A Welsh History Synopsis
in 20 parts
by:David Walter Fortin

Parts 5-9

Part Five: The Dark Ages I (400-600)

When we last left off with the historical narrative, the Roman legions had left Britain with Magnus Maximus, leaving the island undefended. For what happened next, I'll be using William of Malmesbury's "The Kings Before the Norman Conquest" (originally written in the 12th C), as William does a good job of synthesizing Bede, Gildas and the AS Chronicle. I'll also draw from Walker's "Medieval Wales" and Lloyd. After the legions had left, the story of what happened in Britain becomes very unclear due to the lack of sources. Here's what happened according to the traditional accounts:

After the legions had left, the Picts and Scots (Irish colonizers in Scotland) set about to invade the former province at once. The Romano-Britons requested help from Rome, then ruled by Honorius, which twice extended its aid. However, the last time, the Romans informed the Britons that they could not come again "Accompanied by the tears of the miserable inhabitants" (William of M). The Scots and Picts make fresh attacks, the Britons are hard pressed. The leader of the Britons is Vortigern, "a man calculated neither for the field nor the council, but wholly given up to the lusts of the flesh, the slave of every vice, a charachter of insatiable avarice, ungovernable pride, unquenchable lust." (William of M). In other words, he's going to be the scapegoat. Seeing that the Britons are not militaristic enough to defeat their current enemies, Vortigern invited the Angles and Saxons from Germany to help defeat the Picts and Scots.

The Germans agree, and lead by Hengist and Horsa, set about to bring over a multitude of warriors, defeat the Picts and Scots, and start to settle in England. In the meantime, Hengist sends back to the old country for more men, as Britain offered "the prospect of advantage which it afforded to new adventurers." (WofM). Hengist then uses his daughter to entrap the lecherous Vortigern into bequeathing Kent to the Saxons.

The Angles and Saxons sought to increase their lands, but their arose another leader after Vortigern, Ambrosius, "the sole survivor of the Romans, who became monarch after Vortigern, quelled the presumptuous barbarians with the help of Arthur." (WofM). It is interesting to note that William makes the following statement, as a contemporary of Geoffrey of Monmouth: "This is that Arthur, of whom the Britons fondly fable even to the present day; a man worthy to be celebrated, not by idle fictions, but in authentic history." William credits Arthur with the victory of Mount Badon, which created a peace which lasted for some time. However the Angles and Saxons continued to pour forth from their homelands and the Britons were gradually forced back. So ends the legendary account.

This account does have some merit, in that it does reflect the gradualness of the conquest. Indeed, the names of the personas may be of real people, shrouded in myth. However, let me give my own take on what happened, which is a synthesis of the modern authors which I have read.

When the legions left, the Romano-Britons were by no means without the ability to defend themselves. First, the institutions of Rome survived and the early story was one of continuity rather than of a clean break when the legions left. There is evidence that the old villas continued to function in the agricultural sphere long after 400 AD. Additionally, the Romans also left a good base from which to make a defense, namely, Hadrian's Wall, and the Saxon Shore fortresses. Bede's account tries to establish a beginning point for the Anglo-Saxon penetration into Britain. The legend of Hengest and Horsa fits nicely into this, allowing Bede to establish a starting point for his chronology. However, what really happened (remember Bede was writing 300 years after the fact) might have been different.

My own opinion is that the original Saxons to come to Britain were members of the legions which occupied Britain. The legions in the later days of the Empire were made up of large contingents of German troops, and it would not be a very long stretch for Saxon soldiers to have been sent to Britain. These soldiers may have then done what Hengest supposedly did: contacted their families in Old Saxony and Frisia to tell them of the opportunity. Additionally, another point of contact might have been the Saxon pirates which had long been a nuisance to trade in the North Sea.

