Owain Gwynedd

Owain Gwynedd
Prince of Gwynedd
The coat of arms retroactively attributed to Owain Gwynedd were: Vert, three eagles displayed in fess Or
King of All Wales
Predecessor	Gruffudd ap Cynan
Successor	Rhys ap Gruffydd
King of Gwynedd
Reign	1137-1170
Predecessor	Gruffudd ap Cynan
Successor	Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
Born	c. 1100 Gwynedd, Wales?
Died	23 or 28 November 1170 (aged 69–70)
Burial	Bangor Cathedral
Spouse	Gwladus ferch Llywarch, Cristin ferch Goronwy
Issue	Rhun ab Owain Gwynedd Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd Iorwerth "Drwyndwn" ab Owain Gwynedd Maelgwn ab Owain Gwynedd Gwenllian ferch Owain Gwynedd Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd Angharad ferch Owain Gwynedd Margaret ferch Owain Gwynedd Iefan ferch Owain Gwynedd Cynan ab Owain Gwynedd Rhirid ab Owain Gwynedd Rhirid ab Owain Gwynedd Madoc ab Owain Gwynedd Cynwrig ab Owain Gwynedd Gwenllian ferch Owain Gwynedd Einion ab Owain Gwynedd Iago ab Owain Gwynedd Ffilip ab Owain Gwynedd Cadell ab Owain Gwynedd Rotpert ab Owain Gwynedd Idwal ab Owain Gwynedd
House	Aberffraw
Father	Gruffudd ap Cynan
Mother	Angharad ferch Owain

Owain ap Gruffudd (c. 1100 – 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called "Owain the Great" (Welsh: Owain Mawr) and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales". He is considered to be the most successful of all the North Welsh princes prior to his grandson, Llywelyn the Great. He became known as Owain Gwynedd (Middle Welsh: Owain Gwyned, "Owain of Gwynedd") to distinguish him from the contemporary king of Powys Wenwynwyn, Owain ap Gruffydd ap Maredudd, who became known as Owain Cyfeiliog.

Owain Gwynedd was a member of the House of Aberffraw, the senior branch of the dynasty of Rhodri the Great. His father, Gruffudd ap Cynan, was a strong and long-lived ruler who had made the principality of Gwynedd the most influential in Wales during the sixty-two years of his reign, using the island of Anglesey as his power base. His mother, Angharad ferch Owain, was the daughter of Owain ab Edwin of Tegeingl. Owain Gwynedd was the second son of Gruffydd and Angharad. His elder brother, Cadwallon, was killed in fighting in Powys in 1132.

Owain is thought to have been born on Anglesey about the year 1100. By about 1120 Gruffydd had grown too old to lead his forces in battle and Owain and his brothers Cadwallon and later Cadwaladr led the forces of Gwynedd against the Normans and against other Welsh princes with great success. His elder brother Cadwallon was killed in a battle against the forces of Powys in 1132, leaving Owain as his father's heir. Owain and Cadwaladr, in alliance with Gruffydd ap Rhys of Deheubarth, won a major victory over the Normans at Crug Mawr near Cardigan in 1136 and annexed Ceredigion to their father's realm.