Madog was the son of Llywelyn ap Maredudd, the last vassal Lord of Meirionydd who had been

deprived of his patrimony in 1256 for opposing the Prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, at the
Battle of Bryn Derwin. Llywelyn ap Maredudd had gone into exile in England where he received a
pension from the English crown, until June 1262 when he reconciled with the Prince of Wales. He
died in a skirmish fighting for the Welsh in April 1263.[1] His eldest son, Madog, who may have been
born in exile, is known to have received substantial monetary gifts from King Edward I of England in
1277, and used this money to sue the Prince of Wales in 1278 in an attempt to have his father's
cantref of Meirionydd returned to him. It appears that Madog returned to Gwynedd after the death of
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282, and received lands from the King of England in Anglesey.[2]