Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography
Einion ap Gollwyn
(supp. fl. 1093)David E. Thornton
https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/8602Published in print: 23 September 2004 Published online: 23 September 2004
Einion ap Gollwyn (supp. fl. 1093), ruler in south Wales, was the son of Gollwyn ap Gwyn, or alternatively of Cydifor ap Gollwyn (d. 1091), though the latter may have been his brother. According to various legends, which cannot be traced back earlier than the
sixteenth century, Einion's double dealings with Rhys ab Iestyn, king of Glamorgan, against Rhys ap Tewdwr of Deheubarth played an important role in the Norman invasion of Glamorgan, reminiscent of that of Diarmait mac Murchada in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. (They are recounted in detail in the Dictionary of National Biography.) The earliest extant account occurs in 'The winning of the lordship of Glamorgan out of the Welshmen's hands', written by Edward Stradling (d. 1609) between 1561 and 1566, which survives in Cardiff, Central Library, MS 4943. David Powell (d. 1598) of Ruabon drew on Stradling's text but produced a variant account in his Historie of Cambria, now called Wales, published in 1584. Powell's version was in turn the basis of the description by Edward Williams, alias Iolo Morgannwg (d. 1826) in his forged chronicle now known as Brut Aberpergwm, published in the
Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales (1801–7): this Brut was regarded as reliable by many in the nineteenth century, which explains why some scholars reproduced the account of Einion's deeds as historical fact. Einion is not mentioned in the surviving medieval chronicles, though his brother (or father) Cydifor ap Gollwyn is. Einion appears as common ancestor of various Welsh families in some late genealogies.
