Nest ferch Cadell
Encyclopedia
Nest ferch Cadell was the daughter of Cadell ap Brochfael a late 8th century King of Powys, wife of Merfyn Frych King of Gwynedd
and mother to Rhodri the Great
, King of both Powys and Gwynedd.
On the death of her brother Cyngen ap Cadell
in 855, authority over the Kingdom of Powys passed to her son Rhodri the Great
who had previously inherited the Kingdom of Gwynedd on the death of his father in 844, thereby uniting the Kingdoms of Powys and Gwynedd.
It is unclear why the inheritance of Powys passed through Nest to her son, and not to one of the sons of Cyngen: Elisedd ap Cyngen
, Ieuaf ap Cyngen, Aeddan ap Cyngen, and Gruffudd ap Cyngen. The texts of Welsh laws which survive to us were written down no earlier than the 12th century, but they provide no evidence that women were capable of transmitting legal title of kingship or lordship. Equally, although the pedigree in a manuscript in Jesus College Oxford states Nest as the mother of Rhodri the Great
, another pedigree in a fourteenth century manuscript in the National Library of Wales records his mother as Essyllt ferch Cynan. There are no strong grounds to accept either manuscript as reliable, but it is reasonable to believe that the royal house of Gwynedd promoted the view that the Kingdom of Powys had passed to Rhodri the Great
through his mother in order to legitimise their control over it. Either way, this possible genealogical manipulation became part of the accepted story of the unification of the two kingdoms.
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
and mother to Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great was King of Gwynedd from 844 until his death. He was the first Welsh ruler to be called 'Great', and the first to rule most of present-day Wales...
, King of both Powys and Gwynedd.
On the death of her brother Cyngen ap Cadell
Cyngen ap Cadell
Cyngen ap Cadell was a king of Powys in eastern Wales.-Biography:Cyngen was of the line of Brochwel Ysgithrog and after a long reign as king of Powys went on a pilgrimage to Rome and died there in 855...
in 855, authority over the Kingdom of Powys passed to her son Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great was King of Gwynedd from 844 until his death. He was the first Welsh ruler to be called 'Great', and the first to rule most of present-day Wales...
who had previously inherited the Kingdom of Gwynedd on the death of his father in 844, thereby uniting the Kingdoms of Powys and Gwynedd.
It is unclear why the inheritance of Powys passed through Nest to her son, and not to one of the sons of Cyngen: Elisedd ap Cyngen
Elisedd ap Cyngen
-Biography:He was a son of Cyngen ap Cadell the last King of Powys of the Gwerthyrnion Dynasty who claimed descent through Brochwel Ysgithrog. Cyngen died in Rome in 855 having fled the aggression of Gwynedd...
, Ieuaf ap Cyngen, Aeddan ap Cyngen, and Gruffudd ap Cyngen. The texts of Welsh laws which survive to us were written down no earlier than the 12th century, but they provide no evidence that women were capable of transmitting legal title of kingship or lordship. Equally, although the pedigree in a manuscript in Jesus College Oxford states Nest as the mother of Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great was King of Gwynedd from 844 until his death. He was the first Welsh ruler to be called 'Great', and the first to rule most of present-day Wales...
, another pedigree in a fourteenth century manuscript in the National Library of Wales records his mother as Essyllt ferch Cynan. There are no strong grounds to accept either manuscript as reliable, but it is reasonable to believe that the royal house of Gwynedd promoted the view that the Kingdom of Powys had passed to Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great was King of Gwynedd from 844 until his death. He was the first Welsh ruler to be called 'Great', and the first to rule most of present-day Wales...
through his mother in order to legitimise their control over it. Either way, this possible genealogical manipulation became part of the accepted story of the unification of the two kingdoms.