| History |
Trahaern ap Caradog was a king of Gwynedd. His family is thought to have originated in Arwystli, on the border between Gwynedd and Powys. On the death of his cousin Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, king of Gwynedd and Powys, it appears that none of his sons were old enough to claim the throne, and Trahaern seized power.
In the same year Gruffydd ap Cynan landed on Anglesey with an Irish force, and with the assistance of the Norman Robert of Rhuddlan he defeated Trahaern and gained control of Gwynedd. However tension between Gruffydd ap Cynan\'s Irish bodyguard and the local Welsh led to a rebellion in Llyn, and Trahaern took the opportunity to counter-attack, defeating Gruffydd at the Battle of Bron yr Erw, also in 1075, and forcing him to flee back to Ireland.
In 1078 Trahaern was campaigning in South Wales, defeating Rhys ab Owain of Deheubarth, who had been responsible for the killing of Bleddyn ap Dynfyn, in the Battle of Gwdig (Goodwick). Rhys was forced to flee, and later the same year he was killed by Caradog ap Gruffydd of Gwent. This was hailed in the annals _Brut y Tywysogion_ as \'vengeance for the blood of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn\'.
Trahaern ruled Gwynedd until 1081, when Gruffydd ap Cynan returned from Ireland with an army of Danes and Irish and made an alliance with Rhys ap Tewdwr who had recently been ousted as prince of Deheubarth by Caradog ap Gruffydd of Morgannwg.
Trahaern countered by making an alliance with Caradog ap Gruffydd. He is also said to have had Norman arbalisters in his army, but at the Battle of Mynydd Carn, north of St. David\'s, that year both Trahaern and Caradag were killed, and Gruffydd ap Cynan took over the rule of Gwynedd while Rhys ap Tewdwr was restored as prince of Deheubarth. Trahaern is recorded as having been killed by one of Gruffydd ap Cynan\'s men, an Irishman named Gucharki.
Trahaern left a son Llywarch ap Trahaern whose daughter Gwladus had children by Owain Gwynedd, king of Gwynedd. Their son Iorwerth Drwyndwn ab Owain Gwynedd would be the father of Llywelyn Fawr \'the Great\', prince of Wales. [1] |
Ellie Wood Keith Genealogy
Abt 1035 - 1081 (~ 46 years)