Powys

    This page describes the lineage from Rhodri Mawr (the Great) ap Merfyn (died 878), Prince of Wales through the Kings of Powys to Llywelyn Fawr "the Great" ap Iowerth (1173 - 1240), Prince of Wales.
 

rhodrimapGeneration One
Rhodri Mawr (the Great) ap Merfyn, Prince of Wales
Died in 877 or 878, killed in battle with the English as was his son Gwriad.

Rhodri Mawr ap Merfyn became King of Gwynedd in 844 on the death of his father Merfyn Frych; King of Powys in 855 on the death of his uncle Caell ap Brochwell; and King of Seisyllwg in 871 on the death of his brother-in-law Gwgon.  Rhodri Mawr was the first ruler recognised as Prince of Wales. He defeated the Danish leader Horn in 856.
Rhodri Mawr ap Merfyn married Angharad, daughter of Meuric ap Dyfnwal ap Asthi, King of Seisyllwg, and they had the following sons:


Generation Two
Merfyn ap Rhodri Mawr, King of Powys
Died in 900
Merfyn ap Rhodri Mawr had the following children:


Generation Three
Llewelyn ap Mervyn
Llewelyn was excluded from his crown by his uncle Cadell, and his cousin, Hywel Dha.
Llewelyn ap Mervyn had a daughter:


Generation Four
Angharad Ferch Llewelyn
Angharad Ferch Llewelyn married her second cousin Owain ap Hywel Dha, King of Deheubarth.  Click on Deheubarth for the descent of Owain ap Hywel Dha.
Angharad and Owain had a son:
mareduddmapGeneration Five
Maredudd ap Owain, Prince of Deheubarth
Maredudd succeeded his father Owain ap Hywel Dha as ruler of South Wales/Deheubarth in 986.  Maredudd conquered Gwynedd and temporarily united Wales once more, but his reign was a troubled one.  From their strongholds in Dublin and the Isle of Man, the Norsemen ravaged the coast of Wales.  It was recorded in 987 that two thousand men of the island of Anglesey were seized and sold as slaves.  In 989 Maredudd was obliged to raise a penny poll-tax to bribe the Norsemen to stay away.
Died in 999.
Maredudd ap Owain had a daughter:
Generation Six
Angharad Ferch Maredudd
Angharad married first to Llywelyn ap Seisyll, Prince of Deheubarth (1018 - 1023) and they had a son:gruffyddmap


Angharad married second to Cynfyn ap Gwerystan of Powys, a lord in Powys about whom little is known. Angharad and Cynfyn had the following children:


Generation Seven
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Prince of Powys and Gwynedd 
Died in 1075, assasinated at Powys Castle

Bleddyn was Prince of Powys and Gwynedd from 1063 to 1075; he acknowledged the overlordship of King Edward the Confessor and later resisted William the Conqueror. He married  to Haer, daughter and heiress of Cilin ap y Blaidd Rhydd, Lord of Gestyn-Efionydd.  Bleddyn and Haer had a son:


Generation Eight
Maredudd ap Bleddyn, Prince of Powys
Died in 1132
Maredudd ap Bleddyn married Hunydd and they had a son:


Generation Nine
Madoc ap Maredudd, Prince of Powys,
Died on February 9, 1160 at Winchester, England

Madoc ap Maredudd was a strong and stable ruler. He married Susanna, a daughter of  Gruffydd ap Cynan, Prince of Gwynedd.
Click on Gruffydd ap Cynan for this descent.
Madoc and Susanna had a daughter:


Generation Ten
Margaret
Margaret married Iorwerth Drwyndwn ap Owain Gwynedd and they had a son:

For the continuation of this line, click on Llywelyn Fawr "the Great" ap Iowerth

Sources

Please visit the Sewell Genealogy Site Map for other pages in this series.