Goronwy ab Ednyfed

Goronwy ab Ednyfed (c. 1205 – 17 October 1268) was seneschal to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, king of Gwynedd. Goronwy was the founder of the Tudor family of Penmynydd.

Goronwy ab Ednyfed
Bornc. 1205
Died17 October 1268
OccupationSeneschal
ChildrenTudur Hen

Early life and service to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd

Goronwy ab Ednyfed was one of the sons of Ednyfed Fychan (died 1246), seneschal to Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Wales.[1] Goronwy's mother, Gwenllian, was daughter of Rhys ap Gruffydd.[2]

When Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (Llywelyn the Last) rose to power in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, he brought all three of Ednyfed's sons into his service. By 1258, Llywelyn had styled himself the Prince of Wales,[1] the same year that Goronwy had been established as his seneschal. Goronwy continued in this role for the following ten years, during which time he was involved in a variety of negotiations with the Marcher Lords, with Richard, the Bishop of Bangor, and with several other Welsh princes. Goronwy led Llywelyn's troops as far south as Gwent to combat the Marcher Lords in February 1263.[3] He died on 17 October 1268, and was remembered by Welsh chroniclers for his wisdom and integrity as well as his ability in arms.[3]

It is possible that Goronwy's name appears in a list of witnesses to a contract of Llywelyn the Great as early as 1222. Thus it is likely that he had served as a court official together with his father before succeeding him as seneschal of Gwynedd on his death in 1246, or in the years between 1222 and 1258. A single source tells us that another son of Ednyfed, Gruffudd, was seneschal of Gwynedd from 1246 to 1256. Thus there is some doubt about the succession in that period.

It is known with certainty that he was a witness to documents relating to Gwynedd between 1258 and 1268, under Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. As seneschal, he led a powerful force together with Maredudd ap Rhys, Rhys Fychan, and Maredudd ab Owain of Deheubarth (blood relations to Goronwy) against the Normans of Gwent and the forces of the king of England there in March 1263. The last reference to him in official documents is as an arbitrator between Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and Gilbert de Clare after a raid by Llywelyn on Morgannwg; it is dated 27 September 1268.

Goronwy had land from his father in Anglesey, Arllechwedd and Ceredigion.

Goronwy died on St Luke's Eve, 17 October 1268, according to the Brut y Tywysogion:

"The following year Goronw son of Ednyfed, seneschal to the prince, died on the eve of St Luke the Evangelist, a man excellent in arms, generous with gifts, wise in counsel, loyal in deeds, and pleasant in words."

The bard Y Prydydd Bychan composed an elegy to him. The text is very incomplete and adds very little to our knowledge of him. Another bard, Bleddyn Fardd, composed another elegy to him, which refers to the raid on Gwent and the losses which followed. His death so soon after the hostilities in Gwent suggests that he was wounded there, but there is no proof of this.

Legacy

By founding the Tudor family of Penmynydd,[4] Goronwy began a lineage which came to include kings and queens of England. The name of his son Tudur Hen became the family surname: a second Tudur ap Goronwy was knighted by King Edward III of England;[5][6] his name was passed down two further generations to Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur, who anglicised it to become Owen Tudor.[6][7] Owen was the grandfather of Henry Tudor, who became King Henry VII of England and founded the royal House of Tudor.[7]

Lineage
Tudors of Penmynydd
Ednyfed Fychan
d. 1246
I[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2][lower-roman 3][lower-roman 4]Tudur ab EdnyfedGoronwy ab Ednyfed
d.1268
II[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2][lower-roman 3][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 5]Tudur Hen
(Tudur ap Goronwy)
d.1311
III[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 5][lower-roman 6]Goronwy ap Tudur Hen
d. 1331		Tomos ap Llewelyn
d.1343
IV[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 5][lower-roman 7][lower-roman 8]Hywel ap Goronwy
d.ca.1367		Tudur ap Goronwy
d.ca.1367		Marged ferch TomosElen ferch Tomos
(mother of
Owain Glyndŵr)
V[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 2][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 7]Goronwy ap Tudur
d.1382		Rhys ap Tudur
ex.1412		Ednyfed ap Tudur
d. 1382		Gwilym ap Tudur
d.1413		Maredudd ap Tudur
d.1406
VI[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 7][lower-roman 9][lower-roman 10]Gwilym ap Griffith
(Griffiths of Penrhyn)		Morfydd ferch GoronwyTudur ap Goronwy
d.ca.1400		Owen Tudor
(Owain Tudur)
VII[lower-roman 4][lower-roman 9][lower-roman 10][lower-roman 11]Tudur FychanEdmund Tudor,
1st Earl of Richmond
d.1456		Jasper Tudor
d.1495		Owen Tudor
monk
VIII[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 9][lower-roman 10][lower-roman 11]Owain Tudor
d.1504/5		Henry VII of England
d.1509
IX[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 11]William Owen ap
Tudor Fychan		John Owen ap
Tudor Fychan		Richard Owen Theodor (I)
d.1527(?)		Arthur
d.1502		Henry VIII
d.1547
X[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4]Richard Owen Theodor (II)
d.1558(?)		William Pritchard
(William Bold)		Edward VI
d.1553		Mary I
d.1558		Elizabeth I
d.1603
XI[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4]Richard Owen Theodor (III)David Owen
Theodor
d.1624
XII[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4]Richard Owen Theodor (IV)
fl.1645
XIII[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 11]Richard Owen Theodor (V)
fl.1665
XIV[lower-roman 1][lower-roman 4][lower-roman 11]Richard Owen Theodor (VI)
fl.1669
Notes:
  1. J. Williams (1869). "Penmynyth and the Tudors". Archaeologia Cambrensis. 15 (3rd ser): 278–294, 379–402.
  2. Glyn Roberts (1959). "EDNYFED FYCHAN ( EDNYFED ap CYNWRIG ) and his descendants". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales.
  3. Peter Bartrum. "Marchudd 11". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University.
  4. Glyn Roberts (1959). "Teulu Penwynydd". Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion: 17–37.
  5. Peter Bartrum. "Marchudd 12". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University.
  6. Peter Bartrum. "Bleddyn ap Cynfyn 05". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University.
  7. Peter Bartrum. "Marchudd 13". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University.
  8. Peter Bartrum. "Rhys ap Tewdwr 07". Prosiect Bartrum/Bartrum Project. Aberystwyth University.
  9. Glyn Roberts (1959). "GRIFFITH OF PENRHYN (Caerns.)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales.
  10. Thomas Jones Pierce (1959). "OWAIN TUDOR ( c. 1400 - 1461 )". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales.
  11. Thomas Jones Pierce (1959). "TUDOR family of Penmynydd , Anglesey — later members". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales.

Notes
  1. Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 10.
  2. "Gwenllian". Royal Genealogy Database at Hull University. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  3. Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 11.
  4. "Ednyfed Fychan". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  5. Griffiths & Thomas 1985, p. 5.
  6. Nicholas 1872, p. 29.
  7. "A royal dynasty". BBC Wales. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2016.

References
  • Griffiths, Ralph Alan; Thomas, Roger S. (1985). The Making of the Tudor Dynasty. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-31250-745-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Nicholas, Thomas (1872). Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales. 1. London: Genealogical Publishing.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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