THE FIRST MEILYR GRYG OF GREGYNOG
By Darrell Wolcott
In constructing his family charts
for Meilyr Gryg[1], Peter Bartrum assumed there was just one such man who was born c. 1170. In doing so, he omitted
from his work and indexes many marriage matches which were wholly inconsistent with that dating. Yet there is a whole
body of pedigree material (of the same era and written by the same sources as that data he did accept) which point to a Meilyr
Gryg born about 1025. In fact, that earlier date is consistent with the pedigrees[2] cited for the man of that name:
655 Gwylog
l
685 Eliseg
l
715 Brochwel*
_______________l_________
l
l
745 Cadell ob 808
Cyngen 750
l
l
775 Cyngen ob 856
Aeddan I** 785
l
Brochwel I 820
________________________l_____
l
l
855
Gwaeddan
Selyf I 850
l
l
890 Rhodri
Aeddan II 880
l
l
920 Owain
Brochwel II 910
l
l
955 Iorwerth
Selyf II 945
l
____________l_____
l
l
l
990
Gruffudd 980 Beli II***
975 Aeddan III
l
l
l
1025 Meilyr Gryg
1015 Gruffudd II 1005 Brochwel III
l
l
1060 Llewelyn
1050 Gwyn II**** ob 1101
l
l
1095
Nest========Pasgen II[3] 1080
*Brochwel ap Eliseg ap
Gwylog is cited in Harleian Ms 3859, 27
** Aeddan ap Cyngen ap Brochwel ap Eliseg
is cited in Harleian Ms 3859, 31
*** The first sequence of Pasgen ap Gwyn ap Gruffudd
ap Beli ap Selyf descended from the Selyf of c. 850 and is the one cited in ABT 20. This is the second of four such repeated
naming sequences which occur in the Powys family
****This Gwyn ap Gruffudd is the one whose obit is recorded in
1101 and is cited in HLG 2f which omits one string of Selyf ap Brochwel ap Aeddan and also makes Cyngen the son
of Eliseg
Many genealogists, including Bartrum,
assign Nest's marriage to a Pasgen ap Gwyn of c. 1200[4] and date her to c. 1230. We have rejected that possibility
although we acknowledge there was both a Llewelyn ap Meilyr and a Pasgen ap Gwyn in the early 13th century. A later Nest would
occur c. 1250, far too young to match with the later Pasgen.
A second daughter of Llewelyn ap Meilyr
Gryg is cited[5] as having married Rhys ap Llewelyn Fychan ap Llewelyn Aurdorchog. We date Rhys to c. 1075 and his wife,
Lleuci ferch Llewelyn ap Meilyr Gryg to c. 1090. Peter Bartrum dates Llewelyn Aurdorchog a generation later than we
think is correct[5] so his Rhys is dated to c. 1100 and the marriage is omitted because it fails to match chronologically
with a granddaughter of Meilyr Gryg of c. 1170.
Another early marriage match
is cited[6] as:
1020 Cadwgan ap Elystan
l
1025 Meilyr Gryg 1050 Idnerth
l
l
1060 Llewelyn 1080 Madog
l
l
1095 Einion 1115
Adda
l
l
1130 Llewelyn=========Angharad 1145
Since two other Dwnn pedigrees
omit the ancestry of Adda ap Madog, Bartrum's charts assume the one which does has made an error, that Angharad was really
a daughter of Adda ap Madog ap Maredudd ap Maelgwn [ap Maelgwn] ap Cadwallon ap Madog ap Idnerth. After correcting for the
second Maelgwn omitted from his charts[7], he would redate Angharad five generations later....which is exactly where the later
Llewelyn ap Einion ap Meilyr falls. But our construction does not require emending her pedigree to make her fit timewise.
Other citations of early marriages
include a sister of Llewelyn ap Einion ap Llewelyn ap Meilyr:
1025 Meilyr Gryg Cynan 1014
l
l
1060 Llewelyn Maredudd
1055
l
l
l
1095 Einion Llawr Craff*
1085
l
i
1130
Elen=========Collwyn 1115
*Alao
called "Sulien", he was the son of Maredudd ap Cynan ap Idwal, brother of Gruffudd ap Cynan nephew of Iago. Llyr Craff's
mother was a daughter of Llewelyn Fychan ap Llewelyn Aurdorchog, a lady born c. 1070, This marriage is cited in Montgomeryshire
Collections, vol 10, pages 20/21
Since
this marriage points to an early-11th century Meilyr Gryg, neither it nor the lady exists in the Bartrum charts or indexes.
But an even more glaring omission is found with our final early marriage match. Cadwaladr ap Llewelyn Fychan ap Llewelyn
ap Einion ap Llewelyn ap Meilyr Gryg is cited[8] as having married Alison, daughter of Trahaearn ap Iorwerth. The latter
was a contemporary of Madog Danwr and born c. 1170 Alison would date from c. 1205. Since a Cadwaladr who occurred
5 generations after a c. 1170 Meilyr Gryg could scarcely have married Alison, not only is this marriage omitted from Bartrum's
charts, but so is Cadwaladr and his entire family which the Dwnn pedigree extends down to the 16th century.
We believe the pedigree
evidence demands a Meilyr Gryg born c. 1025, but also one born 5 generations later who began a sequence of repeated names:
1025 Meilyr Gryg ap Gruffudd
l
1060 Llewelyn
l
1095 Einion
l
1130 Llewelyn
l
1160 Llewelyn Fychan
l
1190
Meilyr*
l
1220 Llewelyn
l
1250
Einion
l
1280 Llewelyn
l
1315
Llewelyn Fychan
l
1355 Gruffudd
l
1385 Evan Blayney of Gregynog
*The second Meilyr may not
have been called "Gryg", that ephitet being supplied by genealogists who confused him with the earlier Meilyr; such confusion
is understandable since each heads a 5-name string of identical names.
Evan Blayney was contemporary
with Sir Gruffudd Fychan and still held the manor at Gregynog, lands originally ascribed to the 11th century Meilyr Gryg.
The present day Blayney family descended from this Ieuan ap Gruffudd who took the Anglecized name Evan Blayney from Ieuan
Blaen "the first or foremost".
