[6] Paperback edition published 1997, chart in p. 130. While Davies got this pedigree right, his charts on pages 209/210 of families connected by marriage who participated in Owain's revolt contain numerous errors.

[7] Pen. 128, 178a; Pen. 129, 88; Pen. 127, 114 & 212

[8] Pen. 127, 29; Pen. 129, 59 & 68

[9] Pen. 131, 186; Pen 129, 20 & 100; Pen. 128, 631a; Pen. 127, 24

[10] Pen. 129, 66 & 100; Pen. 134, 48

[11] See the paper "Maredudd and Philip ap Uchdryd" at the link below:

http://www.ancientwalesstudies.org/id88.html

[12] Pen. 131, 126 and 138 cite the son of Madog Fychan ap Madog Crupl as "Gruffudd Llwyd", not as "Gruffudd o'r Rhuddallt"

[13] Pen. 131, 134; Pen. 127, 38; Pen. 129, 66; Pen. 177, 48; Pen. 134, 47 and "Rhandiroedd Powys". Apparently only the later Pen. 287, 373 agreed with Bartrum's construction.

[14] Pen. 128, 178a & 939a. We would identify the Madog Fychan in these citations as a brother of Owain Glyndwr

[15] Numerous modern biographies, including Wikipedia, include a statement saying "Owain probably had an elder brother called Madog, but he may have died young". We suggest he didn't "die young", but eluded the detection of modern writers by being called "Madog Fychan" in the pedigree manuscripts

[16] The marriage is cited in Pen. 131, 126 & 138; Pen. 127, 31; and Pen. 129, 60 & 76

[17] This marriage is cited in Pen. 128, 906a

[18] Lleuci ferch Alis, and her marriage, immediately follows the mention of Alis in Pen, 128, 906b

[19] Isabel's marriage is cited in Pen. 129, 91 & 104; Pen. 127, 31 & 196: and Pen. 128, 171a

[20] Lord Mostyn "History of the Family of Mostyn of Mostyn", 1925, page 13

[21] ibid page 15

[22] Pen. 128, 133b, 172b, 173b & 937a

[23] Pen. 128, 828a

[24] Pen. 131, 124; Pen 129, 90; Pen 127; 183 & 196

[25] Pen. 138, 35; BM Add 15041, 111

[26] Pen. 131, 138; Pen 129, 90 & 126; Pen. 127, 183 & 195

[27] Pen. 129, 61, 90 & 104; Pen, 127, 31 & 124

[28] Pen. 129, 75, 85 & 125: Pen. 127, 26, 122

[29] Pen. 129, 91 & 104: Pen. 127, 31 & 196: Pen. 128, 171a

[30] Pen. 131, 126 & 138 among many others

[31] Pen. 129, 103; Pen. 127, 125 & 213; Pen. 128, 597a