Olaf of Dublin1

M, #4741, d. 1034

Father*Sitric "of the Silken Beard" (?) King of Dublin1 d. 1042
Mother*Slani (?)1
Olaf of Dublin|d. 1034|p159.htm#i4741|Sitric "of the Silken Beard" (?) King of Dublin|d. 1042|p159.htm#i4743|Slani (?)||p159.htm#i4744|Olaf Kvaaran King of York and Dublin|d. 981|p171.htm#i5109|Gormflaith of Nass|d. 1030|p171.htm#i5110|Brian Boru|b. 926\nd. 23 Apr 1014|p164.htm#i4892|Eachraidh (?)||p164.htm#i4893|

Marriage* Principal=Maelcorcre of Leinster (?)1,2 
Death*1034 Slain by Saxons on Pilgrimage to Rome1,2 
DNB* Óláf Sihtricson [Óláfr Sigtryggsson, Amlaíb Cúarán] (c.926-981), king of Dublin and of Northumbria, was the son of Sihtric Cáech (d. 927) and, although her name and origin is uncertain, one record claims that his mother was named Orgiue (perhaps Eadgifu) and that she was the daughter of the Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Elder. Óláf's career at the height of the viking age would be, for a time, triumphant before ending ultimately in failure, but his legend grew after his death, reaching an apogee as the model for Havelok the Dane. His father, Sihtric, had ruled as king of Northumbria since 921, after a reign as king of Dublin; in January 926, the West Saxon king Æthelstan gave to him his sister in marriage. After Sihtric's sudden death in 927, and the annexation of Northumbria by Æthelstan, it is assumed that Óláf, who may have been born at York, was removed from Britain to Ireland.

In 941 Óláf was accepted as king by the Northumbrians, and he led a raid on Tamworth in 943, where he was victorious. Edmund, the Anglo-Saxon king who had ceded Northumbria to Óláf's predecessor, did not allow this challenge to go unanswered. He besieged Óláf, together with Archbishop Wulfstan of York, in Leicester; the pair were able to avoid capture when they fled the town under the cover of darkness. A desire to forestall attacks from the south, and to have his kingship recognized, may have played some small part in Óláf's decision to convert to Christianity in that same year; his sponsor was Edmund. This period of cordial relations did not long endure, and in the following year Edmund invaded Northumbria. Óláf and another noble named Ragnall Guthfrithson were driven from the province. Óláf then retired to Ireland, and was made king of Dublin, in the place of a Blacair Guthfrithson. He promptly allied with a claimant to the Irish high-kingship named Congalach mac Máel Mithig of the Uí Néill dynasty of Síl nÁeda Sláine. In 945 they attacked an invading army that belonged to Congalach's rival, another Uí Néill prince named Ruaidrí ua Canannáin of Cenél Conaill, in the territory of Conailli (Louth); Óláf and Congalach were victorious. During the temporary lull in the hostilities in 946, and without regard for his newly declared beliefs, Óláf raided churches in Meath and Westmeath as well as along the River Shannon, culminating with the sack of the great monastery of Clonmacnoise. This period of leisure came to an end in 947, when Ruaidrí ua Canannáin personally led an army against Congalach and Óláf, in revenge for the defeat of his army two years earlier. In a battle fought at Slane, Congalach and Óláf were routed, with an immense slaughter of the men of Dublin. The defeat may have encouraged Óláf's rivals, for in 948 the Blacair whom he had forced to abdicate Dublin three years earlier was in control of Dublin. Blacair attacked Congalach, but was defeated with 1600 men killed or captured.

Events now turned in Óláf's favour. During his absence from Northumbria a member of the Norse royal house, Erik Bloodaxe, had established himself in Northumbria in opposition to the West Saxons; Erik was forced to abdicate, temporarily as it transpired, and in 949 Óláf was invited to return by the Northumbrians. This second reign was no less fraught than the first, for Óláf had to face two invasions from powerful foes. The first, in 949, was led by Máel Coluim I, king of Scots, as far as the River Tees in what was a great victory for the Scots. The second invasion was in 951 and the attacking force was a coalition of the Scots, Anglo-Saxons, and Britons of Strathclyde; this time, however, Óláf was victorious. The real threat came from rivals, and in 952 Erik Bloodaxe returned to Northumbria. Óláf was deposed in favour of Erik, who reigned for two years until he was slain in Westmorland by a Maccus son of Óláf, who could have been a son of Óláf Sihtricson, or of his predecessor, Óláf Guthfrithson, or of another Óláf altogether.

