Einion Yrth, Venedos (Gwynedd), reigned 470s
- 480s. Little is recorded of Einion's period of authority. As one
of the sons
of Cunedda he must have been highly respected, and the fact that he inherited
the core territory of North Wales, may
suggest he was the senior of the sons who accompanied Cunedda to Wales.
With the help of his brothers, especially
Ceredig, and his nephew Merion, Einion was able to build upon the conquests
of his father and carve out the
territories which became the later kingdoms of Gwynedd, Ceredigion and
Meirionydd.
* Cadwallon Lawhir (Longhand), Gwynedd, reigned abt. 500-534.
A grandson of Cunedda and father of the notorious
Maelgwyn, Cadwallon succeeded his father Einion as ruler of the Venedotian
territory in north Wales. We can
derive some understanding of Cadwallon from his name and nickname.
Cadwallon became a common Welsh
name, especially amongst rulers, because it translates as "battle leader",
though this is its first appearance amongst
the post-Roman rulers. Lawhir means longhand, and almost certainly refers
to a physical attribute rather than
meaning his power extended over a large area. It was during Cadwallon's
reign that Arthur gained his victory
over the Saxons at Badon. One noted episode remembered by the Welsh
bards is that Cadwallon led his army
into Anglesey to defeat the Irish and claim the island, which later became
his base. It is possible that Cadwallon was
succeeded by a brother, whose name we do not know, who was subsequently
murdered by Maelgwn.
* Maelgwn Hir, born abt. 497, Gwynedd, reigned abt. 520s-549,
died in a plague. Maelgwyn was one of the most
powerful rulers of early sixth century Britain, so much so that he has
been regarded by some as the original of king
Arthur, especially as Gildas, who rebuked Maelgwyn severely in his Ruin
of Britain, called him the "dragon of the
island", a reference to the title of Pendragon or high king. Neverless,
with Maelgwyn, we have a king whose reign
coincides with the height of Arthur's fame and who was certainly the senior
king amongst the British after Arthur's
death. Maelgwyn's nickname, Hir means Tall, and his name, gwyn, means
fair, so we can picture him as a tall,
powerful, blond man, probably quite handsome. Maelgwyn's life was
turbulent. Called by Gildas "first in evil",
he was regarded as a vicous tyrant, but he also had a period of repentance
during which he turned to the church,
before he once again took up a life of tyranny. Gildas records that
in his youth he killed his uncle. He is reputed to
have founded the bishopric of Bangor and to have built or strengthened
other churches. He married, but soon his
passions turned to his nephew's wife as his own. His son and successor,
Rhun, was almost certainly a child of the
first marriage. Maelgwyn was also the father of Brude, who was chosen
by the Picts to be their leader. By the
time of his death Maelgwyn was firmly established as the primary ruler
of the British, and a natural seccessor
to Arthur.
* Rhun Hir, born abt. 520, Gwynedd, reigned abt. 549-580s. Sometime
after his father's death, presumably around 500,
Elidyr, the ruler of Rheged, who had married Rhun's sister, believed he
had claim to Gwynedd, and more especially
the island of Anglesey. At this time Elidyr almost certainly ruled
the Isle of Man as well and the islands of Man and
Anglesey have a long historic association. Elidyr's attempt at conquest,
however, failed, for he was killed by Rhun.
Rhun's half brother Brude, had recently been elected ruler of the Picts,
which meant that Rhydderch and Clydno
were trapped between a growing dynastic power to north and south. Mustering
forces from all over north Wales,
Rhun led an army, probably the greatest force that had been seen since
the days of Arthur, and marched from
Wales up through Rheged (Lancashire) and across the Pennines to York.
In all that march, which lasted several
months, Rhun was unopposed. In effect he exercised authority over
all of north Wales and northern Britian and,
in alliance with Brude, extending into the lands of the Picts. Rhun
could have sought to establish a major kingdom.
But he did not have a sufficient power base back in Wales to sustain such
rule, and though his authority was
recognized, he did not take control of the territory. Instead he
made peace with Peredur of York, apparently
marrying his cousin Perwyr, and then returned to Gwynedd. One can
conjecture that during that period he
established Gwynedd as a prosperous and strong kingdom not threatened by
any outside powers.
