DATING & IDENTIFYING UNFAMILIAR WELSH FAMILIES
By Darrell Wolcott
We chose, for this genealogical
exercise, a Bartrum chart titled "Blaen Ial" [1] The chart begins with a man named Dafydd ap John ap Dafydd ap Ieuan
ap Gruffudd ap Madog Fychan ap Rhys, whom Bartrum identifies as a man of the parish of Rhiwabon in Maelor, a commote in north
Powys. What has been charted is the pedigree of both the father and mother of this Dafydd. At the top of the paternal
pedigree is an unknown "Rhys", whom Bartrum dates to his "generation 8" or about 1270, plus or minus 15 years. It extends
down to John ap Dafydd ap Ieuan (the father of Dafydd), which Dafydd is dated by Bartrum to c. 1470. At the top of the
maternal pedigree is an unknown man named Cynwrig, who Bartrum dates to c. 1200. It extends down to Angharad ferch Dafydd
ap Madog ap Ieuan ap Madog Llwyd ap Hwfa ap Dafydd ap Cynwrig, which lady Bartrum dates c. 1430. She was the wife of
John and mother of Dafydd.
Almost everything on Bartrum's chart is cited in Pen. 128, 156b. The exceptions are the two siblings which
have been added to the chart from other sources. Mali ferch Madog Llwyd, and her husband, are cited in Pen. 128, 906a,
while Gwen ferch Dafydd, and her husband, are cited in Pen. 176, 338. Both of these Peniarth manuscripts are available
online at the National Library of Wales website. They are not an easy "read" since they were hand-written in cursive
in the mid-16th century by men whose handwriting is not text-book neat. Apparently, the standard cursive shape of letters
has changed more than a bit in the 450 years which have since passed.
DATING THE FAMILIES:
As we begin our analysis, we
do not know the earlier ancestry of either family, and it is apparent that Bartrum never did learn this during his years of
work on Welsh family pedigrees. Accepting Bartrum's dating as little more than a rough guess, our first task will be to chart
all 5 spouses in the hope that we encounter some familiar families where we have already dated their members during previous
research projects.
1. Mali ferch Madog Llwyd ap Hwfa is cited as the consort (mother of his son) of Adda Llwyd ap Adda ap Madog ap Madog
ap Llewelyn ap Madog Sutton ap Elidyr ap Rhys Sais II. We immediately recognize this as a family descended from Tudor
Trefor, and specifically from Rhys Sais II. We would chart that marriage as:
1124 Rhys Sais II [2]
l
1152 Elidyr
l
1182
Madog Sutton
l
1215 Llewelyn
Cynwrig 1215
l
l
1245 Madog
Dafydd 1250
l
l
1280 Madog
Hwfa 1285
l
l
1310 Adda Madog
Llwyd 1315
l
______l_________
l
l
l
1340 Adda Llwyd======Mali 1350 Ieuan 1345
These estimated
birth dates are consistent with Bartrum's generational dating system, so we can quickly move on to the next test point.
2. Madog ap Ieuan ap Madog Llwyd (a nephew of Mali above) is cited as the husband of Angharad ferch Ieuan ap Madog Llwyd
ap Gruffudd ap Iorwerth Foel ap Iorwerth Fychan ap Iorwerth Hen ap Owain ap Bleddyn ap Tudor. We again recognize her
family, but our prior work has acquainted us with two cousin lines, in a family descended from Tudor Trefor, which duplicated
that 9-name string of men, and where each of the same-named men were born two generations apart. So this marriage match,
alone, is not going to fix a birth date for either Angharad or her husband.
1025 Rhys Sais I
l
1055 Tudor [3]
l
1085 Bleddyn
_________________l____________________
l
l
l
1123 Owain
1120 Tudor 1124 Rhys Sais II
l
l
1153 Iorwerth Hen
1150 Bleddyn
l l
1190 Iorwerth Fychan
1180 Owain
l
l
1225 Iorwerth Foel
1210 Iorwerth Hen
l
l
1265 Gruffudd
1240 Iorwerth Fychan Cynwrig 1215
l
l l
1300 Madog Llwyd
1270 Iorwerth Foel Dafydd 1250
l
l l
1330 Ieuan 1300
Gruffudd Hwfa 1285
l
l
l
Angharad??
