Unusual for a Welsh king or prince, a near-contemporary biography of Gruffudd,
The History of Gruffudd ap Cynan, has survived. Much of our knowledge of Gruffudd comes from this source. The traditional view among scholars was that it was written during the third quarter of the 12th century during the reign of Gruffudd's son, Owain Gwynedd, but it has recently been suggested that it may date from the early reign of Llywelyn the Great, around 1200. The author is not known. Most of the existing manuscripts of the history are in
Welsh but these are clearly translations of a
Latin original. It is usually considered that the original Latin version has been lost and that existing Latin versions are re-translations from the Welsh. However, Russell (2006) has suggested that the Latin version in
Peniarth MS 434E incorporates the original Latin version, later amended to bring it into line with the Welsh text.
Ancestry According to the
Life of Gruffudd ap Cynan, Gruffudd was born in the
Hiberno–Norse Kingdom of Dublin and reared near
Swords, County Dublin, in Ireland. He was the son of an exiled Welsh King as per the Life,
Cynan ap Iago, who was a claimant to the kingship of Gwynedd but was probably never its king in actuality, though his father, Gruffudd's grandfather,
Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig, had ruled Gwynedd from 1023 to 1039. When Gruffudd first appeared on the scene in Wales the Welsh annals several times refer to him as "grandson of Iago" rather than the more usual "son of Cynan", indicating that his father was little known in Wales. Cynan ap Iago seems to have died while Gruffudd was still young, since the
History describes his mother telling him who his father was. According to
Historia Gruffud vab Kenan, Gruffudd's mother was
Ragnailt ingen Amlaíb, a granddaughter of King
Sigtrygg Silkbeard and a member of the Hiberno-Norse
Uí Ímair dynasty. The latter had two sons named Amlaíb: one died in 1013, whilst
another died in 1034. Either man could have been Ragnailt's father. An anecdote described here about
Ragnailt ingen Amlaíb explained a prophecy in which an unnamed monk told her that great power would come to her son. However, this has been rejected by modern scholars as an embellishment by later writers. During his many struggles to gain the kingship of Gwynedd, Gruffudd received considerable aid from Ireland, from the Hiberno-Norse at
Dublin, the
Isles and
Wexford and from
Muircheartach Ua Briain, because he was also descendant through his mother from
Brian Boru,
High King of Ireland.
First bid for the throne Gruffudd first attempted to take over the rule of Gwynedd in 1075, following the death of
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn.
Trahaearn ap Caradog had seized control of Gwynedd but had not yet firmly established himself. Gruffudd landed on
Abermenai Point,
Anglesey with an Irish force, and with the assistance of troops provided by the
Norman Robert of Rhuddlan first defeated and killed
Cynwrig ap Rhiwallon, an ally of Trahaearn who held
Llŷn, then defeated Trahaearn himself in the
Battle of Gwaed Erw in
Meirionnydd and gained control of Gwynedd. Gruffudd then led his forces eastwards to reclaim territories taken over by the Normans, and despite the assistance previously given by Robert of Rhuddlan attacked and destroyed
Rhuddlan Castle. However tension between Gruffudd's Danish-Irish bodyguard and the local Welsh led to a rebellion in Llŷn, and Trahaearn took the opportunity to counterattack, defeating Gruffudd at the
Battle of Bron yr Erw above
Clynnog Fawr the same year.
Second bid for the throne and capture by the Normans to Gruffudd ap Cynan Gruffudd fled to Ireland but, in 1081, returned and made an alliance with
Rhys ap Tewdwr, prince of
Deheubarth. Rhys had been attacked by
Caradog ap Gruffudd of
Gwent and
Morgannwg, and had been forced to flee to
St Davids Cathedral. Gruffudd this time embarked from
Waterford with a force composed of
Danes and
Irish and landed near St Davids, presumably by prior arrangement with Rhys. He was joined here by a force of his supporters from Gwynedd, and he and Rhys marched north to seek Trahaearn ap Caradog and Caradog ap Gruffudd who had themselves made an alliance and been joined by Meilyr ap Rhiwallon of
Powys. The armies of the two confederacies met at the
Battle of Mynydd Carn, with Gruffudd and Rhys victorious and Trahaearn, Caradog and Meilyr all being killed. Gruffudd was thus able to seize power in Gwynedd for the second time. He was soon faced with a new enemy, as the Normans were now encroaching on Gwynedd. Gruffudd had not been king very long when he was enticed to a meeting with
Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester and
Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury at
Rhug, near
Corwen. At the meeting, Gruffudd was seized and taken prisoner. According to his biographer, this was by the treachery of one of his own men, Meirion Goch. Gruffudd was imprisoned in Earl Hugh's castle at
Chester for many years while Earl Hugh and
Robert of Rhuddlan went on to take possession of Gwynedd, building castles at
Bangor,
Caernarfon and
Aberlleiniog.
