Gruffudd Fychan II

Lord of Glyndyfrdwy and Lord of Cynllaith Owain

Gruffudd Fychan II was Lord of Glyndyfrdwy and Lord of Cynllaith Owain c.1330–1369. As such, he had a claim to be hereditary Prince of Powys Fadog, and was a member of the Royal House of Mathrafal. His son, Owain Glyndwr, started the Welsh Revolt and became Prince of Wales.

Gruffydd Fychan II was born to Lord Gruffydd ap Madog of Rhythallt, and Elizabeth Lestrange, daughter of Lord Lestrange of Knockin Castle. His father and grandfather were the Barons of Glyndyfrdwy and Cynllaith Owain in Powys Fadog, once held in its entirety by his ancestor, Prince Gruffydd Maelor II. Through her great great great grandmother, Queen Eleanor of Provence, she was a descendant of Frozza Orseolo, member of the Venetian House of Orseolo, and number of Doges of Venice, including Orso Ipato, the first Doge historically known. Elen's father, Thomas ap Llywelyn, Representative of the last sovereign Princes of South Wales, was Lord of South Wales, which included half of the commote of Is Coed and a quarter of Gwynionydd, both in Ceredigion. Elen's sister, Marged ferch Tomos, became the wife of Tudur ap Goronwy, of the Tudors of Penmynydd, and the grandmother of Sir Owen Tudor, who gave his name to the House of Tudor. Her father's cousins included Eleanor (died 1332), who married to Rudolph, Duke of Lorraine, son of Elisabeth of Habsburg, and Beatrice, who married to Imperial vicar Guido Gonzaga, Lord of Mantua, member of the Princely House of Gonzaga. Their son and grandson married with the House of Este and the House of Visconti, through the powerful Lord of Milan, Bernabò Visconti. Her grandmother, Eleanor of Bar, being a granddaughter of Count Theobald II, was a niece of Isabelle of Lorraine and Matthias of Lorraine. Isabelle was a daughter of Duke Theobald II, and Matthias was a son of Duke Frederick III, both members of the Imperial House of Lorraine, which later merged with the House of Habsburg and became the House of Habsburg Lorraine. Through Robert II, Duke of Burgundy, and Princess Agnes of France, Eleanor's in laws included the Royal families of Edward, Count of Savoy, of the House of Savoy, King Louis X of the House of Capet, and King Philip VI of the House of Valois, among others.

He was buried at the Church of St. Asaph & St Cyndeyrn in Llanasa where the remains of his tomb can be seen today.