Rocks and Hard Places

The death of Cynrig(JF-1) 1073/1075 A.D., was a cause of retribution by the senior line of Tudor Trevor(JC-1). Recorded in Welsh history only as "the sons of Rhys Sais", they took revenge in 1081 A.D., upon the rulers of Gwynnedd who had caused the death of great...great...grandfather Cynrig(JF-1).

This time period in Welsh history was certainly one of turmoil. The Normans had just arrived to the island, and they had made an effort to squash any local resistance by 1070 A.D. During the same time, the Welsh tribal groups were in constant fights with one another over who had rights to certain lands. As a result, the boundaries between these lands were constantly changing. The baby of the family, Dingad(JD-3), had his land between the "rocks" and the "hard places". From the east came the Normans (the rocks) who had already made a fortification at Chester. To the northwest was the kingdom of Gwynnedd(the hard places) who wanted to expand its family's claims into Powys, where my JONES family had its roots. J.E. Lloyd discusses this history in some detail in his book, "A History of Wales", p. 18-19. His reference to our family's genealogy is recorded in footnote 68, page 285, where he records the "Mostyn MS 117" as a record of the family from Beli Mawr. This history is also discussed in a very detailed analysis of Welsh genealogical relationships by K.L. Maund , 1991, in his book "Ireland, Wales, and England in the Eleventh Century", p. 93. [He records the death of Cynrig as 1075 A.D., rather than 1073 A.D. as in Nicholas. ] These references are given to shown that detailed documentation does exist to the Welsh genealogy of my JONES family! The genealogy given in the previous post have all been documented, my own "rocks and hard places". ..genealogy can be full of them!