Óláf returned to Dublin, where he spent the rest of his career. There was a new order in Ireland, for his old foe Ruaidrí ua Canannáin had been slain in 950, and his ally Congalach was now the undisputed high-king. This alliance, however, was fated for an unhappy end, and by 956 Congalach's success as high-king had begun to alarm Leinster and Dublin. Óláf plotted with the men of Leinster to lure Congalach to a spot known only as ‘Tech Guigenn’ located somewhere near the River Liffey, where he was slain in the company of his retinue. After this Óláf was determined not to become a subject of the powerful Uí Néill princes, so the next quarter century was devoted largely to conflict with the various branches of that dynasty, and there is also some evidence that suggests the expansion of his lordship into those lands. In 960 a dynast of Clann Cholmáin named Carlus son of Conn, a descendant of the early tenth-century high-king Flann Sinna was slain at Dublin. In 967 Óláf and Cerball mac Lorcáin, a prince of Leinster, raided Brega, in revenge for which Domnall ua Néill of Cenél nEógain, Congalach's successor in the high-kingship, led an army to Dublin where he unsuccessfully besieged the fortress for several months. Domnall was a special threat to Óláf because he, unlike his contemporaries among the Irish, relied on his fleet in his campaigns. In the face of this threat Óláf resurrected his alliance with Síl nÁeda Sláine, this time with Congalach's son Domnall. In 970 Óláf and Domnall attacked the high-king at Kilmona (Westmeath), where the allies won a celebrated victory. Although Domnall ua Néill escaped with his life, several of his allies did not, including the kings of Ulaid and Airgialla, together with several other lesser princes. Óláf also had an ally in Murchad mac Finn, king of Leinster, whose daughter Gormflaith he married; in 970 they plundered Kells, and defeated the southern Uí Néill at Ardmulchan, Meath.

Óláf was not without concerns. In 964 he had been defeated by the men of Osraige at Innistiogue (Kilkenny). A new enemy appeared in 975 in the person of Máel Sechnaill II Mór of Clann Cholmáin, who was to succeed Domnall ua Néill as high-king in 980, when he attacked Dublin and, although he could not breach the fortress, savaged the town's sacred grove known as Caill Tomair (‘Thor's Wood’). A more worrisome attack had come in 962 when Sihtric Cam [Sigtryggr Cam] (fl. 962), warrior, raided Dublin's territory. Sihtric's ships landed to the north of Dublin and raided from the sea to Uí Colgáin (near Lusk). Óláf led a force against him, but in the ensuing fray he was struck by an arrow through the leg (perhaps the origin of his epithet, which means ‘the Crooked’). His injury notwithstanding, Óláf drove Sihtric back to his ships and out of his territory.

These relatively minor mishaps made little impression on Óláf, who apparently feared neither human nor divine foes. He already had offended an important element of Irish society—the church—with raids on religious houses in the neighbourhood of Dublin, such as attacks on Kildare in 964 and a second in 967, when Abbot Muiredach mac Fáeláin was slain. After 975 he began to war on two fronts. In 976 a Dublin force captured Augaire mac Tuathal, king of Leinster. The following year Óláf ordered the slaying of Muirchertach, the son of the high-king Domnall ua Néill, and Congalach, the son of his former ally Domnall mac Congalach. Augaire's freedom must have been secured in the meantime, for in 978 he was defeated and slain by Óláf at the battle of Belan (Kildare). Belan was a significant victory for Óláf, for the list of the notable slain includes princes throughout the province, and was matched in 979 with the capture of the provincial king of Leinster, Domnall Clóen, who remained in captivity until the following year. This was a personal vendetta, for Domnall had slain Óláf's father-in-law, Murchad mac Finn, in 972, in circumstances of treachery.

By 980 Óláf could be considered one of the most powerful princes in Ireland. By the standards of the day he was an old man, well past his half-century, and his sons began to play a more active role. The continuing rise to power of Máel Sechnaill was troubling and the decision was made to take the fight to him, with the Dublin troops to be led by Óláf's son Ragnall. Also in that force were troops from the kingdom of the Isles, and the men of Leinster, whose presence was probably compelled by the holding of their king as hostage at Dublin. Battle was joined at the ceremonial site of Tara; neither side emerged unscathed, but it went the worse for the invaders. Ragnall and the law speaker of Dublin were both slain, alongside a multitude of others, including princes of Leinster. Máel Sechnaill followed the fleeing troops back to the fortress of Dublin. After a siege of three days the stronghold capitulated and agreed to terms. The price was steep. The lands of the southern Uí Néill dynasties were freed from the payment of tribute, all the Irish hostages (including Domnall Clóen) were released in addition to the payment of 2000 head of cattle, jewels, and treasures. In the aftermath of this disaster Óláf abdicated in favour of his son Glúniairn, who was Máel Sechnaill's half-brother, and, seeking comfort in religion, he retired to the monastery of St Columba on Iona, where he died in 981.

A summary of political events needs to be complemented with recognition of Óláf as a patron of commerce and the arts. Dublin thrived during his reign, and was becoming one of the main trading towns of north-western Europe. Óláf's sobriquet cúarán (‘shoe’) refers to the production of footwear at Dublin, evidence for which survives in the shoe pieces uncovered during excavations at Wood Quay. Óláf is also the first viking leader in Ireland for whom there is an indication of a court culture. He was a patron of the Icelandic poet Thorgils Grouse-poet and the Irish poet Cináed ua hArtacáin, who composed verses on the legendary history of the Hill of Skreen. His love of poetry and song may have inspired the legend of Óláf as a poet. William of Malmesbury claims that Óláf was present at the battle of ‘Brunanburh’ (fought in 937), when he disguised himself as an itinerant poet, or skald, in order to spy out the battle order of the English. Unfortunately for a good story, there is little indication that Óláf was even present at that battle.