Escape from captivity and third reign Gruffudd reappeared on the scene years later, having escaped from captivity, he was free by 1094. Gruffudd again took refuge in Ireland but returned to Gwynedd to lead the assaults on Norman castles such as
Castell Aberlleiniog. The Welsh revolt had begun in 1094 and by late 1095 had spread to many parts of
Wales. This induced
William II of England (William Rufus) to intervene, invading
North Wales in 1095. However, his army was unable to bring the Welsh to battle and returned to Chester without having achieved very much. King William mounted a second invasion in 1097, but again without much success. The
History only mentions one invasion by Rufus, which could indicate that Gruffudd did not feature in the resistance to the first invasion. At this time
Cadwgan ap Bleddyn of
Powys led the Welsh resistance. In the summer of 1098, Earl Hugh of Chester joined with Earl Hugh of Shrewsbury in another attempt to recover his losses in Gwynedd. Gruffudd and his ally
Cadwgan ap Bleddyn retreated to Anglesey, but were then forced to flee to Ireland in a
skiff when a fleet he had hired from the Danish settlement in Ireland accepted a better offer from the Normans and changed sides.
King for the fourth time and consolidation The Normans were obliged to evacuate Anglesey, and the following year, Gruffudd returned from Ireland to take possession again, having apparently come to an agreement with Earl Hugh of Chester. The situation was changed by the arrival of a
Norwegian fleet under the command of King
Magnus Barefoot (Magnus III of Norway) who attacked the Norman forces near the eastern end of the
Menai Strait. Earl Hugh of Shrewsbury was killed by an arrow said to have been shot by Magnus himself. With the death of Hugh of Chester in 1101, Gruffudd was able to consolidate his position in Gwynedd, as much by diplomacy as by force. He met King
Henry I of England who granted him the rule of Llŷn,
Eifionydd,
Ardudwy and
Arllechwedd, considerably extending his kingdom. By 1114, he had gained enough power to induce King Henry to invade Gwynedd, one detachment led by King
Alexander I of Scotland. Faced with overwhelming force, Gruffudd was obliged to pay homage to Henry and to pay a heavy fine but lost no territory. The Kingdom was expanded by his sons,
Owain Gwynedd and later
Cadwaladr, by Gruffudd's last years "
Ceredigion,
Meirionnydd,
Rhos,
Rhufoniog and
Dyffryn Clwyd were under the rule of Gwynedd". The
cantrefs of Rhos and Rhufoniog were annexed in 1118, Meirionnydd captured from
Powys in 1123, and Dyffryn Clwyd in 1124. Another invasion by King Henry I in 1121 ultimately ended in military failure. The king had to come to terms with Gruffudd and made no further attempt to invade Gwynedd during Gruffudd's reign. The death of Cadwallon in a battle against the forces of Powys near
Llangollen in 1132 checked further expansion for the time being. Gruffudd was now powerful enough to ensure that his nominee
David the Scot was consecrated as
Bishop of Bangor in 1120. The see had been effectively vacant since bishop
Hervey le Breton had been forced to flee by the Welsh almost twenty years before, since Gruffudd and King Henry could not agree on a candidate. David went on to rebuild
Bangor Cathedral with a large financial contribution from Gruffudd. Owain and Cadwaladr, in alliance with
Gruffudd ap Rhys of
Deheubarth, gained a crushing victory over the Normans
at Crug Mawr, near
Cardigan, in 1136 and took possession of
Ceredigion. The latter part of Gruffydd's reign was considered to be a "
Golden Age"; according to the
Life of Gruffudd ap Cynan Gwynedd was "bespangled with lime-washed churches like the stars in the firmament". == Death and succession ==