Elisedd ap Cyngen
Encyclopedia
Biography
He was a son of Cyngen ap CadellCyngen ap Cadell
Cyngen ap Cadell was a king of Powys in eastern Wales.-Biography:Cyngen was of the line of Brochwel Ysgithrog and after a long reign as king of Powys went on a pilgrimage to Rome and died there in 855...
the last King of Powys of the Gwerthyrnion (Vortigern
Vortigern
Vortigern , also spelled Vortiger and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Britain, a leading ruler among the Britons. His existence is considered likely, though information about him is shrouded in legend. He is said to have invited the Saxons to settle in Kent as mercenaries to aid him in...
) Dynasty who claimed descent through Brochwel Ysgithrog
Brochwel Ysgithrog
Brochwel ap Cyngen , better known as Brochwel Ysgrithrog, was a king of Powys in Eastern Wales. The unusual nickname Ysgithrog has been translated as ‘of the canine teeth’, ‘the fanged’ or ‘of the tusk’ .-Family:Brochwel was the son of King Cyngen Glodrydd and his wife St...
. Cyngen died in Rome in 855 having fled the aggression of Gwynedd. His sister Nest ferch Cadell
Nest ferch Cadell
Nest ferch Cadell was the daughter of Cadell ap Brochfael a late 8th century King of Powys, wife of Merfyn Frych King of Gwynedd and mother to Rhodri the Great, King of both Powys and Gwynedd....
then married Merfyn (Frych) Ap Gwriadone (or possibly Mefyn's father Gwriad ab Elidir, depending on which genealogy one gives authority to) and they became the parents of Rhodri Mawr, ruler of Gwynedd, who then unified Wales under his rule. Lewys Dwnn in his visitation to Wales reports "Cadell ap Brochwell had but one daughter named Nest, who carried off the Province from the males, as appeareth, etc" (vol. i, p319).
In order to explain the persistence of a male line claiming descent from the princes of Powys when the princely line ends with Cyngen, some authorities claim that he had no sons, and present the genealogy that Elisedd ap Cyngen, Aeddan ap Cyngen and Gryffydd ap Cyngen were not children of this Cyngen, but of Cyngen ap Brochfael ap Elisedd
Brochfael ap Elisedd
- References :...
ap Gwylog, great uncle to this Cyngen. This account justifies a male line descended from the princes of Powys while also simplifying the inheritance of the principality through Nest ferch Cadell
Nest ferch Cadell
Nest ferch Cadell was the daughter of Cadell ap Brochfael a late 8th century King of Powys, wife of Merfyn Frych King of Gwynedd and mother to Rhodri the Great, King of both Powys and Gwynedd....
to the Gwynedd line.
It is reported in the Annales Cambriae (The Annals of Wales) that in 814 "Gruffydd son of Cyngen is killed by treachery by his brother Elisedd after an interval of two months". It may be that Gruffydd was the eldest son, and through this murder Elisedd claimed his lands and titles - but this is only conjecture.
When the herald Lewys Dwnn visited Wales between 1586 and 1613 to gather pedigrees that would clarify the inherited status and titles of the leading families of Powys, many of them claimed princely blood by descent from children of Cyngen. His inscription on the Pillar of Eliseg
Pillar of Eliseg
The Pillar of Eliseg also known as Elise's Pillar or Croes Elisedd in Welsh, stands near Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire, Wales, at . It was erected by Cyngen ap Cadell , king of Powys in honour of his great-grandfather Elisedd ap Gwylog...
then justified a pedigree further back for any claims they made. The pedigrees recorded by Lewys Dwnn are mainly consistent and evidently were agreed by different families, so where there are errors, local tradition, and local consensus supported them. However, there are clearly too few generations between the ninth and fifteenth centuries for them to be accurate.