Equally important was the fame and longevity of Óláf's dynasty. Although his family lost control of Dublin during the eleventh century, they ruled in the kingdom of the Isles for several centuries; in the seventeenth century the merchants of Dublin claimed to be his descendants. The names of two of Óláf's wives have survived. One was Dúnlaith, the daughter of the famous Uí Néill prince, Muirchertach of the Leather Cloaks; their son was the Glúniairn who succeeded his father and reigned until his murder in 989. The other known wife of Óláf was Gormflaith, daughter of Murchad mac Finn, the provincial king of Leinster; their son was Sihtric (Sigtryggr Óláfsson), who succeeded his half-brother Glúniairn and died in 1042. Other sons of Óláf included: Ragnall, who was slain at the battle of Tara in 980; Harald, who was slain at the battle of Glenn Máma in 999; Dubgall, who was slain at the battle of Clontarf in 1014; and possibly another son named Sihtric who is claimed to have raided Kells in 970. Óláf also had three daughters whose names have been preserved: Radnailt, who was the mother of Muirchertach ua Congalaich of Síl nÁeda Sláine; Máel Muire, who was the wife of Máel Sechnaill II Mór and died in 1021; and Gytha, who married first an Anglo-Saxon noble and then, after being widowed, married the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason.

Benjamin T. Hudson
Sources

J. Earle, ed., Two of the Saxon chronicles parallel with supplementary extracts from the others, rev. C. Plummer, 2 vols. (1892–9) · ASC, s.a. 941–4, 949, 952 [texts A, D, E] · R. Vaughan, ed., ‘The chronicle attributed to John of Wallingford’, Camden miscellany, XXI, CS, 3rd ser., 90 (1958) · Ann. Ulster · M. C. Dobbs, ed. and trans., ‘The Ban-shenchus [3 pts]’, Revue Celtique, 47 (1930), 283–339; 48 (1931), 163–234; 49 (1932), 437–89 · J. H. Todd, ed. and trans., Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh / The war of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, Rolls Series, 48 (1867) · M. A. O'Brien, ed., Corpus genealogiarum Hiberniae (Dublin, 1962) · E. Hogan, Onomasticon Goedelicum (1910) · AFM · W. Stokes, ed., ‘The annals of Tigernach [pt 2]’, Revue Celtique, 17 (1896), 6–33 · F. M. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, 2nd edn (1947) · Bodl. Oxf., MS Rawl. B. 488
© Oxford University Press 2004–5
All rights reserved: see legal notice      Oxford University Press


Benjamin T. Hudson, ‘Óláf Sihtricson (c.926-981)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/20671, accessed 23 Sept 2005]

Óláf Sihtricson (c.926-981): doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20671
Sihtric Cam (fl. 962): doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/255443 
Title* King of Dublin1 

Family

Maelcorcre of Leinster (?)
Child

Last Edited23 Sep 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.
  2. [S168] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots, 239-3.
  3. [S376] Unknown editor, unknown short title.

Maelcorcre of Leinster (?)1

F, #4742

Father*King Dunlaing of Leinster1,2 d. 1014
Maelcorcre of Leinster (?)||p159.htm#i4742|King Dunlaing of Leinster|d. 1014|p175.htm#i5233||||Tuathal (?)|d. 956|p219.htm#i6546||||||||||

Marriage* Principal=Olaf of Dublin1,2 

Family

Olaf of Dublin d. 1034
Child

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.
  2. [S168] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots, 239-3.

Sitric "of the Silken Beard" (?) King of Dublin1

M, #4743, d. 1042

Father*Olaf Kvaaran King of York and Dublin1 d. 981
Mother*Gormflaith of Nass1 d. 1030
Sitric "of the Silken Beard" (?) King of Dublin|d. 1042|p159.htm#i4743|Olaf Kvaaran King of York and Dublin|d. 981|p171.htm#i5109|Gormflaith of Nass|d. 1030|p171.htm#i5110|||||||King Murchad of Leinster|d. 972|p171.htm#i5112|Bevrona McTeiga||p171.htm#i5113|

Marriage* Principal=Slani (?)1 
Death*1042 1,2 
DNB* Sihtric Cáech [Sigtryggr Cáech] (d. 927), king of York, was a grandson of Ívarr the Boneless, probably the son of the Sihtric who ruled in Dublin from 888 until his death in 896, and probably also brother of his predecessor as king at York, Ragnall. The annals of Ulster describe Sihtric Cáech (whose epithet means ‘the Squinty’) as ‘king of the Finngaill and the Dubhgaill’ (the ‘Fair Foreigners’ and the ‘Dark Foreigners’, that is, the Norwegian and Danish settlers in Ireland and northern England). Most of what is known about Sihtric comes from English and Irish annals, but their ambiguity is such that reconstruction of his career is very difficult and many uncertainties remain.

