Editing Owain Gwynedd (section)

== Early life ==
Owain Gwynedd was a member of the [[House of Aberffraw]], the senior branch of the dynasty of [[Rhodri Mawr]] (Rhodri the Great). His father, [[Gruffudd ap Cynan]], was a strong and long-lived ruler who had made the principality of [[Kingdom of Gwynedd|Gwynedd]] the most influential in [[Wales]] during the sixty-two years of his reign, using the island of [[Anglesey]] as his power base. His mother, [[Angharad ferch Owain]], was the daughter of [[Owain ab Edwin of Tegeingl]].<ref name=Dictionary/> Owain Gwynedd was the second son of Gruffydd and Angharad. His elder brother, Cadwallon, was killed in fighting in Powys in 1132 against [[Meirionnydd]].<ref name=GwyneddDWB/>

Owain is thought to have been born on Anglesey about the year 1100, he was [[Gruffudd ap Cynan]]'s second child, grandchild of Owain ab Edwin of Tegeingl via his mother Angharad ferch Owain.<ref name=GwyneddDWB/> By about 1120 Gruffydd had grown too old to lead his forces in battle and Owain and his brothers [[Cadwallon ap Gruffudd|Cadwallon]] and later [[Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd|Cadwaladr]] led the forces of Gwynedd against the Normans and against other Welsh princes with great success. His elder brother Cadwallon was killed in a battle against the forces of [[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]] in 1132, leaving Owain as his father's heir. Owain and Cadwaladr, in alliance with [[Gruffydd ap Rhys]] of [[Deheubarth]], won a major victory over the [[Normans]] at [[Crug Mawr]] near [[Cardigan, Ceredigion|Cardigan]] in 1136<ref name=France>{{cite book |author=John France |date=1999 |title=Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000–1300 |page=191 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wF7uX-pA54C&q=facts+about+the+battle+of+crug+mawr |isbn=9781857284676 |publisher=Psychology Press |access-date=15 February 2019}}</ref> and annexed [[Ceredigion]] to their father's realm.