Why did the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes leave their homelands? Two reasons are usually put forward. The first is that at this time period the sea was encroaching upon the land settled by the Saxons in Frisia (modern NW Germany/the Netherlands). As the sea encroached, a land-hunger developed amongst the peoples displaced, and Britain provided a perfect opportunity. It is interesting to note that East Anglia was one of the first places to be settled after Kent, and that it was very much like Frisia in the 5th C. The second reason was overpopulation, which has been considered the culprit in many a migration of peoples. This reason is disputed and probably will be for some time until (if ever) more accurate data is available.

How great were the numbers? Well, one later Danish account describes the former land of the Angles as being a desert due to the lack of people which had formerly been there. Also given the large displacement which occurred, and that the take-over was so gradual (allowing for later generations from within conquered lands, as well as newcomers), the number was fairly significant. Right now, historians are busy arguing this question, so I won't go into detail until I see something new.

The final issue I'll deal with today is what happened to the Britons ho encountered the Germanic invader. This is a good question, for which there are several answers. Before going into those answers, let me offer Dave's Theory of the Ties Which Bind. This theory goes like this: People of the Middle Ages, especially the lower classes and the land-owning segments of the population were very conservative in their outlook. One did not move due to the ties of family and land. One's primary social grouping was the family, which in these times included an extended family which may also have included the clan. One had responsibilities within the family grouping which were extremely powerful, for one was defined by one's family, genealogy and history. The Land was also a powerful tie. One's land usage/rights determined one's status within the clan/family group and was the chief form of wealth derivation. Finally, the traditions and lore of one's family unit were derived after centuries of being in the same spot. These were ties which were not broken easily (mind you, this is set for the agricultural Lowland Zone. Possibly substitute cattle/sheep for land in the Highland Zone). These ties become important when considering what happened to the Britons. Essentially, the individual was faced with the following options:
1. Stay and Fight, which might lead to death, slavery, or outlawry.
2. Stay and Assimilate, which might also lead to death, slavery or outlawry at the worst, the best would probably be some form of lower status within the new community.
3. Leave for Armorica: many took this route, and it had been proven that the settlers in Brittany came from the Western portions of Britain, notably Devon and Cornwall, but this may have been an option for some. However, as in most travel during this time, the possibilities of dying on the road, either through starvation, fighting, or natural disaster were great. For a modern example, see what happened in the former Yugoslavia.
4. Leave for Wales, Cumberland, Strathclyde: I do not feel that this was all that great of an option, primarily because these areas lie within the Highland Zone, which would necessitate a change in the ways of life for any refugees, as well as being accepted within the new society. Maybe there could have been an influx to the river valleys or the south of Wales, but not the mountainous areas. As to the answer, what really happened was probably a combination of the above.

In some of the laws of Kent, provisions are made for the Celtic speaking peoples and mention is made of the outlaws living in wood and mountain. however, there are some ominous entries in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:
473: This year Hengest and Esc fought with the Welsh, and took immense booty. And the Welsh fled from the English like fire.
477: ...There they slew many of the Welsh; and some in flight they drove into the wood that is called Andred'sley.
490: This year Ella and Cissa beseiged the city of Andred, and slew all therein; nor was one Briton left there afterwards.
514: This year came the West-Saxons into Britain, with three ships, at the place that is called Cerdic's-ore. And Stuff and Wihtgar fought with the Britons and put them to flight.
577: This year Cuthwin and Ceawlin fought with the Britons and slew three kings, Commail, and Condida, and Farinmail, on the spot that is known as Derham, and took from them three cities, Gloucester, Cirencester, and Bath.
591: this year there was a great slaughter of Britons at Wanborough;
607...And Ethelfrith led his army into Chester; where he slew an innumerable host of the Welsh...There were also slain 200 priests, who came thither to pray for the army of the Welsh (Bede puts the number at 1,200 monks from Bangor who came to pray. Only 50 escaped.)

For the most part, from here forward until the disappearance of Owain Glyn Dwr, the history of Wales and the Welsh will be a militant one.

