Editing Gruffudd ap Cynan (section)

=== Ancestry ===
According to the ''Life of Gruffudd ap Cynan'', Gruffudd was born in the [[Norse–Gaels|Hiberno–Norse]] [[Kingdom of Dublin]] and reared near [[Swords, County Dublin]],  in Ireland. He was the son of an exiled Welsh King as per the Life, [[Cynan ap Iago]], who was a claimant to the kingship of Gwynedd but was probably never its king in actuality, though his father, Gruffudd's grandfather, [[Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig]], had ruled Gwynedd from 1023 to 1039. When Gruffudd first appeared on the scene in Wales the Welsh annals several times refer to him as "grandson of Iago" rather than the more usual "son of Cynan", indicating that his father was little known in Wales. Cynan ap Iago seems to have died while Gruffudd was still young,<ref name="DWB"/> since the ''History'' describes his mother telling him who his father was.<ref name=bio/>

According to ''[[Historia Gruffud vab Kenan]]'', Gruffudd's mother was ''Ragnailt ingen Amlaíb'', a granddaughter of King [[Sigtrygg Silkbeard]] and a member of the Hiberno-Norse [[Uí Ímair]] dynasty.{{sfn|Hudson|2005|page=83}} The latter had two sons named Amlaíb: one died in 1013, whilst [[Amlaíb mac Sitriuc|another died in 1034]]. Either man could have been Ragnailt's father.<ref name=bio/> An anecdote described here about ''Ragnailt ingen Amlaíb'' explained a prophecy in which an unnamed monk told her that great power would come to her son. However, this has been rejected by modern scholars as an embellishment by later writers.{{sfn|Hudson|2005}}{{page needed|date=January 2025}}

During his many struggles to gain the kingship of Gwynedd, Gruffudd received considerable aid from Ireland, from the Hiberno-Norse at [[Dublin]], the [[Kingdom of the Isles|Isles]] and [[Wexford]] and from [[Muircheartach Ua Briain]], because he was also descendant through his mother from [[Brian Boru]], [[High King of Ireland]].<ref name=bio/>{{#tag:ref|Anonymous, ''The History of Gruffydd Ap Cynan'', trans. and ed. by Arthur Jones, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1910|group=cy}}