Generys "ap" Cadwgan Fychan

GENERYS "ap" CADWGAN FYCHAN
By Darrell Wolcott

In the course of our recent research on a different topic, [1] it became necessary to determine the ancestry of a lady named Tangwystl ferch Hywel Colunwy. She appears on the Bartrum chart "Elystan Glodrydd 23(A)" and is charted as "ferch Hywel Colunwy ap Meurig ap Maredudd ap Madog ap Meurig Twpa ap Maredudd Goch ap Generys ap Cadwgan Fychan ap Cadwgan ap Gwion ap Hoedliw Goch ap Rhys ap Hoedliw ap Cadwgan ap Elystan Glodrydd. [2]

While Bartrum did notice the female name "Generys" was cited as a male, his only explanation is that the spelling might be an error for "Severus", a suggestion made earlier by Robert Vaughan of Hergest. [3]

Other citations, which repeat the misgendering of Generys, [4] also identify the wife of her son, Maredudd Goch, as "Sioned (or Jonet) ferch Gronwy ap Einion". Bartrum identifies her father as "Gronwy ap Einion ap Seisyll". We agree, but NOT the one he charted on "Seisyll 1". On that chart, he has conflated 3 separate men in this extended family who were named Gronwy ap Einion ap Seisyll.

Based solely on the paternal ancestry of Generys and the cited marriage of her son, Maredudd Goch, we can estimate her birthdate fairly closely as c. 1245, Maredudd Goch to c. 1260 and Sioned to c. 1275. What we cannot do with these citations is identify the husband of Generys, and father of Maredudd Goch, beyond saying he was a man born c. 1230.

Without making the connection, Bartrum does point us to the identity of that man. His index tells us that "another" Sioned/Jonet ferch Gronwy ap Einion married Maredudd ap Einion ap Cynfelyn of Arwystli. [5] On those Dwnn tree charts is presented one line of the family of Maredudd (no nickname) ap Einion ap Cynfelyn. However, the spouse they assign to Maredudd is the Jonet ferch Gronwy who was actually married to Maredudd's brother, Maredudd Goch. (See APPENDIX) The editor of Dwnn's published work apparently knew something was amiss here; he added a footnote to say that on page 285, Maredudd was given a different lady as his wife: Anne ferch Einion Fychan. [6]

Had Bartrum not conflated two same-named lines in the Arwystli family, it might have occurred to him that the two index entries for "Jonet" were the same lady...that only a single husband was being named in both entries. The entry which omitted Maredudd's nickname "Goch" cited his paternal ancestry, while the other Jonet entry did call him "Goch" but cited his maternal ancestry.

A chart which shows, in a single glance, all the families involved in the identity of the husband of Generys and father of Maredudd Goch, looks like this:

CHART NOTES:

(a) We identify this man as a brother of Llywarch Hwlbrwch of Rhos

(b) He relocated to Maesmawr in Arwystli, lands inherited by his mother [7]

(d) The eldest son, he was the ancestor of the family seated at Mathafern [8]

(e) He was the ancestor of the family seated at Aberffrydlan [8]

(f) Her ancestry is given in Note 6 below

NOTES:

[1] See Tangwystl in our paper at this link:

http://www.ancientwalesstudies.org/id328.html

[2] Pen. 131, 163 cites the ancestry of Hywel Colunwy exactly how we reproduced it

[3] Pen. 287, 810

[4] Wexham Ms 196; Harl. 1973, 12

[5] Dwnn i, 310 & 320.

[6] Her further ancestry is "Annes ( 1265) ferch Einion Fychan (1235) ap Einion (1205) ap Meurig (1175) ap Ieuaf (1145) ap Gronwy (1115) ap Ifor (1085) ap Idnerth (1050) ap Cadwgan (1020) ap Elystan Glodrydd (990)

[7] His mother was Sian ferch and sole heiress of Cynwrig ap Rhiwallon ap Gwyn of Arwstli

[8] See this family in our paper at the following link:

http://www.ancientwalesstudies.org/id254.html

APPENDIX:

While we chart a c. 1265 Maredudd Goch and a c. 1260 Maredudd ap Einion as uterine brothers, there are at least two other viable positions regarding their relationship:

1. They might have been merely half-brothers, with Maredudd Goch the only child of Generys by Einion ap Cynfelyn. Maredudd (no nickname) might have been a son of an unnamed wife of Einion.

2. They might have been a single man who was merely cited sometimes with the nickname "Goch", but most often without a nickname. The Annes ferch Einion Fychan we chart as the wife of Maredudd ap Einion, had an earlier marriage to Gwyn (1250) ap Gruffudd (1215) ap Beli (1180) ap Selyf (1145) of Powys. Accordingly, she may have been a 2nd wife to the man first married to Jonet ferch Gronwy.