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The following research was done by my sister,
Sue Arnold.
[D] King Cadwaladr:Which One?
According to a pedigree done by "The College of Arms" our family is descended from a Cadwaladr, King of the Britons, who built Abergavenny and it's castle of the same name and flourished in the Eleventh Century A.D. This cannot be right because during this era, a Welsh ruler would not have been called King of Briton.
According to my sister's research, there is a Cadwaladr that was called King of The Britons, however, he lived in the seventh century A.D., And as far as the building of Abergavenny, there is no evidence, that I can find that would point to a Cadwaladr building it.
Abergavenny castle was built between 1081 and 1100 after the Norman invasion in 1066. In the Wales Castle data base it is listed as a Norman built castle. However, I have discovered a Cadwaladr that was quite renowned for the building of several castles in the middle of the eleventh century, but it is the wrong time period if he is the alledged father of Ynir or Ynyr, King of Gwent.
According to the pedigree done by "The College of Arms" Cadwaladr had a son, Ynyr who had Ynyr II who was King of Gwent who ruled about 1055. Now maybe I am missing some important link, but I cannot find any evidence of a Cadwaladr that ruled during this era or had a son called Ynyr. What I have found on Yynr, King of Gwent does not reveal who his father was, which is odd, given the time period, because most sons were recognized by who their father was ie; Cadwaladr ap Gruffyed. In lieu of trying at this time to figure out which Cadwaladr belongs in our direct line I will give a brief history of three of them that I have found information about that could possibly be the one. I guess it doesn't matter too much as they are all related somehow anyway, as we all are.
Cadwaladr Number One
He was called St. Cadwaladr Fendigion (the Blessed). He lived in the seventh century A.D. and considered the last Monarch to have any semblance of authority over the other Celtic Kings. He was the son of Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd. He has definitly been called "King of the Britons." He was born sometime prior to 642 because he was already an adult at that time. He appears to have helped Penda of Mercia fight against the Northumbrians during this time. His men may have been present at King Oswald's final defeat at Maes Cogwy in 642, but this is uncertain. History says he was ill for much of his reign and a Civil War broke out at this time along with widespread famine and a plague that swept through the country. There is some historians that think he may have died of the plague in 664, while another theory has him fleeing to Brittany and staying with King Alain Hir (the Tall) until things got better. He sent his son, Ifwr, or could be Idwal, back to Britain to secure the Royal throne. He then went on a pilgrimmage to Rome, where he died in 688, his body brought back to Wales and buried in his church of Llangadwaladr on Ynys Mon (Anglesey).
It is said that the death of Cadwaladr marked the end of hope for the Britons to regain their ancient Kingdoms on the mainland. According to the historian Bede, Cadwaladr wanted to exterminate the entire English race. More so, it is said that the real end of the hope for the Britons to regain their Kingdoms, ended when his father, Cadwallon died, and that it was all over for Cadwaladr before he even started his reign.Cadwaladr Number Two
Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd lived in Wales in the twelvth century A.D. and died in 1172 in battle. He was the brother of Owain the Great. Although there is much more history on Owain because of his fight for Wales, Cadwaladr enjoyed some fame of his own in history as the person responsible for building several castles. He was not called the "King of the Britons" as this was not used in the era that he lived. The reason I researched his story was because of the pedigree from the "College of Arms" that stated " he built Abergavenny and its castles". I thought that maybe they simply got the name of the castle wrong as he lived at Aberystwyth castle, and was probably the builder of it, along with several others. Most of the information that I have on him comes from the Castles of Wale database. Following is a list of castles he either built or had something to do with;
1. 1136: Abersystwyth castle in Ceredigion county
built or noted, probably by Cadwaladr
2. 1143: Cadwaladr's castle of Abersystwyth burnt
3. 1147: Cynfael (Chynuael) castle in Gwynedd
built earlier by Cadwaladr
4. 1149: Caer Penrhos, Ceredigion county, a ringwork castle, built
within an earlier Iron Age hillfort, built either by
Cadwaladr or Llanrhystud
5. 1149: Llanrhystud of Ceredigion was built by Cadwaladr
6. 1150: Castle of Cadfan ap Cadwaladr seized by Hywel ab Owain
7. 1158: Cadwaladr f Gruffydd & Hywel & Conan f Owain built castle
at Denweilier
8. 1167: Tafolwern taken from Owain Cyfeiliog by Owain, Cadwaladr
and Rhys then given to RhysThat is all the information that I have of Cadwaladr and his castles. Nothing that I have read or gotten from the web gives me a clue to who his children were.
Cadwaladr Number Three
I have hardly any information at all on him. Just that he was killed on Christmas Day in 1175 when William de Braose murdered his father Seisyllt ap Dyfnwal, Lord of Castell Arnalt, a Welsh stronghold a few miles from Abergavenny. All of the information that I have gotten on him and his father was also found in Wales Castle database. No evidence that he was "King of the Britons" or built any castles, much less Abergavenny. He also lived in the wrong period of time to have been the father of Ynyr. But there was something that caught my eye and that is the fact that he lived in the area of Abergavenny and was killed there.
The story goes, that William de Braose, had inherited Abergavenny castle through his mother, Bertha, the daughter of Milo FitzWalter. William wanted to avenge the death of his Uncle Henry, the third son of Milo, who was killed by Seistyll ap Dyfnwal earlier in 1175. On some unknown pretext, William de Braose summoned Seistyll, his son Geoffrey and a number of other Welshmen from Gwent to Abergavenny Castle, and there they were all murdered. At the same time de Braose's men ravaged Seisyll's lands, killed his son, Cadwaladr and captured his wife. I don't know if they are talking about Seisyll's wife here or Cadwaladr's.
That is it! After doing all this searching and re-searching, this is what I have. I do have an opinion though. Here it is, right or wrong.
I believe that, if indeed, we are descendents of Cadwaladr, then it would have to be the first one, St. Cadwaladr Fendigaid, King of Gwynedd. I simply think that a few generations were excluded in the pedigree chart done by the "College of Arms". During my search for the truth, I have found that on many documents the the line of descent is measured by the rulers rather than the bloodline. Another reason is because he was the only one that was actually called, King of the Britons. Also, I have found evidence of a Ynyr, King of Gwent that lived in that time that was an ancestor of the Ynyr of 1055 that I mentioned earlier. However, if anybody out there reads this and knows something that I don't, then please email Sue Arnold immediately.
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