Rhirid Flaidd (sometimes called Rhirid ap Gwrgenau) (
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
1160), according to
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
tradition, was the son of Gwrgenau, who is supported by an obscure pedigree going back to
Cunedda Wledig, the progenitor of the
House of Cunedda
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
which had provided the kings of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...
from the end of
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
until 825. The appellation of ''blaidd'' (wolf) was inherited from his maternal grandmother, Haer, daughter and heiress of Cynfyn, son of Cillyn y Blaidd Rhudd (meaning "Cillyn the Bloody Wolf") of
Gest in
Eifionydd. He was related through his grandmother to
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn ( owl, Bledẏnt uab Kẏn ỽẏn; AD 1075), sometimes spelled Blethyn, was an 11th-century Welsh king. Harold Godwinson and Tostig Godwinson installed him and his brother, Rhiwallon, as the co-rulers of Gwynedd ...
, king of
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
who rewarded Gwrgenau with land, presumably for his loyalty and service.
Rhirid, who is said to have inherited his father's lands in
Mochnant
Mochnant, a name translating as "the rapid stream", was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys.
In the 12th century it was divided into the commotes of Mochnant Is Rhaeadr (in the north) and Mochnant Uwch Rhaeadr (in the south) (''Is'' signif ...
and
Penllyn,
Pennant Melangell and
Rhiwaedog
Rhiwaedog is the name of an ancient estate in North Wales, located in the Penllyn forest near Bala, Gwynedd. It gives its name today to two hills, Rhiwaedog-is-Afon and Rhiwaedog-uwch-Afon, meaning "Rhiwaedog below the river" and "Rhiwaedog ab ...
as well as the maternal inheritance at Gest. He is said to have married Gwenllian, daughter of Ednyfed ap Rhiwallon of
Brychdyn, by whom he had two sons, Einion and Madog. From him the following families claimed descent — Lloyds, Fludd, Floyd of Rhiwaedog, the Myddeltons of Gwaenynog and Chirk, the Vaughans of Glan-llyn, and the Lloyds of Glanrafon, Edward of LLanuwchllyn Parish and Ellis of Gwernhefin, Llanycil Parish. His family tree can best be seen at https://www.ourfamtree.org/browse.php/Lord-of-Penllyn-Rhirid-Flaidd/p669182
References
* Jones Pierce, Professor Thomas, National Library of Wale
Aberystwyth
* Arch. Camb., IV, v, 197-8, V, viii, 197;
* Dwnn, Lewys, ''Heraldic Visitations of Wales and part of the Marches'', 1613
* Yorke, Philip, ''The Royal Tribes of Wales'', 1799
* H.G. (Hendreg. MSS.) 140, 178.
*
{{authority control
Welsh royalty
12th-century Welsh people