Gruffudd ap Cynan

Gruffudd ap Cynan
Gruffudd ap Cynan escapes from Chester. Illustration by T. Prytherch, 1900
King of Gwynedd
Reign	1081–1137
Predecessor	Trahaearn ap Caradog
Successor	Owain Gwynedd
Born	c. 1055 Dublin, Ireland
Died	1137 (aged 81–82) Gwynedd, Wales
Burial	Bangor Cathedral
Spouse	Angharad ferch Owain
Issue	Cadwallon, Owain Gwynedd, Cadwaladr, Susanna, Gwenllian
House	Aberffraw
Father	Cynan ab Iago
Mother	Ragnailt ingen Amlaíb

Gruffudd ap Cynan (c. 1055 –1137), sometimes written as Gruffydd ap Cynan, was King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137.^[1] In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule.

As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr, Gruffudd ap Cynan was a senior member of the princely House of Aberffraw.^[2][3] Through his mother, Gruffudd had close family connections with the Norse settlement around Dublin and he frequently used Ireland as a refuge and as a source of troops.^[3] He three times gained the throne of Gwynedd and then lost it again, before regaining it once more in 1099 and this time keeping power until his death. Gruffudd laid the foundations which were built upon by his son Owain Gwynedd and his great-grandson Llywelyn the Great.