bio2

Crystoffer ap Cynan Llwyd

		was born in 1330 in Wales near the town of Conway. I am the second born son and have three siblings. My father, was Cynan Llwyd ap Gruffydd ap Rhys, was the great grandson of one of the minor chieftains who participated in the second Welsh war in 1282. My mother is Alicia de Redvers whose betrothal to my father was a political maneuver on the part of King Edward who was at the time Prince of Wales. My father and one sister died in 1349 and another in 1360 by the Black Death.
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	My mother has never been happy to be in Wales believing it to be an uncivilized land and the Welsh people "to be not much better than the Scotsmen". My brother and I were sent to live with my uncle at Carisbrooke castle on the Isle of Wight so we could be educated in England. The illuminations in the books of his library developed my interest in calligraphy and illumination. The stories told by my brother and uncle when they returned after the battle of Crecy helped develop my interest in heraldry. I have siunce acted as his herald and emissary on numerous occasions. I journeyed to France with my Uncle when the Prince, Edward of Monmouth, went on campaign in 1356 and participated in the battle of Poitiers. Although I don't like the fact that English nobles are ruling Wales, I do like the air of calmness it has brought to the country as a whole.