Kingdom of Gwynedd (Guynet)

The emergence of the Kings of Gwynedd permanently in the Aberffraw district (cantref), Wikipedia links used. After the original division of Kingdoms in sub-Roman Britain, Wales was further divided into what was called the ' Cantrefi ' (similar to townships). Then within the cantref were ' commotes ' (cymwt in middle Welsh) which were a further land division. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to  XrysD through Wiki Commons ,  Welsh cantrefi map.   The Kingdom of Gwynedd's (Guynet) cadet branch was in the Aberffraw cantref on the Isle of Anglesey , North Wales. The dynasty was named the  House of Aberffraw , also known as the second dynasty of Gwynedd, it would align itself with Gwynedd and its rulers, they had held successive royal titles from different locations at the same time. Those titles could be of King or Prince of Gwynedd, or of Aberffraw, also Lord of Eryri (Snowdon) or Anglesey as well as temporary vassal lordships south of Gwynedd i...

Explaining the founding of the Royal House of Aberffraw (Second Dynasty of Gwynedd), its position in Wales as the preferred family seat, and Aberffraw's significance as a settlement for the Kings of Gwynedd. (Wikipedia articles linked). The concept of a royal house  or dynasty in Wales stems from the idea that a Kingdom would have a preferred location to dwell as a royal palace. But in Welsh Kingdoms there were many royal courts (llysoedd in Welsh), of all the residences in the kingdom, one of them would be the preferred chief location (modern capital) connected to the royal house and its family associated with the dynasty, e.g.  House of Windsor  of the  United Kingdom  and their preferred family seat  Windsor castle , although the residence is owned by the crown and is not privatised. A family seat is a permanent settlement for a noble to surround himself (or herself) with family and friends or an entourage, and to come and go as they pleased. In th...

The laws of Wales (Cyfraith Hywel). The internal factions battling for the Kingdom of Gwynedd, civil wars, and conquests to and from Wales, circa. 900-1300 (Wikipedia articles linked). The founding of the Royal House of Aberffraw in Gwynedd saw a new era of governance within the monarchy. Rhodri the Great (Mawr) divided Wales into factions as Kingdoms ruled by Royal Houses. Although Rhodri's descendants were cousins in separate royal households, they were also competitors, and stability was needed to control the country of Wales . This era saw the new laws written for Wales for the first time in over a millennium after the Iron Age. The original laws were the  Molmutine Laws  and had been written by Dyfnwal Moelmud, circa 400 BC. A descendant of Camber (c. 1,000 BC), the first King of Wales and King of Britain in his own right. The next time was  Hywel Dda (Howel the Good) in the 10th century, he was a grandson of Rhodri Mawr, King of Gwynedd, and son of Cadell, the fo...

The family tree of Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, King of the Welsh, and his royal descendants claimed the original Celtic (native) title of Prince of Wales, era circa 1137 -1283. And also the effects of the Norman invasion on Wales' royalty (Wikipedia articles linked). The original Princes of Wales were not of English or French origins as presumed from the investiture of the first Prince of Wales, Edward I of England in 1301, that is the history taught as common knowledge today. There is a different history of the Princes, an obscure origins story starting in the 11th century. Those original Princes of Wales were Welsh monarchs from respective Kingdoms within the borders of Wales who claimed Celtic ancestry and then newly mixed with Viking blood ( Northern European ). The era of the native (Celtic) Princes of Wales officially began just before 1165, and then continued sporadically for 200 years until the death of the hereditary male line lineal successor of the Aberffraw d...

Wales' Norman-built stone castles and English  expansion.   Llywelyn the Great's expedition during 1215, and Welsh built castles. (Wikipedia articles linked). Castles in Wales had been originally built with wood, but they did not last long. Some of these fortifications were adapted from pre-existing  hillforts , and these forts were built using the natural earthworks from the local vicinity, but, in some cases, the fortifications constructed would have a  motte and bailey . For a generation after the  Norman invasion of Wales  in the 1080s, Norman castles were built in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, such as  Aberlleiniog Castle  on Anglesey which was similar to previous fortifications, however this time they were built with stone and capable of withstanding the harsh terrain of Northern Europe.  The Norman fortifications were a few centuries before the new era of castle building which became known as the  Ring of Iron  (1277-1320s) e.g. Ca...

The Aberffraw family's Llywelyns (also Llewelyn) in the 13th century; Grandfather, grandson, cousin. The Welsh Princes of Wales, and subsequent  internal  factions against fellow Welsh, and external rebellions against England. Then the eventual  demise of the Royal House of Aberffraw (Wikipedia links used). The Royal family of Aberffraw through warfare had controlled all of Gwynedd and most of North Wales by the 12th century. After the emergence of the Normans in Wales in the 11th century, the neighbouring kingdoms throughout Wales could not protect their lands as effectively as the Kingdom of Gwynedd had done. Deheubarth , Morgannwg , and Powys , the other three of the big 4 kingdoms lost swathes of land to the invaders. But, Gwynedd grew in size, reaching south along the coast into Meirionydd and Ceredigion and west north Wales to Powys. However, the gains were not achieved through peace but through war.  As well as the Aberffraw Llywelyns (anglicised as Leolinus...