The History of Gruffydd ap Cynan: Welsh Text with Translation
and Notes. By Arthur Jones, M.A. (Manchester University Press. 6s. net.)—Gruffydd ap Cynan, whose name will not be found in some places where it might be expected, was King of North Wales for an uncertain period in the second half of the eleventh and the first half of the twelfth century He was born in Ireland in 1055, his father, who was rightful king, being then in exile,. made attempts to recover his throne, and after a stormy period, a. part of which was spent as a prisoner in Chester Castle, he settled down into as much peace as a Welsh throne permitted and died at the unusual age of eighty-two. His life is here given in Welsh and English. The tradition is that it was written by a Bangor monk, and internal evidence seems to show that it is earlier than Strongbow's invasion of Ireland. Gruffydd was intimately connected with Ireland : his mother was an Irish princess, and he was helped in his efforts to recover his throne by Irish auxiliaries. It is scarcely likely, therefore, that an event so important should have been left unnoticed. It must be said, however, that the historian, whoever he was, kept very closely to his subject. The picture we get of Welsh affairs is not exactly pleasing. Incessant feuds, carried on with the greatest savagery, form the main part of its history. Gruffydd was "a. pious man after his fashion." The "fashion," however, seems to have included, not only the barbarities just spoken of, bat a numerous brood of illegitimate children. It also permitted the attempted surrender of a kinsman who had sought shelter and sanctuary. Mr. Jones does not attempt to conceal his faults, but urges that he did some service to his country. Whether it would not have been happier if it had submitted to its powerful neighbour a century or so before it did he does not pretend to determine. Gruffydd was succeeded by Owain, father of the mythical Madoe„ discoverer of America.
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