* Beli, Gwynedd, reigned 580s-599. Little is known about
the reign of Beli, even though he inherited a powerful and stable
Kingdom. He was succeeded by his son Iago.
* Iago, Gwynedd, reigned abt. 599-613. The name Iago is the
Welsh equivalent of Jacob or James. It was during his reign
that the power of the Angles in Mercia grew under Pybba and his son Penda.
In 604, Athelfrith had driven Edwin
out of Northumbria and the young king sought refuge at the courts of Iago
and Selyf of Powys. Athelfrith,
determined to be rid of Edwin turned his wrath against the Welsh; it seems
that the Mercians provided little
assistance. Althelfrith slaughtered the monks of a monastery at Bangor
and then his forces defeated and killed
Selyf at the Battle of Chester. It is not recorded that Iago took
part in this battle; in fact it is suggested that
Iago may already have abdicated as king and died that same year in a monastery.
He was succeeded by Cadfan.
* Cadfan, Gwynedd, reigned abt. 615-620, died abt. 625.
Cadfan is remembered as a wise king, which suggests that not
only did he adminster the laws justly to his subjects, but that he also
succeeded in maintaining peace at a time of
growing hostility between the Welsh and the Angles, especially the Northumbrian
king Athelfrith. Despite Athelfrith's
victory at the Battle of Chester, Cadfan continued to shelter Edwin, the
Northumbrian prince whom Athelfrith was
intent on killing. When Athelfrith was himself killed in battle four
years later, Edwin was restored to his throne.
He did not show any particular favouritism to his saviours, however; he
bacame intent on conquering other Celtic
land, including Elmet, Rheged and Man, and was eventually killed by Cadfan's
son Cadwallon.
* Cadwallon, born 590s, Gwynedd, reigned 620s-634, in exile
620-627, killed in battle. Once restored to the throne, Edwin
determined to conquer Britain. He soon captured the British kingdom
of Elmet and deposed its king Ceredig.
With the death of Cadfan, Edwin invaded North Wales, driving the Welsh
back toward the sea. Cadwallon,
unprepared, fled to the islet of Priestholm, off Anglesey, and from there
escaped to Ireland. His elile lasted about
seven years, during which time Edwin's authority spread over all of northern
England and Wales and the Isle of Man.
Around 626 Edwin was converted to Christianity and ceased his conquests.
Cadwallon returned from Wales and
was restored to his kingdom, though as a vassal to Northumbria. Cadwallon
entered into alliance with Penda,
and Edwin was killed, as were most of his family and many of his nobles.
Cadwallon had regained the old
kingdom of his forebears, for it was from Northumbria that Cunedda had
come two centuries before. Cadwallon
could have been a great king. He was remembered as such by the Welsh
because, for one brief period, he
re-established the might of the British against the Saxons. Had he
been a wise king he could have restored
British might and glory. But he lost this chance, and the British
never again regained such power. At his death
he was only in his late thirties. His son, Cadwaladr was too young
to take power, and Gwynedd was lost to
an adventurer called Cadfael.
* Cadfael Cadomedd ap Cynfeddw, reigned 634-abt. 655, usurper,
later deposed. On the death of Cadwallon in
battle, Cadfael seized the throne of Gwynedd. Cadfael may have been
raised in the court of Gwynedd and been given
some degree of authority when Cadwallon went to war with Edwin of Northumbria
in 630 or 631. Whatever his origins, he clearly had strong control
of Gwynedd as he remained in power for over twenty years. He fought
alongside Penda in the
fatal battle of Winwaed in 655 where Penda fell. Cadfael fled the
battlefield. He may have died soon after,
possibly killed by Cadwaladr, or he may have fled into exitle.
* Cadwaladr Fendigiad (the Blessed), Gwynedd, reigned
abt. 655-682, died in a plague. Cadwaladr was perhaps the
last great British hero, remembered in Welsh texts almost like another
Arthur. He was presumably raised in
exile either in Ireland, or in one of the neighbouring Welsh kingdoms.
The native Venedotians of Gwynedd did
not like their usurper king Cadfeal; they hailed Cadwaladr as a promised
saviour to deliver them from his yoke
and to conquer the English again, echoing the achievements of Cadwallon.