1330 Madog Llwyd Madog Llwyd 1315
l
l
1365 Ieuan Ieuan 1345
l
l
Angharad??=====Madog 1380
NOTE: While the names in the two cousin lines remain two generations apart
as they descend downward to Angharad, the family on the right appears to consist mainly of 1st-born sons, while the men in
the first column include several later-born sons. Their age gaps widen as time goes forward, so that after 7 generations,
the same-named men are only 1 generation apart in birth dates.
Depending on which
of these families includes Angharad, she could be dated to either c. 1360-1370 or c. 1395-1405. We conclude that Madog
could have married the Angharad
in the right-hand column. We also conclude that if he DID marry the Angharad in the first-column, he could not be dated
as late as c. 1380. We move on, again cursing the Welsh naming tradition responsible for our frustration.
3. Ieuan ap Gruffudd ap Madog Fychan is cited as the husband of Lleuci ferch Ieuan ap Iorwerth Fychan ap Iorwerth ap
Awr ap Ieuaf ap Llywarch ap Ieuaf ap Nynnio ap Cynwrig ap Rhiwallon, descended from Tudor Trefor. Her family is well-known
and we have dated it as follows:
1065 Cynwrig ap Rhiwallon [4]
l
1095 Rhiwallon
l
1125 Cynwrig
l
1160 Nynnio
l
1195 Ieuaf
l
1235 Awr
l
1270 Iorwerth Rhys
1280
l
l
1305 Iorwerth Fychan Madog Fychan
1310
l
l
1335 Ieuan
Gruffudd 1340
l l
1370
Lleuci==========Ieuan 1370
These dates are consistent
with Bartrum's dating of the Ial family. We take this as confirmation of our dating tests for the maternal side
of the overall pedigree.
4. Dafydd ap Ieuan ap Gruffudd is cited as the husband of Lowri ferch Twna ap Ieuan ap Dafydd Fychan ap Iorwerth ap
Dafydd ap Cowryd ap Cadfan. While her citation in Pen. 128, 156b turns corrupt after Dafydd Fychan, Bartrum has noted
that fact and led us to the correct ancestry cited in several sources, including Pen. 131, 88; Pen. 129, 42; Pen. 128, 282a;
and Pen. 176, 118. These pedigrees, however, are 2 generations too short to connect back to Cowryd ap Cadfan, and Bartrum's
chart for that man shows 2 omitted generations. We suggest these were a consecutive pair of the names "Iorwerth ap Dafydd",
and we chart this marriage as:
1140 Cadfan [5]
l
1175 Cowryd
l
1205 Dafydd
l
1240
Iorwerth
l
1270 Dafydd
l
1305 Iorwerth
Rhys 1280
l
l
1335 Dafydd Fychan Madog Fychan 1310
l
l
1365 Ieuan
Gruffudd 1340
l
l
1395 Twna
Ieuan 1370
l
l
1420 Lowri===========Dafydd 1405
Again, these dates
are consistent with both Bartrum's dating and with our current tests, so our confidence in them is growing.
5. Gwen ferch Dafydd ap Ieuan ap Gruffudd is cited as the consort (mother of his son) of Dafydd ap Hywel Fychan ap Hywel
ap Maredudd ap Gruffudd ap Tudor ap Madog ap Einion ap Madog ap Gwallog ap Eginyr ap Lles ap Idnerth Benfras. The
citation then corruptly calls this Idnerth Benfras "ap Uchdryd ap Edwin of Tegeingl". That Uchdryd DID have a son named
Idnerth Benfras, but that man had no son named Lles. This pedigree speaks of a much earlier man, the Idnerth Benfras of
Maesbrook, whom we identify as a base son of Gwrydr Hir and half-brother of Gwaithfoed of Tegeingl. We chart this marriage
as:
960 Idnerth Benfras [6]
l
995 Lles
l
1025 Eginyr
l
1055
Urien**
l
1085 Eginyr**
l
1120 Gwallog
l
1150 Madog
l
1180
Einion
l
1215 Madog
l
1250 Tudor
l
1280 Gruffudd
l
1310 Maredudd
Gruffudd 1340
l
l
1340
Hywel
Ieuan 1370
l
l
1375 Hywel Fychan
Dafydd 1405
l
_______l_________
l l
l
1415 Dafydd=======Gwen 1430 1435 John
**These names are omitted in the citation. When
the author reached the name "Eginyr", he skipped directly to "Eginyr ap Lles", a common error found in medieval Welsh pedigrees.