 

Part Six: Dark Ages II (The Irish in Wales)

What I intend for today is to spend some time presenting J. E. Lloyd's chapter entitled 'The Brythonic Conquest of Wales' from his epic work "A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Present" (LOndon: Longmans, Green and Co, Ltd., first published in 1911, this edition in 1967). This chapter is based on the work of Sir John Rhys, and is also available under Sir John's name in "Celtic Britain, Celtic Folklore (Oxford, 1901). On an aside, I need to mention that JE Lloyd is one of the few historians of this century who has put together a coherent account of medieval Wales prior to 800. One of the reasons for this is the lack of reliable sources (see my posting on the Sources), and that nowadays, most historians are afraid of going too far out on a limb, for fear of being shredded by their contemporaries. As an example, John Davies states: "It is difficult to know what to do with such intractable material. On the one hand, it has been argued that it is impossible to provide a coherent account of what happened in Britain between 400 and 600; on the other, there is the bold study of John Morris, "The Age of Arthur, in which the author extracts from the evidence as much meaning as possible; he was rewarded for his labors by a thirty-three page review in small print by 'Studia Celtica' in which he was accused of being mistaken on a heroic scale." havins said this, understand that as wonderful as Lloyd's work is, much is based on dated assumptions and shaky sources. That being said, I would still like to present the following material, as it is very intriguing.

Lloyd puts for the proposition that there was a very substantial settlement of Goidelic speaking peoples in Wales at the beginning of 5th C. he states: "Different opinions are held...with regard to the origin of the Goidelic element in the population of fifth-century Wales, but there is no room for doubt as to its existence. Welsh tradition has always maintained that the 'Gwyddelod' (Irish) preceded the Welsh in many parts of the country and has ascribed to them, under the name of 'Cytiau Gwyddelod" (Irishmen's huts), the round stone dwellings of which the ruins were once so common on the bare slopes of the Welsh hills." (pg. 111).

The other evidence for a Goidelic settlement is the gravestones which are inscribed with both ogham and Latin letters. For those of you who are unfamiliar with ogham, it is a form of writing which is made up of lines of various lengths. It is believed to have originated in southern Ireland. Each ogham letter additionally stands for a type of tree, leading most scholars to assume it was connected with the druids in some way. By Lloyd's time thrity inscriptions were availible in various parts of Wales, though over half of them were in Dyfed. Only two belong to North Wales, and we need to remeber this point when discussing the Welsh tradition below. What is intriguing is that many of the ogham stones bear Christian religious markings, which places their dates at the early 5th C. Most of the inscriptions were on tombstones, and bore such markings as "X, son of Y", though using the terms "maqqi" for son, "inigena" for daughter, and "avi" for grandson or descendant, such terms making it in Lloyd's mind to be conclusively Goidelic/Old Irish in nature.

The next piece in Lloyd's chapter discusses the Welsh traditions surrounding Cunedda. This is based around the triads, geneologies and the Historia Brittonum, which has the following entry: "King Maelgwn the Great was reigning among the British, in Gwynedd, for his ancestors, Cunedda, with his sons, to the number of eight, had come from the north, from the country of Manaw Gododdin, 146 years before Maelgwn reigned, and expelled the Irish from these countries, with immense slaughter, so that they never again returned to inhabit them." According to the geneologies found in the same MS as above, Maelgwn was the son of Cadwallon Lawhir (the Long0handed), the son of Einion Yrth (the Impetuous), the son of Cunedda. According to the tradition, Cunedda came fro a family line which lead back to Roman ancestors, that he bore the title of Gwledig, which Lloyd feels may make him the descendant of a Roman general. Addditionally, the Cunedda legend provides us with some name association. Cunedda's eight sons were (according to the 10th C orthography: Osmail, Rumaun, Dunaut, Ceretic, Abloyc, Enniaun Girt, Docmail, and Etern. The districts which preserved their names were : Rhufoniog, Dunoding, Aflogion (a cymwd of Lleyn), Dogfeiling (the cantref of Dyffryn Clwyd), Edeyrnion and Meirionydd. At the very least, the later princes and princelings connected their geneologies with these personas, thus connecting themselves with Cunedda, Gododdin, and Rome.

