Owain ab Edwin of Tegeingl or Owain the Traitor (), (died 1105) was lord of the

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divid ...

of Tegeingl in north-east

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

at the end of the 11th century. He was the son of Edwin ap Gronw of Tegeingl, a great-great-grandson of

Hywel Dda Hywel ap Cadell, commonly known as Hywel Dda, which translates to Howel the Good in English, was a Welsh king who ruled the southern Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth and eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllw ...

. He sided with the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

in their failed invasion of North Wales, and in the 1090s attempted to become ruler of

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 ...

. His arms were ''gules three men's legs conjoined at the thighs in triangle argent''.

Ancestry

Little is known of Owain's father, Edwin of Tegeingl.Wilcott, Darrell "The Ancestry of Edwin of Tegeingl"
/ref> His paternal grandmother is believed to have been Ethelfleda or Aldgyth, daughter of Eadwine of Mercia, brother of Leofwine. Most medieval pedigrees identify Owain's paternal grandfather as Gronwy, a descendant of

. Owain may have been a great-great-great-grandson of Hywel Dda although this is disputed. His mother was Iwerydd, sister of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Prince of

and

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 ...

(1063–1075). Perfeddulad

Biography

Lordship of Tegeingl

Owain was Lord or Prince of the

of Tegeingl. The cantref formed the eastern part of Perfeddwlad (or ''Y Berfeddwlad'') on the northern coast of Wales between the River Clwyd and

Deeside Deeside () is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the England–Wales border, Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee t ...

. The territory, originally forming part of the

Kingdom of Gwynedd The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: ; Middle Welsh: ) was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire Succession of states, successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon ...

, had been under the control of the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

for several centuries and then changed hands several times between the two. Owain's father, Edwin, appears to have been raised to the lordship of Tegeingl by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, ruler of most of Wales between 1055 and 1063. Edwin died in 1073 and Owain succeeded him as lord.

Challenge to the kingship

It appears that Owain made a challenge for the kingship of Gwynedd and may have succeeded in holding it for a time in the 1090s. Links to previous rulers through the female line were very important in establishing a claim, and Owain's relationship with Bleddyn ap Cynfyn through his mother would have been relevant.

Role in the Norman Invasion

In the 1080s and the 1090s, the

led by

Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'A ...

made several attempts to invade and gain control of North Wales. Owain ap Edwin transferred his allegiance to the Normans following the defeat of his ally Trahaearn ap Caradog, prince of Gwynedd (1075–1081), at the

Battle of Mynydd Carn The Battle of Mynydd Carn took place in 1081, as part of a dynastic struggle for control of the Welsh kingdoms of Gwynedd and Deheubarth. The result of the battle had a radical effect on the history of Wales. The battle is recorded in the nea ...

in 1081, a move which earned him the epithet ''Fradwr'',

traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

, among the Welsh. In 1098, Owain participated in a massive invasion of North Wales by Hugh d’Avranches, with

Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury (died 1098), was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat and member of the House of Bellême. He was also known as Hugh the Red. Life He was the second surviving son of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbu ...

, forcing Gruffydd ap Cynan, prince of Gwynedd (1081–1137), to retreat to

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

. As a result of the intervention of a Norwegian army under Magnus Barelegs, the Normans suffered a defeat and withdrew most of their forces to England. Following the Norman withdrawal, Owain was left in command of a token force to control upper Gwynedd. Over the next three years, Gruffydd ap Cynan reasserted his control over Gwynedd and agreed terms with the Normans. In the meantime, Owain deserted the Normans and led a rebellion himself. He died shortly afterwards in 1105, apparently of consumption.Yorke, Philip & al.
The royal tribes of Wales
'. Accessed 4 Feb 2013.

Descendants

Owain Fradwr married Morfudd, daughter of Goronwy, son of Ednowain Bendew. Owain's daughter, Angharad, married

Gruffudd ap Cynan Gruffudd ap Cynan (–1137) was List of rulers of Gwynedd, King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to House of Normandy, Norman rule. As a descen ...

, Prince of Gwynedd, by whom she had three sons: Cadwallon,

Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( – 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great () and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales" and th ...

(the first Welsh prince to take the title ''Princeps Wallensium'',Davies, John ''A History of Wales,'' the title ''Princeps Wallensium'' Prince of the Welsh) and

Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd (c. 1100 – 1172) was the third son of Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, and brother of Owain Gwynedd. Appearance in history Cadwaladr first appears in the historical record in 1136, when following the killing of the ...

. His sons were Goronwy, Meilir, Llywelyn, Aldud, and Rhirid. Goronwy was the father of the Cristin who was the second wife of

. However, in 1125 a son of Gruffudd ap Cynan killed all Owain's male heirs bringing the direct line of the family to an end.

References

{{reflist, 2 Medieval history of Wales 12th-century Welsh nobility 1105 deaths 11th-century Welsh people Year of birth unknown 12th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Wales