Cynan Dindaethwy

Cynan Dindaethwy (English: "Cynan of Dindaethwy") or Cynan ap Rhodri ("Cynan son of Rhodri") was a king of Gwynedd (reigned c. 798 – c. 816) in Wales in the early Middle Ages. Cynan was the son of Rhodri Molwynog and ascended to the throne of Gwynedd upon the death of King Caradog ap Meirion in 798. His epithet refers to the commote of Dindaethwy in the cantref Rhosyr. Unlike later kings of Gwynedd, usually resident at Aberffraw in western Anglesey, Cynan maintained his court at Llanfaes on the southeastern coast.^[1] Cynan's reign was marked by a destructive dynastic power struggle with a rival named Hywel ap Caradog, usually supposed to be his brother. (One source, the genealogy in Jesus College MS. 20, gives him as the son of Caradog ap Meirion, hence "ap Caradog".)

Rhodri died in 754, but there is no mention of Cynan until 813; thus it is suggested in Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig that there is an error in his pedigree. It is said that he and Caradog may have been cousins. Another possibility is that his epithet refers to Castell Dindaethwy, believed to have been on a hill near Menai Bridge, which provides some confirmation that he came from the south east of Anglesey.