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Birth:          ABT  738 Wales

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwriad_ap_Elidyr
Gwriad ap Elidyr (English: Gwriad son of Elidyr) or Gwriad Manaw was a late-8th 
century figure in Great Britain. Very little is known of him, and he chiefly appears in 
the historical record in connection to his son Merfyn Frych, King of Gwynedd from 
around 825 to 844 and founder of the Merfynion dynasty.

Background[edit]

Almost nothing is known about Gwriad's background. He married Ethyllt ferch Cynan, 
daughter of Cynan Dindaethwy, King of Gwynedd. Their son Merfyn Frych later 
became the first king of Gwynedd known not to have come from the dynasty of its 
founder Cunedda. Merfyn evidently claimed the throne through his mother rather than 
through Gwriad, and bolstered this atypical matrilineal claim through his own power 
and reputation.[1][2] According to the genealogies from Jesus College MS 20, Gwriad 
was the son of a certain Elidyr and was a descendant of Llywarch Hen and Coel Hen, 
rulers from the Hen Ogledd or "Old North", the Brittonic-speaking parts of what is now 
southern Scotland and northern England.[2][3] The bardic poetry indicates that Merfyn 
was "from the land of Manaw", a Brittonic place name applied to several districts, 
including Manaw Gododdin, the area around the Firth of Forth. This locale in the Hen 
Ogledd would be consistent with Gwriad's descent from Llywarch's northern lineage.[4] 
An origin in Manaw Gododdin was supported by scholars such as William Forbes 
Skene and John Edward Lloyd.[5]

Other scholars connect Gwriad to the Isle of Man, known in Welsh as Ynis Manaw 
rather than Manaw Gododdin, especially following the 1896 discovery of an 8th- or 
9th-century cross on Man inscribed Crux Guriat ("Cross of Gwriad").[5][6] Lloyd wrote 
that this discovery "undoubtedly strengthens the case" for a Manx origin.[5] John 
Rhys suggested that Gwriad may have taken refuge on the Isle of Man during the 
bloody dynastic struggle in Gwynedd between Cynan Dindaethwy and Hywel prior to 
Merfyn's accession to the throne.[7] Still other locations for "Manaw" have been 
suggested, including Ireland, Galloway and Powys.[1]

Rhys further noted that the Welsh Triads mention a "Gwryat son of Gwryan in the 
North", counted among the "Three Kings who were the Sons of Strangers", which he 
suggests is a reference to the father of Merfyn.[7][8] However, this conflicts with the 
Jesus College MS 20 pedigree, in which Gwriad's father is Elidyr. James E. Fraser 
suggests that the Gwriad of the Triad is instead to be identified with the King Guret of 
Alt Clut recorded by the Annals of Ulster as dying in 658.[9]

Parents
____ Elidir ()
----- ----- ()

Siblings
AP ELIDIR Gwriad (ABT  738 - )

Marriage To VERCH CYNAN Ethyllt (ABT  742 - )
    m.  

Notes

Parents
AP RHODI Cynan (ABT  720 -  816)
----- ----- ()

Children by VERCH CYNAN Ethyllt ABT  742 - 
AP GWRIAD Merfyn "Frych" (ABT  764 -  843)

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