I'll conclude by stating that there are some loan words which probably originated from Goidelic, though these might have been assimilated from trade connections rather than from any goidelic element in Wales itself.

 

Part Seven: The Early Church

I'm pulling the following from JE Lloyd's work, as well as the article 'Medieval Wales and the Reformation' by Glanmore Williams. This is in "A History of Religion in Britain", ed by Sheridan Gilley and WJ Sheils (Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 1994. I'll also throw in some Bede, Gildas and Nennius.

Once again when dealing with the early history, we need to do a few things. First, we'll need to look back to the Roman occupation and we'll need to try to peg down what we know, based on the scanty sources, and then we'll try to figure out what went on based on local legend, archeological findings, inscriptions, etc.

First, what we know. Gildas (writing in 550) finally gives us something we can use. He states the following: "I shall, therefore, omit those ancient errors common to all the nations of the earth, in which, before Christ came in the flesh, all mankind was bound; nor shall I enumerate those diabolical idols of my country, which almsot surpassed in number those of Egypt, and of which we still see some mouldering away within or without the deserted temples, with stiff and deformed creatures as was customary. Nor will I call out upon the mountains, fountains, or hills, or upon the rivers, which are now subservient to the use of men, but were once an abomination and destruction to them, and to which the blind people paid divine honour." (I'm using a translation from JA Giles, "The English Chronicles", (London: George Bell and Sons, 1908). What is important about the above is that by Gildas' time, paganism was not the issue, but rather the problem was in the morality of the rulers of Wales, on which Gildas discusses at length, though at no time does he accuse them of paganism. Thus, we are able to start with the date of 550 and work backwards.

Christianity was most certainly brought to Wales by the Romans either through merchants or soldiers. There have been pieces of archeological evidence suggesting a rather early arrival, however nothing conclusive has been found (at least in the sources I'm using for this). What is clear, is that Christianity most certainly was present when Constantine made it the official religion of the Empire in the 4th C. The official version of Christianity was one set up in diocese with bishops. There most likely would have been bishops at the main legionary cities of Chester and Caerleon, and possibly some further in Wales itself.

After the legions left, Christianity continued in Wales, as evidence at Llantwit Major (the site of a Roman villa which continued operations after the legions departed), Caerwent (a Roman town), and the life of St. Germanus of Auxerre, who travelled to Britian to stamp out Pelagianism in the 5th C. By Gildas' time, we are no longer discussing missionary activities, but rather the influx of the monastic movement.

The period 500-700 is known as the 'Age of Saints', and it is during this time that the majority of Welsh saints around whom cults were established supposedly lived, and after whom many towns/establishments were named (the element 'Llan' means church in Welsh, hence Llandeilo means 'Church of Teilo' and Llantrisant means 'Church of the Three Saints'). The number of monastic establishments seems to have markedly increased in the period 550-650, and that period also is marked by a strong impetus to travel abroad. Some devotees went as far as to live in eremetic isolation at places such as the island of Caldey, off the Pembrokeshire coast or St. Seiriol's island off Anglesey. With the monastaries came education.

St. Illtud (475-525)founded a famous school at Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major) amongst the ruins of the aforementioned Roman villa. Among his disciples were reportedly St. Samson of Dol (for whom we have a 6th C vita), St. David, and Gildas himself. This propensity for education produced Asser, the biographer of Alfred the Great in the 10th C.

It should be noted at this point that after the Saxon invasion of Britain, the Welsh Church was in isolation from the mainstream development of the Church on the continent. Additionally, when St. Augustine established himself at Canterbury (late 6th C), the Welsh did not recognize his supremacy, and did not adhere to the new reckoning for Easter until well after the Synod of Whitby. During this time, the Welsh Church maintained strong contacts with the Irish Church, which may also explain the importance of the monastic communities within Welsh society.