It seems that, together with other grandsons of Ívarr, Sihtric was expelled from Ireland in 902. He may have been the Sihtric active in the eastern Danelaw, who ruled as an earl in Cambridgeshire, where coins were issued at this time bearing the legend SITRIC COMES and the mint name SCELDFOR (Shelford). The possible identity of the two Sihtrics becomes less implausible when one recalls that Ívarr the Boneless was one of the vikings who slew King Edmund of East Anglia. Coin evidence shows links between York and the eastern Danelaw at this period. The chronology of the two Sihtrics also dovetails. The Danes of Cambridgeshire surrendered to King Edward the Elder in 917, but the fate of their Earl Sihtric is not recorded in English sources. It seems more than a striking coincidence that in the same year Sihtric Cáech arrived with a fleet off Ireland and established himself at ‘Cenn Fuait’, presumably Glynn in the south of co. Carlow. There he was attacked unsuccessfully by the forces of the high king Niáll Glúndub. Sihtric then occupied and fortified Dublin and when Niáll attacked on 17 December 919 he was killed, together with twelve satellite kings, by Sihtric's forces. A year later Sihtric departed for York, where he succeeded as king his kinsman Ragnall. Sihtric signalled his arrival by a raid on Davonport in Cheshire, but there is no record of further conflict with the southern English. Instead, after King Æthelstan's accession, Sihtric sent an embassy to the new king's court, which led to their meeting at Tamworth in Mercia on 30 January 926, when Sihtric accepted Christian baptism and took Æthelstan's sister as his wife. Very soon afterwards he renounced her and reverted to paganism. Roger of Wendover, who names Sihtric's wife as Eadgyth, records that she retired to a nunnery at Polesworth (about 3 miles from Tamworth), where she was revered as a saint. The choice of Tamworth for the meeting-place between the two kings may indicate that Sihtric's kingdom then extended much further south than has generally been conceded. Numismatists have suggested that the coins bearing his name, SITRIC REX, were struck at Lincoln, as also were those bearing the ‘St Martin’ legend; others, with the legend ‘St Peter’, were struck at York during his reign.

Sihtric had several children, the most famous being Óláf Sihtricson, king of Northumbria and of Dublin. Another was Gytha, who married Óláf Tryggvason, king of Norway. Sihtric died at York in 927, some time before the end of June. He was followed there as king by his kinsman Guthfrith [Guðrøðr] (b. before 920, d. 934), another grandson of Ívarr, who had fought with Ragnall at the first battle of Corbridge and replaced Sihtric at Dublin late in 920. Guthfrith was soon driven out of York by King Æthelstan, but he returned to Dublin, where he remained king until his death in 934. Irish sources have a good deal of information concerning Guthfrith's adventures there, but little is known concerning his time at York, and no coins attributable to him have survived.

Cyril Hart
Sources

W. M. Hennessy and B. MacCarthy, eds., Annals of Ulster, otherwise, annals of Senat, 4 vols. (1887–1901), vols. 1–2 · ‘Historia regum’, Symeon of Durham, Opera, vol. 2 · AFM · ASC, s. a. 923, 925, 926 [D, E] · [Roger of Wendover], Rogeri de Wendoveri chronica, sive, Flores historiarum, ed. H. O. Coxe, EHS, 1 (1841) · A. P. Smyth, Scandinavian York and Dublin: the history of two related Viking kingdoms, 2 vols. (1975–9) · C. Hart, The Danelaw (1992) · C. E. Blunt, B. H. I. H. Stewart, and C. S. S. Lyon, Coinage in tenth-century England: from Edward the Elder to Edgar's reform (1989)
© Oxford University Press 2004–5
All rights reserved: see legal notice      Oxford University Press


Cyril Hart, ‘Sihtric Cáech (d. 927)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25543, accessed 23 Sept 2005]

Sihtric Cáech (d. 927): doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25543
Guthfrith (b. before 920, d. 934): doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/492733 
Event-Misc*1028 Rome, Italy, went on a pilgrimage to Rome2 

Family

Slani (?)
Children

Last Edited23 Sep 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.
  2. [S168] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots, 239-2.
  3. [S376] Unknown editor, unknown short title.

Slani (?)1

F, #4744

Father*Brian Boru1,2 b. 926, d. 23 Apr 1014
Mother*Eachraidh (?)1
Slani (?)||p159.htm#i4744|Brian Boru|b. 926\nd. 23 Apr 1014|p164.htm#i4892|Eachraidh (?)||p164.htm#i4893|Cineidi (?)|d. 951|p171.htm#i5114|Mary B. O'Flaherty||p171.htm#i5115|Cearbhall (?)||p220.htm#i6594||||

Marriage* Principal=Sitric "of the Silken Beard" (?) King of Dublin1 

Family

Sitric "of the Silken Beard" (?) King of Dublin d. 1042
Children

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.
  2. [S168] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots, 239-1.

Edwin ap Gronwy of Tegeingle1

M, #4745, d. after 1086

Father*Gronw (?)1
Edwin ap Gronwy of Tegeingle|d. a 1086|p159.htm#i4745|Gronw (?)||p159.htm#i4747||||Einon (?)|d. 984|p159.htm#i4748|Elinor ferch Gwerystan||p159.htm#i4749|||||||

Marriage*1030 Principal=Iwerydd ferch Cynfyn1 
Death*after 1086 1 

Family

Iwerydd ferch Cynfyn b. c 1024
Child

Last Edited27 Jul 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Iwerydd ferch Cynfyn1

F, #4746, b. circa 1024

Father*Cynfyn ap Gwerystan2,1
Mother*Angharad ferch Maredudd2 b. c 982
Iwerydd ferch Cynfyn|b. c 1024|p159.htm#i4746|Cynfyn ap Gwerystan||p159.htm#i4770|Angharad ferch Maredudd|b. c 982|p160.htm#i4771|Gwerystan ap Gwaithfoed|b. c 950|p160.htm#i4784|Nest ferch Cadell ap Brochwel|b. c 954|p244.htm#i7293|Maredudd ap Owain ap Hywel Dda|b. c 938\nd. 999|p160.htm#i4785|Asritha (?)||p160.htm#i4786|