Our dating of the folks
found on the "Blaen Ial" chart has been confirmed in 4 of 5 tests, and the other result was "maybe" which we will now promote
to "probably". But before leaving the subject of dating, we must take note of another pedigree on the same page
of Peniarth Ms 128 (156b) which DOES NOT appear on Bartrum's chart.
We quote:
"Dafydd Llwyd ap Ieuan Fychan
ap Ieuan ap Madog ap Ieuan. Mam Ieuan Fychan oedd Angharad vz Hwfa ap Dafydd ap Cynwrig of Stansty Ucha. Mam Angharad
oedd Erddylad vz Gruffudd Fychan ap Gruffudd ap Ieuan of Maeslewis, Overton"
Bartrum DOES include this Angharad
in his charts, but she appears only on his chart "Ednowain Bendew 8" as the wife of a man descended from Gwyn ap Ednowain
Bendew. There, she is treated as "ancestry unknown" and not referenced to a chart of her birth family. Bartrum
has decided that her father "Hwfa ap Dafydd ap Cynwrig" is not the same man shown on the "Blaen Ial" chart....even though
both sets of men are mentioned on the same page of Peniarth Ms 128.
His reason becomes clear
when we notice that a daughter of the Hwfa on the "Blaen Ial" chart would occur in Bartrum's "generation 9", while the husband
cited for her is dated by Bartrum as "generation 12".
It would require a complete
dating analysis of the family shown on the "Ednowain Bendew 8" chart to resolve the issue, a task we shall save for a later
paper to explore. [7] For now, we offer only our belief that Angharad was born c. 1315 and WAS a sister of Madog
Llwyd ap Hwfa, and belongs on the "Blaen Ial" chart with her birth family.
IDENTIFYING THE FAMILIES:
We shall begin this part
of our investigation with the paternal pedigree of the Ial family. While "Blaen Ial" was the name of a manor (residence
of only one nuclear family), "Bryneglwys" was a parish in the commote of Ial. In 1315, a survey of land ownership,
and its annual value for taxation, was taken for the "Lordship of Yale and Bromfield". [8]
A group of 67 men, 31
of which are identified by name, were found to jointly own a large swath of Ial, which is described as "the whole ville of
Llys-y-cil, the whole of Banhadlen, the whole of Bodanwydog, half of Bryn Eglwys, half of Cymau and the whole of Coedrug."
These lands extend the length of Ial (roughly 6 miles) from north to south, along its western border. It was still held
as a "gwely" under ancient Welsh laws, by a tribe of men descended from a common ancestor. We can quickly identify that
ancestor as Hwfa ap Ithel Felyn, a man born c. 1095 as the eldest son of the eldest son, and holder of the honor "Lord of
Ial" which had first been bestowed on Llewelyn Aurdorchog by King Gruffudd ap Llewelyn of Powys.
While each male
member of the "tribe" was allotted specific lands on which he could build his residence and outbuildings, plant a vegetable
garden, grow grains for milling into flour, and pasture his livestock, his only "ownership" was an undivided interest
in all the land owned by his tribe. That allocation, however, was deemed hereditary. This system allowed for a
vast amount of "common" tribal land where any member could hunt game or enjoy other outdoor activities. Hwfa ap Ithel
Felyn had not only such a personal allocation of land, but the right to spend as much of his time as he wished in the
manor reserved for the Lord of the commote. His personal manor had been in the ville of Llys-y-cil, which translates
roughly as "the court of refuge". We do not know whether or not the Lord's manor was also in that ville.