In the meantime, the Welsh bishops retained their roles and in many cases were combined with the office of abbot in the chief monastaries. This occurred at St. David's and Llandeilo Fawr. "There was no incongruity in placing the seat of a bishopric in a monastary, no distinction of type was seen between the two communities; and there may have been no actual distinction between the two, particualarly by the ninth and tenth centuries" (Wendy Davies quoted by Glanmore Williams).

Additionally, before the Norman Conquest, it was common for sons to succeed their fathers to church offices andthe marriage of clerics was also fairly common. Prior to the Norman Conquest, there really were no parish churches, though a few pre-Norman chapels had been established. The number of bishops in Wales may have totalled as many as six, with seats at St. David's, Llandeilo Fawr, Llandabarn, Llandaff, Bangor and Llanelwy (St. Astaph's). The bishops at St. David's might have held some predominance, as Giraldus Cambrensis attempted to prove (he was arguing for an archbishopric to be established at St. David's in the 12th C, but more on that later), but the evidence is inconclusive.

 

Part Eight: Dark Ages III (600-800, Cadwallon to Rhodri Mawr)

-We'll start with the Battle of Chester in 610, in which the following is recorded in the Saxon Chronicle: "This year Ceolwulf fought with the South Saxons. And Ethelfrith led his army to Chester; where he slew an innumerable host of the Welsh; and so was fulfilled the prophecy of Augustine, wherein he saith--"If the Welsh will not have peace with us, they shall perish at the hands of the Saxons." There was also slain 200 priests (Bede records 1,200), who came thither to pray for the army of the Welsh. Their leader was called Brocmail, who with some fifty men escaped thence."

The period inaugurated by this battle is one in which Lloyd calls 'The Age of Isolation'. The Welsh refused to have peace with the Saxons, neither with their church nor with their kings. The Saxons on the other hand, wished nothing more than to continue to push the Welsh further west in order to complete their conquest and to eliminate a stubborn foe. However, the Welsh had one more fight left in them in the hopes of restoring Britain to their rule. Cadwallon ap Cadfan inherited the kingdom of Gwynedd, then only Mona and Arfon, from his father, whose tombstone has been found (the stone is now serving as the lintel of the south door in the church at Llangadwaladr in Anglesey, and reads "Catamanus rex sapientisimus opinatisimus omnium regum" "Catamanus (the Latinization of Cadfan) the most wise and renowned king of all kings").

Cadwallon gathered forces and made a determined attack upon Northumbria, then under the rule of Edwin. Why did he make this attack? Probably in revenge for the Saxon invasion which occured in the yaers following the Battle of Chester, in which Aethelfrith marched along the north coast of Wales all the way to Mona, burning and looting along the way. In a nutshell, Cadwallon crossed over into Northumbria, gained the support of Penda, the last pagan king of Mercia, and ravaged through the land. Edwin met Cadwallon at on the 12 October 633 at a place called Haethfelth (Hatfield Chase). Cadwallon was victorious and took Edwin's head. Bede record the following: "At this time there was a great slaughter both of the church and of the people of northumbria, one of the perpetrators being a heathen (Penda) and the other a barbarian (Cadwallon) who was even more cruel than the heathen. Now Penda and the whole Mercian race were idolators and ignorant of the name of Christ; but Caedwalla, although a Christian by name and profession, was nevertheless a barbarian at heart and disposition and spared neither women nor children. With bestial cruelty he put all to death by torture and for a long time raged through all their land, meaning to wipe out the whole of the English nation from the land of Britain." Whether or not Cadwallon meant to actually slay the whole of the English race is up for question. He may have actually been exacting the death price of those slain during Aethelfrith's earlier campaign, and likewise may have intended simply to destroy the power of Northumbria, which was growing very strong.

At any rate, Cadwallon defeated both Eanfrith and Osric, Edwin's successors in separate battles, before himself being killed in battle with Oswald, son of Aethelfrith (who later was made St. Oswald) at Denisesburn. Henceforth, every bold defender of Wales was hailed by the poets as a new Cadwallon, to include Owain Glyn Dwr.