Birth*circa 1024 Montgomeryshire, Wales2 
Marriage*1030 Principal=Edwin ap Gronwy of Tegeingle2 
Name Variation Ivereth2 
Name Variation Iverydd of Powys2 

Family

Edwin ap Gronwy of Tegeingle d. a 1086
Child

Last Edited27 Jul 2005

Citations

  1. [S347] Carl Boyer 3rd, Medieval English Ancestors of Certain Americans, p. 202.
  2. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Gronw (?)1

M, #4747

Father*Einon (?)1 d. 984
Mother*Elinor ferch Gwerystan1
Gronw (?)||p159.htm#i4747|Einon (?)|d. 984|p159.htm#i4748|Elinor ferch Gwerystan||p159.htm#i4749|||||||Gwerystan ap Gwaithfoed|b. c 950|p160.htm#i4784|Nest ferch Cadell ap Brochwel|b. c 954|p244.htm#i7293|

Marriage* 1 

Family
Child

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Einon (?)1

M, #4748, d. 984

Marriage* Principal=Elinor ferch Gwerystan1 
Death*984 1 

Family

Elinor ferch Gwerystan
Children

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Elinor ferch Gwerystan1

F, #4749

Father*Gwerystan ap Gwaithfoed2,1 b. c 950
Mother*Nest ferch Cadell ap Brochwel2 b. c 954
Elinor ferch Gwerystan||p159.htm#i4749|Gwerystan ap Gwaithfoed|b. c 950|p160.htm#i4784|Nest ferch Cadell ap Brochwel|b. c 954|p244.htm#i7293|Gwaithfoed ap Gynnan||p172.htm#i5136|Morvydd f. Y. (?)||p244.htm#i7294|Cadell a. B. (?)||p330.htm#i9871||||

Marriage* Principal=Einon (?)2 
Name Variation Eleanor of Powys2 

Family

Einon (?) d. 984
Children

Last Edited27 Jul 2005

Citations

  1. [S347] Carl Boyer 3rd, Medieval English Ancestors of Certain Americans, p. 201.
  2. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Elestan (?)1

M, #4750

Father*Gwaithvoed (?)1
Elestan (?)||p159.htm#i4750|Gwaithvoed (?)||p306.htm#i9158||||Eunydd a. C. (?)||p306.htm#i9159|Morfydd o. C. (?)||p306.htm#i9162|||||||

Marriage* 1 

Family
Child

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Owain ap Hywel Dda (?)1

M, #4751, d. 988

Father*Howell Dda 'the Good' (?)1 d. 948
Mother*Eleanor of Dyfed (?)1 d. 928
Owain ap Hywel Dda (?)|d. 988|p159.htm#i4751|Howell Dda 'the Good' (?)|d. 948|p207.htm#i6195|Eleanor of Dyfed (?)|d. 928|p207.htm#i6196|Cadell ap Rhodri Mawr|d. 907|p207.htm#i6197|Rheingar o. E. S. (?)||p207.htm#i6198|Llywarch a. H. (?)|d. 903|p207.htm#i6199||||

Birth* of Llandilo, Carm, Wales1 
Marriage* Principal=Angharat (?)1 
Death*988 1 
DNB* Owain ap Hywel (b. before 929, d. 988), king of Deheubarth, was the son of Hywel Dda, descendant of Rhodri Mawr of Gwynedd, and Elen ferch Llywarch (d. 929) of Dyfed. Owain ruled the kingdom of Deheubarth, in south Wales, jointly from 950 and singly from about 954 until his death in 988. His father Hywel had possibly annexed Dyfed on account of his marriage into the ruling dynasty, and, on the death of his cousin Idwal Foel in 942, had added Gwynedd and other parts of north Wales to his kingdom. On Hywel's own death in 949 or 950 the southern portion of this kingdom fell under the collective rule of his sons, including no doubt Owain, while the northern portion was contested by the sons of Idwal Foel, Iago and Ieuaf. The two groups fought at Nant Carno (in Arwystli) in 950, which was a victory for the sons of Idwal and perhaps thus secured their position in the north. The latter were sufficiently strong in 952 to take the fight into Dyfed twice. In 954 Owain and his brothers retaliated and the two groups met at Llanrwst (in the Conwy valley, Gwynedd). The sons of Idwal were the victors; they slew Owain's brother Edwin, and afterwards raided Ceredigion.

It is not wholly clear at what point Owain came to dominate Deheubarth as opposed to sharing power with his brothers. Indeed, he may have achieved this position through default, for the other sons of Hywel do not appear to have lived beyond the mid-950s. In 952 or 953 one Dyfnwal (or Dyfnwallon), possibly a son of Hywel, was slain by vikings (or by the sons of Idwal); Rhodri ap Hywel died in 953 or 954; and Edwin ap Hywel in 954. There may have been only two sons of Hywel left alive by the end of 954: Owain and in addition Rhain, who is never noticed at all in the chronicles. Owain was probably sole ruler of Deheubarth by this point and it was in this capacity that he witnessed the Eamont agreement of King Eadred of England in 955.