One title often used to describe this line is that of "Lord of Guilsfield, Broniarth and Deytheur" which was a title first used by Cyngen according to the Welsh Chronicle. This line may have inherited control of those lands from Cyngen and passed them down as the last local inheritance of the princes of Powys until they were lost after the failure of the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
. The manorial title of Broniarth is currently held by Baron Harlech while that of Guilsfield is held by the Earl of Powis
Earl of Powis
Earl of Powis is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 in favour of William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis. In 1687 he was further honoured when he was made Marquess of Powis...
.
Wills are an alternative source of such pedigrees, and one example, is documented by John Derwas in his will which was "proved" at St. Asaph
St Asaph Cathedral
St Asaph Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is sometimes claimed to be the smallest Anglican cathedral in Britain.- History :...
on 14 November 1577. According to the will John Derwas was related through the male line to Cyngen ap Cadell
Cyngen ap Cadell
Cyngen ap Cadell was a king of Powys in eastern Wales.-Biography:Cyngen was of the line of Brochwel Ysgithrog and after a long reign as king of Powys went on a pilgrimage to Rome and died there in 855...
thus:
Elisedd ap Cyngen ap Cadell
Cyngen ap Cadell
Cyngen ap Cadell was a king of Powys in eastern Wales.-Biography:Cyngen was of the line of Brochwel Ysgithrog and after a long reign as king of Powys went on a pilgrimage to Rome and died there in 855...
, born c.819
819
Year 819 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* The Abbasid capital is moved back to Baghdad .- Europe :...
Selyf ab Elisedd
Beli ap Selyf
Gruffudd ap Beli
Wenwys (or Gwenwys) ap Gruffudd
Cadwgan Wenwys ap Wenwys
Madoc ap Cadwgan Wenwys
Ieuan ap Madoc
Gruffudd ab Ieuan
Sir Gruffudd Vychan
Sir Gruffudd Vychan
Sir Gruffudd Vychan was a Welsh knight who supported the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr against the English, captured the Lollard John Oldcastle and was finally executed after the murder of Sir Christopher Talbot.-Family:...
(born c.1400 murdered 1477) Lord of Burgedin, Treflydan, Garth
Garth
A garth is an enclosed quadrangle or yard, especially one surrounded by a cloister .-Garth is a given name::*Garth Brooks, top-selling American country music artist...
and Gearfawr
Reinallt ap Gruffudd (younger son)
Gruffudd ap Reinallt (married Elen Derwas)
Owain ap Gruffudd (son)
John (ab Owain) Derwas (son, died 1577) of Penrhos
Penrhos
Penrhos may refer to:*Penrhos, Anglesey, Wales** home of Penrhos Country Park*Penrhos, Gwynedd, Wales**RAF Penrhos, Gwynedd, Wales*Penrhos, Herefordshire, England*Penrhos, Monmouthshire, Wales*Penrhos, Powys, Wales...
Owen Derwas (nephew)
David Derwas of Penrhyn Vichan and Broniarth (son)
John Derwas (son)
Later family documents continue the descent:
David Derwas (son)
David Derwas (son)
David Derwas (son, died in Wales c.1738)
Documents show that the line follows through a female cousin to descendants alive today:
Elizabeth ferch Griffith ap Hugh ap Richard ap John Derwas of Penrhos
Richard Derwas (d.1802) (son)
John Derwas (son)
Thomas Derwas (son)
Richard Derwas (son)
Frederick Derwas (son)
Thomas Frederick Derwas (son, d.1941)
Keith Derwas (son)
Nicholas Adrian Derwas (son, born 1967, extant)
This sequence is used to make the argument that, with one break through a female heiress in the 18th Century, Nicholas Derwas is a direct descendant of High-King
High-King
is a Japanese idol group within Hello! Project. The group was created to promote Morning Musume's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, titled . Their sound is said to have an R&B feel....
Vortigern
Vortigern
Vortigern , also spelled Vortiger and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Britain, a leading ruler among the Britons. His existence is considered likely, though information about him is shrouded in legend. He is said to have invited the Saxons to settle in Kent as mercenaries to aid him in...
.