Among the men named as
co-holders of the "gwely" in 1315, was Gronwy ap Cynwrig, whose ancestry we chart as:
1005 Llewelyn Aurdorchog, Lord of Ial [9]
l
1035 Llewelyn Fychan, Lord of Ial
l
1065 Ithel Felyn, Lord of Ial
l
1095 Hwfa, Lord of Ial
_______________l_____________
l
l
1125 Ithel y wyrion, Lord of Ial
1130 Caswallon
l
1160 Iorwerth, lv 1202 [10]
l
1190 Caswallon
l
1220 Iorwerth
l
1250 Cynwrig, ob <1315 [11]
_____________l_________
l
l
1285
Gronwy, lv 1315 Rhys
1280
obit
<1315 [12]
The pedigree of
Gronwy ap Cynwrig is cited in Pen. 131, 52; Pen. 127, 136; and Pen. 129, 84, each of which omits one pair of "Iorwerth ap
Caswallon". Bartrum's chart for the family shows two omitted generations in the link from Hwfa down to Cynwrig. Our
making Rhys (from the "Blaen Ial" chart) a brother of this Gronwy is not found in any citations, but represents where
we believe he fits in the family pedigree. We considered, and rejected, various other possible ancestries for him.
We now turn to probable ancestries for the Maelor family on the "Blaen Ial" chart. We reviewed the pedigrees of families
in the general area, including those of Tudor Trefor, Edwin and Ednowain Bendew of Tegeingl and even other Ial families. We
looked for families that made similar male name choices as well as compatible birth dates. Our choice is charted below:
1020 Edwin of Tegeingl
l
1055 Uchdryd
l
1085 Uchdryd Cyfeiliog
l
1120
Maredudd
l
1150 Gronwy
l
1180
Hen Cynwrig Sais
_________________l___________
l
l
1210 Dafydd 1215
Cynwrig (Sais?)
l
1250 Dafydd
l
1285
Hwfa
The pedigree of Dafydd
ap Hen Cynwrig Sals is cited in Pen. 129, 115; Pen. 127, 130; and Pen. 128, 603a. We suggest the Cynwrig at the top
of the maternal pedigree on the chart "Blaen Ial" was another son of Hen Cynwrig Sais. We believe the reason that
antiquarians called him "Hen" was to distinguish him from a later "Dafydd ap Cynwrig" in this family line. Bartrum charts
this family on page "Edwin 10" and shows NO men at all named Cynwrig which follow Hen Cynwrig Sais. Our choice remedies
that omission by attaching a second Dafydd ap Cynwrig (whether or not also called "Sais") to the family.
NOTES:
[1] Peter C. Bartrum "Welsh Genealogies AD300-1400", vol 1
[2] The dating of this man is shown in our paper at the link below:
[3] An analysis of the dating of the same-named families
who descended from Tudor Trefor can be seen at the link below:
[4] The dating in this family can be found in the
paper at the link below:
[5] See our paper on Cowryd ap Cadfan at the link below:
[6] See our paper on Idnerth Benfras at the link below:
[7] See the subsequent paper "Gwyn ap Ednowain Bendew"
at the link below:
[8] T.P. Ellis, "The First Extent of Yale and Bromfield, AD 1315", page 79
[9] This man is #9 in our full pedigree of Cynddelw Gam. His descendants
can be traced down to Gronwy ap Cynwrig ap Iorwerth at #130, at the link below:
The pedigree has now been emended to make Rhys a brother of this Gronwy
[10] A 1202 land grant by King Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor of Powys to the monks
at Valle Crucis, was witnessed by this Iorwerth ap Caswallon, per History of Powys Fadog, vol 1, page 159/160
[11] Had he still been alive in 1315, he would have been named as a joint holder
of the gwely described, not his son.
[12] As the eldest brother, he would have been named in the 1315 Extent had
he still been alive
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