However, having thus achieved power, Owain did not make much of an impact in the chronicles, and it is his sons, Einion (r. 970–84) and then Maredudd ab Owain, who are most frequently mentioned, though whether as his representatives or independently is uncertain. In 960 Owain raided the cantref of Gorfynydd in the neighbouring kingdom of Morgannwg then ruled by Morgan Hen ab Owain. This is the last notice of Owain until that of his death twenty-eight years later. Einion attacked Gower in 970 and again in 977: this region may have been under the authority of Morgannwg at this point, otherwise Einion would have been attacking lands ruled by his own father. As such he was continuing Owain's hostility to the kings of south-east Wales, and it is perhaps significant that Einion met his death in 984 at the hands of the men of Gwent. He may have held some political power independently of Owain, for the chronicles recount that in 983 Hywel ab Idwal and Ælfhere, ealdorman of Mercia, raided ‘Brycheiniog and all the territory of Einion ab Owain’. Maredudd ab Owain emerged after the death of Einion, but appears to have concentrated his efforts against the traditional rivals in the north, where he achieved a considerable amount of success, again independently of his father. Other sons of Owain might include a Llywarch (blinded in 987); late unreliable genealogies add the names Gronwy and Iestyn.

Owain ap Hywel appears to have been a patron of the literary arts. Thus it was during his reign that the scriptorium at St David's in Dyfed drew up the earliest surviving recension of the Annales Cambriae, compiled a collection of genealogies which commences with Owain's agnatic and maternal pedigrees, and incorporated both texts into a copy of the Historia Brittonum. Owain's interest in these scholarly endeavours is reflected in his importance for the genealogical collection and perhaps also by the fact that the annals were drawn up c.954, when he achieved sole power in Deheubarth. He died in 988, after a reign spanning over three decades. There is no indication that he was slain, and he probably died of natural causes. The kingship of Deheubarth was then added to the territories of his son Maredudd.

David E. Thornton
Sources

J. Williams ab Ithel, ed., Annales Cambriae, Rolls Series, 20 (1860) · T. Jones, ed. and trans., Brenhinedd y Saesson, or, The kings of the Saxons (1971) [another version of Brut y tywysogyon] · T. Jones, ed. and trans., Brut y tywysogyon, or, The chronicle of the princes: Peniarth MS 20 (1952) · T. Jones, ed. and trans., Brut y tywysogyon, or, The chronicle of the princes: Red Book of Hergest (1955) · P. C. Bartrum, ed., Early Welsh genealogical tracts (1966) · AS chart., S 566 · J. E. Lloyd, A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest, 3rd edn, 2 vols. (1939); repr. (1988) · H. R. Loyn, ‘Wales and England in the tenth century: the context of the Athelstan charters’, Welsh History Review / Cylchgrawn Hanes Cymru, 10 (1980–81), 283–301 · D. E. Thornton, ‘Maredudd ab Owain (d.999): the most famous king of the Welsh’, Welsh History Review / Cylchgrawn Hanes Cymru, 18 (1996–7), 567–91
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David E. Thornton, ‘Owain ap Hywel (b. before 929, d. 988)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/51404, accessed 24 Sept 2005]

Owain ap Hywel (b. before 929, d. 988): doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/514042 

Family

Angharat (?)
Child

Last Edited24 Sep 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.
  2. [S376] Unknown editor, unknown short title.

Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of Powys1

M, #4752, d. 1070

Father*Cynfyn ap Gwerystan1,2,3
Mother*Angharad ferch Maredudd1 b. c 982
Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of Powys|d. 1070|p159.htm#i4752|Cynfyn ap Gwerystan||p159.htm#i4770|Angharad ferch Maredudd|b. c 982|p160.htm#i4771|Gwerystan ap Gwaithfoed|b. c 950|p160.htm#i4784|Nest ferch Cadell ap Brochwel|b. c 954|p244.htm#i7293|Maredudd ap Owain ap Hywel Dda|b. c 938\nd. 999|p160.htm#i4785|Asritha (?)||p160.htm#i4786|

Marriage* 1 
Death*1070 1 

Family
Children

Last Edited27 Jul 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.
  2. [S285] Leo van de Pas, 30 Jun 2004.
  3. [S347] Carl Boyer 3rd, Medieval English Ancestors of Certain Americans, p. 202.
  4. [S168] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots, 178-1.

Tewdwr Mawr ap Cadell (?)1

M, #4753

Father*Cadell ap Einon (?)1,2
Tewdwr Mawr ap Cadell (?)||p159.htm#i4753|Cadell ap Einon (?)||p159.htm#i4754||||Einon (?)|d. 984|p159.htm#i4748|Elinor ferch Gwerystan||p159.htm#i4749|||||||

Marriage* Principal=Gwenlian of Anglesea (?)1 
Name Variation Tewdwr ap Cadell2 

Family

Gwenlian of Anglesea (?)
Child

Last Edited26 Jul 2004

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.
  2. [S285] Leo van de Pas, 30 Jun 2004.

Cadell ap Einon (?)1

M, #4754

Father*Einon (?)1 d. 984
Mother*Elinor ferch Gwerystan1
Cadell ap Einon (?)||p159.htm#i4754|Einon (?)|d. 984|p159.htm#i4748|Elinor ferch Gwerystan||p159.htm#i4749|||||||Gwerystan ap Gwaithfoed|b. c 950|p160.htm#i4784|Nest ferch Cadell ap Brochwel|b. c 954|p244.htm#i7293|

Marriage* 1 

Family
Child

Last Edited26 Jul 2004

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.
  2. [S285] Leo van de Pas, 30 Jun 2004.