Cadwallon was succeded by his son, Cadwaladyr (d. 681), who was of tender age at the time of his father's death. The struggle was carried on, however, and the Welsh most likely lent their support to Penda until in 655, Penda was defeated in battle with Oswy, king of Bernicia and the brother of Oswald (who had died at the hands of Penda). Oswy managed to gain the recognition of supremacy over at least the Gwynedd king. However Cadwalladyr apparently managed to regain some of the stature of gwynedd, but he is recorded as having died in Rome on pilgrimage.

The period which follows the death of Cadwalladyr is kind of fuzzy in terms of what we know from the sources. The Brut Y Tywysogion (Chronicle of the Princes) opens in 681, but is rather scanty in its entries. This was a period marked by fluctuations in the Welsh border, usually with the Welsh coming out on the short end. It is during this time that the area around the Wirral is colonised by the Saxons and the territory of Archenfield (Ergyng) in Hereford first comes into Saxon hands.

The next point to peg is the reign of Offa in Mercia (716-757). Offa was an exceptionally powerful monarch. He came to the title of bretwald (over-king, sort of like the Irish high-king, though with a bit more bite). Offa is important to Welsh history as he is credited with building Offa's Dike, the largest archeological monument in Britain. Offa's Dike is 150 miles long, of which about 80 miles worth of earthworks survive. It consists of a ditch about 6 feet deep and a rampart rising up to 25 feet above it to the east. It often rises to points 1400 feet above sea level. Offa's Dyke is odd in that it was a tremendous labor for any time period, but is given scant recognition in the contemproary sources. Asser mentions it in his Life of King Alfred, but other than this and a song, nothing else exists to praise this undertaking. Regardless, Offa's Dyke, which is meant to slow attacks from the Welsh mountains into Mercia, quickly became the demarcation of the boundary into Wales. In Welsh law, to go beyond the dyke was to go into exile.

 

Part 9: The Viking Age I

Offa died in 796, thus ending the reign of one of the greater opponents of the Welsh.

The first Viking raid in Wales was in 798 according to the Annales Cambriae. The Viking presence and associations with Wales are a fascinating topic and one which has yet to have any justice done to it. Prof. Loyn wrote a small, but very influential piece "The Vikings in Wales" in 1976, but other than this, there have been some articles/chapters devoted to the topic, but no full length study that I am aware of. However, once again we are dealing with a period for which source material is very sketchy. Loyn makes great use of place-name evidence, which we will discuss below.

The Brut y Tywysogion records the following:
795: Seven hundred and ninety-five was the year of Christ when the Pagans first came to Ireland, and Racline was destroyed.
798: The Saxons killed Caradog, king of Gwynedd.
812: A battle took place between Hywel and Cynan; and Hywel conquered.
815: Griffi son of Cyngen, son of Cadell, was slain, through the treachory of his brother Elisse; and Hywel subdued the isle of Mona and expelled his brother Cynan from Mona, killing many of his army.
817: And two years after that, Hywel was a second time driven from Mona; and Cynan, king of Gwynedd died; and the Saxons ravaged the mountains of Eyri. and took the kingdom of Rhufoniog.
823: The castle of Dyganwy was destroyed by the Saxons. And the Saxons took the kingdom of Powys into their possession.
850: Cyngen was strangled by the Pagans.
853: Mona was ravaged by the black Pagans.
870: Caer Alclut was demolished by the Pagans.
The point of the above entries is to show the following: Wales was being beseiged both from without and from within. The English had made a concerted effort in central Wales, even managing to subdue Powys for a brief period. In the meantime, the Welsh were fighting amongst themselves and the Viking presence was starting to be felt in the Irish Sea. It was becoming a very dangerous time for the region.