Unfortunately he did not live up to
their expectations. In 658 he led an army against the West Saxons
at Peonne in Somerset and was soundly
defeated. Thereafter he seems to have spent his years establishing
peace and prosperity in Gwynedd, rather
than attempting to conquer to English. He is the last British king
recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his
History of the Kings of Britian, and his death seems to mark the end of
the last chapter of British resistance
against the Saxons.
* Idwal Iwrch (Roebuck), Gwynedd, reigned abt. 682-720.
After the death of Cadwaladr the history of the Welsh
ruling houses enters a dark period for over a century until the emergence
of Merfyn Frych and Rhodri (the
Great). Like his father, therefore, he was probably not warlike,
but preferred to rule wisely and pay
countenance to the church.
* Rhodri Molwynog, reigned abt. 720-754. His reign concides
with that of Athelbald of Mercia who, by 736 was
styling himself King of Britain. There were no other strong Welsh
chieftains at this time and we can imagine
Rhodri and his family clinging proudly to their heritage, which they could
trace back to Cunedda and Coel.
It is suggested that he was succeeded by a distant cousin, Caradog ap Meirion.
* Caradog ap Meirion, reigned abt. 754-798, killed in 798.
It is likely that during this period the royal house of Gwynedd
withdrew to their stronghold on Anglesey. Caradog was the ruler of
Rhos and claimed descent from Einion's
son Owain. Caradog was almost certainly ruler in 768, the year in
which Elfoddw, the bishop of Gwynedd,
persuaded the Welsh church to adopt the church of Rome's method of calculating
Easter, which had been the
main rift between the Roman and Celtic churches since the Synod of Whitby
under Oswy of Northumbria in 664.
Caradog faced increasing encroachment from the Saxons who were invading
Powys during this period. Caradog
seems to have met his death from the Mercians under Cenwulf, although other
records state that he was strangled.
* Cynan ap Rhodri, reigned abt. 798-816. It is not exactly
clear who ruled Gwynedd in the last years of the eighth century.
Although it is not clear when he came to power, certainly by the year 813
it is recorded that he was waging a
civil war with Hywel, who was either his brother or a distant cousin.
Hywel gained the upper hand in 814, but
Cynan won back control in 816, only to die later that year. Cynan
almost certainly sought help in his war from
Gwriad, the ruler of the Isle of Man, who had married Cynan's daughter
Essyllt. Essyllt became the mother of
Merfyn Frych who established a new dynasty in Gwynedd and began the re-establishment
of Gwynedd's power.
* Hywel, Gwynedd, reigned 814-825. Hywel has variously
been identified as the son (or grandson) of Rhodri ap Idwal or
the son of Caradog ap Meirion. Whichever was the case, he appeared
on the scene in a dynastic struggle with
his brother or distant cousin Cynan ap Rhodri over the rulership of
Gwynedd, and in particular over the
heartland of Anglesey. Hywel either left no children or all had died
in the many skirmishes during these dark
days for, after his death, power was taken by Cynan's grandson Merfyn Frych.
* Essyllt
= Gwriad
* Merfyn Frych (the Freckled), Gwynedd, reigned abt. 825-844
son of Gwriad of Man. After the reign of Hywel 814-825.
Merfyn came to power following the death of Hywel ap Caradog, and his accession
marked the end of a period
of turmoil in Gwynedd's affairs and the start of a new dynast.
Merfyn was the son of Gwriad, the king of the
Isle of Man, through whom he could claim descent from Llywarch Hen.
His mother was Essyllt, the daughter
of Cynan ap Rhodri, who was descended from the main line of Venedotian
kings since the days of Cunedda.
Merfyn married Nest, the daughter of Cadell ap Brochfael of Powys.
His alliance with Powys meant that the
two kingdoms presented a powerful front to the Saxons in the east.
Merfyn thus established a stable, if uneasy
peace. Merfyn Frych died in 844 passing his reign to his son Rhodri
Mawr who would become king of all
North Wales.
* Rhodri, Rhodri, succeeded to the kingdoms of Powys in 855
and that of Seisyllwg in 872, becoming king of all
North Wales. Under him and his successors Gwynedd entered its period of
greatness. After Cynan's death
Powys passed to his nephew Rhodri Mawr and formed part of the kingdom of
Gwynedd until the death of
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn in 1075.
= Angarad of the line of Ceredig ap Cunedda