Tangwystl ferch Llywarch1

F, #4755, b. circa 1143

Father*Llywarch of Cwmmwd (?)2 b. c 1107
Mother*Rymel fil Grono (?)2
Tangwystl ferch Llywarch|b. c 1143|p159.htm#i4755|Llywarch of Cwmmwd (?)|b. c 1107|p159.htm#i4758|Rymel fil Grono (?)||p159.htm#i4757|Bran a. D. (?)||p159.htm#i4762||||Grono a. O. (?)|b. c 1073\nd. 1124|p159.htm#i4760|Genilles f. H. (?)||p159.htm#i4761|

Birth*circa 1143 Tref Llywarch, Llndwn, Anglesey, Wales2 
Marriage* Principal=Llywarch Goch ap Iorwerth ap Cynan2,1 
Name Variation Tangwysl of Cwmmwd2 

Family

Llywarch Goch ap Iorwerth ap Cynan
Child

Last Edited11 Jun 2005

Citations

  1. [S347] Carl Boyer 3rd, Medieval English Ancestors of Certain Americans, p. 125.
  2. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Ermentrude de Clermont Avranches/1

F, #4756, b. between 1051 and 1057

Father*Hugh de Clermont1 b. 1030, d. 1101
Mother*Marguerite de Rouci1 b. c 1035
Ermentrude de Clermont Avranches/|b. bt 1051 - 1057|p159.htm#i4756|Hugh de Clermont|b. 1030\nd. 1101|p116.htm#i3472|Marguerite de Rouci|b. c 1035|p116.htm#i3473|Renaud I. d. Clermont|d. 1087|p116.htm#i3477|Ermengardis d. Clermont||p298.htm#i8927|Count Hildouin de Rameru|d. 1063|p94.htm#i2814|Alix de Roucy|d. 1062|p86.htm#i2579|

Birth*between 1051 and 1057 of Beauveys, France1 
Marriage*1093 Principal=Hugh d' Avranches "Lupus"1 

Family

Hugh d' Avranches "Lupus" d. 27 Jul 1101
Child

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Rymel fil Grono (?)1

F, #4757

Father*Grono ap Owen (?)1 b. c 1073, d. 1124
Mother*Genilles fil Hoedliw (?)1
Rymel fil Grono (?)||p159.htm#i4757|Grono ap Owen (?)|b. c 1073\nd. 1124|p159.htm#i4760|Genilles fil Hoedliw (?)||p159.htm#i4761|Owain a. E. (?)|b. 1058\nd. 1105|p112.htm#i3352|Morfydd (?)|b. c 1048|p112.htm#i3353|Hoedliw (?)||p159.htm#i4764||||

Birth* of Tegaingl, Flintshire, Wales1 
Marriage* Principal=Llywarch of Cwmmwd (?)1 

Family

Llywarch of Cwmmwd (?) b. c 1107
Child

Last Edited11 Jun 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Llywarch of Cwmmwd (?)1

M, #4758, b. circa 1107

Father*Bran ap Dyfnwal (?)1
Llywarch of Cwmmwd (?)|b. c 1107|p159.htm#i4758|Bran ap Dyfnwal (?)||p159.htm#i4762||||Dyfnwal (?)||p159.htm#i4763||||||||||

Birth*circa 1107 of Menai, Anglesey, Wales1 
Marriage* Principal=Rymel fil Grono (?)1 

Family

Rymel fil Grono (?)
Child

Last Edited11 Jun 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Patrick de Chaworth1

M, #4759, d. before 1155

Father*Patrick de Chaworth1 b. c 1052
Mother*Maud de Hesding1
Patrick de Chaworth|d. b 1155|p159.htm#i4759|Patrick de Chaworth|b. c 1052|p135.htm#i4047|Maud de Hesding||p135.htm#i4048|Patrick de Chaworth||p148.htm#i4436||||Arnulf de Hesdine||p524.htm#i15703|Emelina de Lacy||p524.htm#i15702|

Birth* of Kempsford, Gloucestershire, England1 
Marriage* Principal=Wilburga de Mundabliel1 
Death*before 1155 1 

Family

Wilburga de Mundabliel
Child

Last Edited6 Feb 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Grono ap Owen (?)1

M, #4760, b. circa 1073, d. 1124

Father*Owain ap Edwin (?)1 b. 1058, d. 1105
Mother*Morfydd (?)1 b. c 1048
Grono ap Owen (?)|b. c 1073\nd. 1124|p159.htm#i4760|Owain ap Edwin (?)|b. 1058\nd. 1105|p112.htm#i3352|Morfydd (?)|b. c 1048|p112.htm#i3353|Edwin ap Gronwy of Tegeingle|d. a 1086|p159.htm#i4745|Iwerydd ferch Cynfyn|b. c 1024|p159.htm#i4746|Goronwy (?)|b. c 1020|p159.htm#i4765||||

Birth*circa 1073 of Tegaingl, Flintshire, Wales1 
Marriage* Principal=Genilles fil Hoedliw (?)1 
Death*1124 1 
Name Variation Gronw ap Owen ap Edwin2 

Family

Genilles fil Hoedliw (?)
Children

Last Edited25 Sep 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.
  2. [S168] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots, 239-6.
  3. [S284] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, Plantagenet 1.