During this period, one of the great figures of Welsh history appears onthe scene, Rhodri Mawr. We know little of him, other than the references in the annals, some legends, geneologies, and references to his sons in Asser. Once again, I will be relying upon the work of JE Lloyd and John Davies. Upon the death of Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog (the Hywel in the above annal) in 825, the direct male line of Gwynedd seems to have ended. Upon his death a certain Merfyn Frych (the Freckled) came to the royal seat of Aberffraw. Merfyn was supposedly descended from Llywarch Hen (of poetic fame) and according to bardic tradition was "from the land of Manaw", which either meant he was from the Isle of Man or was from the area which used to be the kingdom of Gododdin (or was descended from the royal house of Gododdin). At any rate, he was able to secure his hold on Gwynedd and in 844, passed the kingdom to his son, Rhodri.

Rhodri Mawr was able to do something which no other ruler in Wales had been able to do: forge a kingship which extended over much of Wales. he was able to accomplish this through some timely deaths of relatives and marriage alliances. In the end, when he died in 877, he was ruler over Gwynedd, Powys (through marriage allaince), and Seisyllwg (the southern cantrefi and Ceredigion, through the death of his brother-in-law). However, Rhodri earned his title of Mawr (the Great) through his victory over the Vikings in 856, during which he killed the Danish leader Gorm. This victory was celebrated throughout Western Europe, with a legthy poem by Sedulus Scotus, an Irish monk living in Carolingian Frankia.

Rhodri died in 877, while fighting the English. His kingdom was divided amongst his six sons, in accordance with Welsh tradition. Despite this failure of the Welsh to maintain unity, Rhodri's rule left a deep impression on the Welsh, not only for what he accomplished against the Vikings, but also in terms of the unification whcih he achieved. Once this achievement has been made, a precedent is set for future leaders, and one could say that it is the first step for a region to become a unified kingdom in permanence. Over the next 200 years, Wales would be unified three more times. Additionally, it would henceforward be a prerequisite of Welsh kings in Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth to demonstrate a pedigree which included Rhodri Mawr.

In 878 Alfred the Great of Wessex won a great victory over the Viking army. This victory enabled Alfred to regain authority in England for the English, as they had been suffering greatly at the hands of the Danes. However, not only did he gain control over Wessex, but also Mercia, where he inherited the unstable Welsh border and the ongoing conflict between English and Welsh in this area. Meanwhile, the sons of Rhodri had been attempting to expand their control over the areas of Wales which had not come under the control of their father. Additionally, Gwent and Glywysing were being threatened by Aethelred, earl of Mercia.

Asser, in his "Life of Alfred" records the following (Asser was a Welsh monk from St. David's who entered Alfred's service and was eventually made Bishop of Sherborne. This work was written in 893.): "At that time, and for a considerable time before then, all the districts of right-hand Wales (southern Wales) belonged to King Alfred and still do. That is to say, Hyfaidd, with all the inhabitants of the kingdom of Dyfedd, driven by the might of the six sons of Rhodri, had submitted himself to Alfred's royal overlordship. Likewise, Hywel ap Rhys (the king of Glywysing) and Brochfael and Ffyrnael (sons of Meurig and kings of Gwent), driven by the might and tyrannical behavior of Ealdorman Aethelred and the Mercians, petitioned King Alfred of their own accord, in order to obtain lordship and protection from him in the face of their enemies. Similarly, Elise ap Tewdwr, king of Brycheiniog, being driven by the might of the same sons of Rhodri, sought of his own accord the lordship of King Alfred. And Anarawd ap Rhodri, together with his brothers, eventually abandoned the alliance with the Northumbrians (from which he had got no benefit, only a good deal of misfortune) and, eagerly seeking alliance with King Alfred, came to him in person; when he had been received with honour by the king and accepted as a son in confirmation at the hand of a bishop, and showered with extravagent gifts, he subjected himself with all his people to King Alfred's lordship on the same condition as Aethelred and the Mercians, namely that in every respect he would be loyal to the royal will." Needless to say, this submission would play an important role in the future relations between Wales and England.

 

Welsh history Parts 10-14 >>

 

[ The Description of Wales by Geraldus Cambrensis originally written in 1194, this text is from the 1912 J. M. Dent edition.]

[ A Short history of Wales by Owen M. Edwards ]

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