Angharad ferch Owain

Angharad ferch Owain (1065–1162) was the wife of Gruffudd ap Cynan, a king of Gwynedd.

Biography

Angharad was born in the region of Tegeingl in Flintshire county, Wales.[1] Her father was Owain ab Edwin (1044–1105). Her mother was Morwyl verch Ednywain (1048–1065), wife of Edwin.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] She was faithful to her queenly duties.[9][10] Angharad married Gruffudd ap Cynan in 1082 in the Kingdom of Gwynedd when she was seventeen.[11][12][13]She was queen of Gwynedd for forty years with her husband and queen mother for twenty-five years into the time period when her son Owain ap Gruffyd was king of Gwynedd in north Wales.[9]

Personality

Angharad was a tall blonde and labeled "Golden Haired".[14][15] She was considered attractive and eloquent.[16] Angharad had large eyes, strong limbs, long fingers with well groomed nails, a nice figure and fine feet.[16] She had a queenly personality, was good-natured, and was known as being kindhearted and sympathetic towards the poor.[10]

Siblings

Her siblings were Meilyr ab Owain, Rhiryd ab Owain, Gronw ab Owain and Einion ab Owain.[upper-alpha 1][upper-alpha 2][upper-alpha 3]

Children

Angharad and Gruffudd had the following children at Aberffraw Castle, Aberffraw, on Anglesey (now within Isle of Anglesey County), in the Kingdom of Gwynedd in north-west Wales; Rhanullt verch Gruffydd (b. 1083), Owain Gwynedd (b. 1087), Gwenllian verch Gruffydd (b. 1085), Elen verch Gruffydd (b. 1089), Merinedd verch Gruffydd (b. 1091), Susanna verch Gruffydd (b. 1095), Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd (b. 1096), Cadwallon ap Gruffydd (b. 1097), Yslani verch Gruffudd (b. 1104), Membyr "Ddu" ap Gruffydd (b. 1114), Rhael verch Gruffydd (b. 1116), Annes verch Gruffydd (b. 1118), Margred verch Gruffydd (b. 1120), and Tudwal ap Gruffydd (b. 1122).[13][16][20][21]

Later life and death

Angharad was 72 years old in 1137 when her hushand died. He left her half of his assets as was customary by Welsh law of the time.[10] In addition she received two shares of land (rhandir).[9] She also received in her inheritance the profits of the ferry service of the time at the port of Abermenai.[9][10] This ferry is documented in the twelfth-century Welsh reference work Life of Guffudd ap Cynan and believed to be the earliest such service at this strait.[22][23]

Angharad died in 1162 at the age of 97.[24][25]

References

Notes

  1. "In 1124 Cadwallon, who was clearly as unscrupulous as he was energetic, slew the three rulers of the cantref, Gronw, Rhiryd, and Meilyr ab Owain, notwithstanding that they were his mother's brothers."[17]
  2. "CADWALLON, one of the sons of Gruffydd ab Cynan, prince of North Wales, whose name is recorded in the military history of that age, as being the leader of his father's armies. In 1125, he slew his three uncles, Gronw, Rhiryd, and Meilyr, sons of Owain ab Edwin; but about the year 1130, he was himself put to death in Nanheudwy by another uncle, Einion ab Owain ab Edwin." [18]
  3. "And in the year 1132 died Robert Curthose the Kings brother in the castell of Caerdyffe. And the year following Cadwallon, son to Gruffudd ap Cynan was slain at Namheudwy by Einion, son to Owain ab Edwin, his uncle (whose three brothers he had slain)."[19]

Citations

  1. "ANGHARAD Verch Owain". Webtrees. Greg. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  2. Ancestry.com Library Edition-Tigner & Gibson
  3. Ancestry.com Library Edition-The Caniglia Family Tree 2013 REV 9 Owner: Dellwyn Eugene Caniglia
  4. Ancestry.com Library Edition – Boyd Family Tree Owner: GPAHL01
  5. Ancestry.com Library Edition – Fuhrmann Familienstammbaum
  6. Cruikshank 2011, p. 916.
  7. "Person:Angharad Owain". We Relate. Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN 46802. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  8. "Angharad Verch OWAIN, female, Abt 1065–1162". The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding. Darrin Lythgoe. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Angharad ferch Owain – (c1080 – 1162)". Women in History – A. A Bit of History. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Angharad". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3BU. 2009. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  11. "Angharad "Golden Haired" Ferch Owain Edwin". Julen Family Tree. Ancestry.com. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
  12. "Angharad Verch Owain (b. Abt. 1065, d. 1162)". Ancestry.com. Gordon Lee (Wilcoxson) Beck. 2009. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  13. 1 2 "Angharad verch Owain of Tegaingl". www.mathematical.com. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  14. "Angharad ferch Owain". Family Search. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2011. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
  15. Ancestry.com Library Edition – Angharad Queen of Gwyneed, "Golden Haired", Verch Owain ap Edwin
  16. 1 2 3 Jones 2012, p. 141.
  17. Lloyd 2004, p. 78.
  18. Williams 1852, p. 60.
  19. Llwyd 2002, p. 149.
  20. "Angharad Verch OWAIN". Ancestry.com. Charlotte Jack. 2005. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  21. "Angharad Verch OWAIN: 1065–1162". Our Family History. Darrin Lythgoe. 2006. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  22. "Abermenai Point". GeoTopoi. WordPress. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  23. "The Menai Straits, 2000 years of history". Abermenai. Gwynedd Archaeological Trust. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  24. "Angharad verch Owain". The Skaggs-Files. Ron Paul. 2008. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
  25. "Angharad verch Owain, Female, #39484 (1065–1162)". Ancestry of Robert Roy and Related Families. Robert Roy. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-23.

Sources

External links

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