Genilles fil Hoedliw (?)1

F, #4761

Father*Hoedliw (?)1
Genilles fil Hoedliw (?)||p159.htm#i4761|Hoedliw (?)||p159.htm#i4764||||||||||||||||

Marriage* Principal=Grono ap Owen (?)1 

Family

Grono ap Owen (?) b. c 1073, d. 1124
Children

Last Edited25 Sep 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Bran ap Dyfnwal (?)1

M, #4762

Father*Dyfnwal (?)1
Bran ap Dyfnwal (?)||p159.htm#i4762|Dyfnwal (?)||p159.htm#i4763||||||||||||||||

Marriage* 1 

Family
Child

Last Edited11 Jun 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Dyfnwal (?)1

M, #4763

Family
Child

Last Edited11 Jun 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Hoedliw (?)1

M, #4764

Family
Child

Last Edited25 Sep 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Goronwy (?)1

M, #4765, b. circa 1020

Father*Ednowen Bendew (?)1 b. c 996, d. a 1070
Mother*Gwerfyl of Hereford (?)1
Goronwy (?)|b. c 1020|p159.htm#i4765|Ednowen Bendew (?)|b. c 996\nd. a 1070|p159.htm#i4766|Gwerfyl of Hereford (?)||p159.htm#i4767|Cynan a. G. (?)||p171.htm#i5116|Eva o. G. (?)||p171.htm#i5117|Llydocca o. H. (?)||p159.htm#i4768|Angharat o. N. W. (?)||p159.htm#i4769|

Birth*circa 1020 Cilcain, Flintshire, Wales1 
Marriage* 1 

Family
Child

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Ednowen Bendew (?)1

M, #4766, b. circa 996, d. after 1070

Father*Cynan ap Gwaethfoed (?)1
Mother*Eva of Glamorgan (?)1
Ednowen Bendew (?)|b. c 996\nd. a 1070|p159.htm#i4766|Cynan ap Gwaethfoed (?)||p171.htm#i5116|Eva of Glamorgan (?)||p171.htm#i5117|Gwaithvoed (?)||p306.htm#i9158||||Gyrgant (?)|d. 1030|p171.htm#i5118|Angharat v. G. (?)||p171.htm#i5119|

Birth*circa 996 Flintshire, Wales1 
Marriage* Principal=Gwerfyl of Hereford (?)1 
Death*after 1070 1 

Family

Gwerfyl of Hereford (?)
Child

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Gwerfyl of Hereford (?)1

F, #4767

Father*Llydocca of Hereford (?)1
Mother*Angharat of North Wales (?)1
Gwerfyl of Hereford (?)||p159.htm#i4767|Llydocca of Hereford (?)||p159.htm#i4768|Angharat of North Wales (?)||p159.htm#i4769|Tudor T. (?)||p220.htm#i6596|Angarat o. S. W. (?)||p220.htm#i6597|||||||

Marriage* Principal=Ednowen Bendew (?)1 

Family

Ednowen Bendew (?) b. c 996, d. a 1070
Child

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Llydocca of Hereford (?)1

M, #4768

Father*Tudor Trevor (?)1
Mother*Angarat of South Wales (?)1
Llydocca of Hereford (?)||p159.htm#i4768|Tudor Trevor (?)||p220.htm#i6596|Angarat of South Wales (?)||p220.htm#i6597|Inyr (?)||p220.htm#i6598|Rheingar o. H. (?)||p220.htm#i6599|Howell Dda 'the Good' (?)|d. 948|p207.htm#i6195|Eleanor o. D. (?)|d. 928|p207.htm#i6196|

Marriage* Principal=Angharat of North Wales (?)1 

Family

Angharat of North Wales (?)
Children

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Angharat of North Wales (?)1

F, #4769

Marriage* Principal=Llydocca of Hereford (?)1 

Family

Llydocca of Hereford (?)
Children

Last Edited24 Oct 2003

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.

Cynfyn ap Gwerystan1

M, #4770

Father*Gwerystan ap Gwaithfoed1 b. c 950
Mother*Nest ferch Cadell ap Brochwel1 b. c 954
Cynfyn ap Gwerystan||p159.htm#i4770|Gwerystan ap Gwaithfoed|b. c 950|p160.htm#i4784|Nest ferch Cadell ap Brochwel|b. c 954|p244.htm#i7293|Gwaithfoed ap Gynnan||p172.htm#i5136|Morvydd f. Y. (?)||p244.htm#i7294|Cadell a. B. (?)||p330.htm#i9871||||

Of* Cadwgan and Powys1 
Marriage*998 2nd=Angharad ferch Maredudd1,2,3 

Family

Angharad ferch Maredudd b. c 982
Children

Last Edited27 Jul 2005

Citations

  1. [S218] Marlyn Lewis, Ancestry of Elizabeth of York.
  2. [S285] Leo van de Pas, 30 Jun 2004.
  3. [S347] Carl Boyer 3rd, Medieval English Ancestors of Certain Americans, p. 188.
  4. [S347] Carl Boyer 3rd, Medieval English Ancestors of Certain Americans, p. 202.
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