Sir Gruffydd Fychan ap Iorwerth Goch (c. 1150 – 1221) was a medieval Welsh Knight and

Marcher Lord A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in Fra ...

. His father was a minor Welsh prince named

Iorwerth Goch ap Maredudd Iorwerth Goch ap Maredudd (c. 1110 – c. 1171), a minor prince and nobleman of the Kingdom of Powys, was the illegitimate son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn and Cristin ferch Bledrus. The appellation "Goch", meaning red, probably referred to the colour of ...

, Lord of Mochnant, of the Royal

House of Mathrafal The Royal House of Mathrafal, also known as the House of Powys, began as a cadet branch of the Royal House of Dinefwr, taking their name from Mathrafal Castle.

. His uncle was the last Prince of Powys,

Madog ap Maredudd Madog ap Maredudd (, ; died 1160) was the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales. He held for a time, the FitzAlan Lordship of Oswestry, family of the Earl of Arundel, Earls of Arundel, of Arundel Castle. His daughter married Lord Rhys ...

. His great-grandfather was King

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn Bleddyn ap Cynfyn (; died 1075), sometimes spelled Blethyn, was an 11th-century Welsh king. King Harold Godwinson and Tostig Godwinson installed Bleddyn and his brother, Rhiwallon, as the co-rulers of kingdom of Gwynedd on his father's deat ...

, founder of Mathrafal, and King of both

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

and

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

. He was known by the epithet "''y Marchog Gwyllt o Gae Hywel''" ('the Wild Knight of Cae Howell'), Cae Howell being a manor near

Kinnerley Kinnerley (historic Welsh name: ''Generdinlle'') is a small village in Shropshire, England. It lies between the neighbouring villages of Dovaston and Pentre and the nearest town is Oswestry. To the north is the village of Knockin. History A ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

. He was one of the earliest Knights of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, rivals of the Knight Templars, and also held the title of

Knight of Rhodes The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

. This was during the reign of

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

, the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

. Barbarossa visited

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in 1148 and was involved in the invasion of Damascus. The

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

would later be under Emperor Barbarossa's protection in 1185. Gruffydd succeeded to his father's estates in Kinnerley, and resided at Cae Howel in the parish of Kunaston.

Family

Gruffydd was the eldest son of Prince Iorwerth Goch and Maud de Manly. He married first, Matilda ferch Ieuan, with whom he had the son Gruffydd Fychan ap Gruffydd (1190) of Cae Howell. This son was the first to hold the surname "Kynaston". His descendants, the Kynaston baronets, included

Sir Roger Kynaston Sir Roger Kynaston of Myddle and Hordley (ca. 14331495) was a Knight of the Realm and Anglo-Welsh nobleman. He was a member of the Kynaston family, of North Shropshire and the Welsh Marches. Early life Kynaston was the son of Griffin Kynaston ...

, who married Elizabeth Grey of

Powis Castle Powis Castle () is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former ...

, the great-granddaughter of King

Henry IV of England Henry IV ( – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. Henry was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (a son of King Edward III), and Blanche of Lancaster. Henry was involved in the 1388 ...

, and

Sir Francis Kynaston Sir Francis Kynaston or Kinaston (1587–1642) was an English lawyer, courtier, poet and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons from 1621 to 1622. He is noted for his translation of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Troilus ...

, a grandson of Marshal

Nicholas Bagenal Sir Nicholas Bagenal (; - February 1591) was an English soldier and politician who became Marshal of the Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Army during the Tudor era. Early life Nicholas Bagenal was born around 1509. He was the second so ...

. Kynaston's uncles included the famous Earl of Tyrone, Hugh O'Neill, and

Sir Henry Bagenal Sir Henry Bagenal PC (c. 1556 – 14 August 1598) was marshal of the Royal Irish Army during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Life Henry Bagenal was born in England, the eldest son of Staffordshire soldier Nicholas Bagenal and his Welsh wife E ...

, whose wife was the granddaughter of the Earl of Rutland, Thomas Manners of

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. A castle was first built on the site immediately after the Norman Conquest of 10 ...

, and the cousin of Sir George Manners of

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Duke of Rutland, Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rut ...

. He married secondly, Matilda le Strange (1170), daughter of Guy le Strange, with whom he had the children Hywel ap Gruffydd and Sir Madog ap Gruffydd of

Sutton Maddock Sutton Maddock is a village and civil parish south east of Shrewsbury, in the Shropshire district, in the county of Shropshire, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Brockton. In 2011 the parish had a population of 254. The parish touches ...

, Shropshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruffydd Fychan ap Iorwerth 1150s births 1221 deaths Welsh knights Marcher lords House of Mathrafal