Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog
Encyclopedia
Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog (Hywel, son of Rhodri the Bald and Grey
) was King of Gwynedd
(reigned 816–825). He rose to power following a destructive dynastic struggle in which he deposed his brother, King Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri
(reigned 798–816). During Hywel's reign Gwynedd's power was largely confined to Anglesey
. It was a time of substantial territorial loss to Mercia
.
Hywel is said to be the son of Rhodri Molwynog on the assumption that he was Cynan's brother, for example as stated in Lloyd
's History of Wales, which does not cite its source. Sources such as the Annales Cambriae
mention him by name only. The genealogy of Jesus College MS. 20
gives him as the son of Caradog ap Meirion
, while it gives Cynan as the son of Rhodri Molwynog.
A destructive war between King Cynan and Hywel raged on Anglesey
between 812 and 816, ultimately ending with Cynan's defeat and banishment, and Hywel's rise to the throne. Coenwulf of Mercia
took advantage of Gwynedd's weakness in 817, occupying Rhufoniog
(see map) and laying waste to the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia
), the defensive stronghold of Gwynedd. In 818 there was a notable battle at Llanfaes
on Anglesey. The combatants are not identified, but the site had been the llys (royal court
) of King Cynan.Various historical works assume it was an invasion by the Mercia
ns, by Ecgberht of Wessex
, or by the Vikings, but there is no authority for those claims. As it took place at Cynan's llys, it could as easily have been a consequence of the dynastic struggle won by Hywel, but now between Hywel and Cynan's supporters.
Coastal Wales along the Dee Estuary
was still in Mercian hands in 821, as it is known that Coenwulf died peacefully at Basingwerk
in that year. In 823 Mercia laid waste to Powys and returned to Gwynedd to burn down Deganwy
.
Hywel was the last King of Gwynedd in the male line of Maelgwn Gwynedd. He would be succeeded by his sister's son Merfyn Frych.
Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal
Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal was King of Gwynedd . This era in the history of Gwynedd was not notable, and given the lack of reliable information available, serious histories of Wales, such that as by Davies, do not mention Rhodri, while that of Lloyd mentions his name in passing only to quote the...
) was King of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
(reigned 816–825). He rose to power following a destructive dynastic struggle in which he deposed his brother, King Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri
Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri
Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri was King of Gwynedd . His reign was marked by a destructive dynastic power struggle with his brother Hywel, and is not otherwise notable....
(reigned 798–816). During Hywel's reign Gwynedd's power was largely confined to Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
. It was a time of substantial territorial loss to Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
.
John Edward Lloyd
Sir John Edward Lloyd , was a Welsh historian, the author of the first serious history of the country's formative years, A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest, 2 vols...
's History of Wales, which does not cite its source. Sources such as the Annales Cambriae
Annales Cambriae
Annales Cambriae, or The Annals of Wales, is the name given to a complex of Cambro-Latin chronicles deriving ultimately from a text compiled from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales, not later than the 10th century...
mention him by name only. The genealogy of Jesus College MS. 20
Genealogies from Jesus College MS 20
The genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 are a medieval Welsh collection of genealogies preserved in a single manuscript, Oxford, Bodleian Library, Jesus College, MS 20, folios 33r–41r...
gives him as the son of Caradog ap Meirion
Caradog ap Meirion
Caradog ap Meirion was King of Gwynedd . This era in the history of Gwynedd was not notable, and given the lack of reliable information available, serious histories of Wales, such that as by Davies, do not mention Caradog, while that of Lloyd mentions his name only in a footnote quoting the year...
, while it gives Cynan as the son of Rhodri Molwynog.
A destructive war between King Cynan and Hywel raged on Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
between 812 and 816, ultimately ending with Cynan's defeat and banishment, and Hywel's rise to the throne. Coenwulf of Mercia
Coenwulf of Mercia
Coenwulf was King of Mercia from December 796 to 821. He was a descendant of a brother of King Penda, who had ruled Mercia in the middle of the 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son of Offa; Ecgfrith only reigned for five months, with Coenwulf coming to the throne in the same year that Offa...
took advantage of Gwynedd's weakness in 817, occupying Rhufoniog
Rhufoniog
Rhufoniog was a small sub-kingdom of the Dark Ages Gwynedd, and later a cantref in medieval Wales. According to tradition, it was ruled by its eponymous founder Rhufon, the third son of the first King of Gwynedd, Cunedda, and his direct descendants from the year 445 until the year 540 when it was...
(see map) and laying waste to the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
), the defensive stronghold of Gwynedd. In 818 there was a notable battle at Llanfaes
Llanfaes
Llanfaes is a small village on the island of Anglesey, Wales, located on the shore of the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the north Wales coast.- History :...
on Anglesey. The combatants are not identified, but the site had been the llys (royal court
Royal court
Royal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:* The Royal Court , Timbaland's production company*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court...
) of King Cynan.Various historical works assume it was an invasion by the Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
ns, by Ecgberht of Wessex
Egbert of Wessex
Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent...
, or by the Vikings, but there is no authority for those claims. As it took place at Cynan's llys, it could as easily have been a consequence of the dynastic struggle won by Hywel, but now between Hywel and Cynan's supporters.
Coastal Wales along the Dee Estuary
Dee Estuary
The Dee Estuary is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five miles 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several miles wide forming the boundary between the Wirral Peninsula in north-west England and...
was still in Mercian hands in 821, as it is known that Coenwulf died peacefully at Basingwerk
Basingwerk Abbey
Basingwerk Abbey is the ruin of an abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales, in the care of Cadw .The abbey was founded in 1132 by Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester, who brought Benedictine monks from Savigny Abbey in southern Normandy. In 1147, the abbey became part of the Cistercian Order and...
in that year. In 823 Mercia laid waste to Powys and returned to Gwynedd to burn down Deganwy
Deganwy
Deganwy is a village in Conwy County Borough in Wales with a population of 3,700. It is in a more English-speaking region of North Wales, with only 1 in 4 residents speaking Welsh as a first language...
.
Hywel was the last King of Gwynedd in the male line of Maelgwn Gwynedd. He would be succeeded by his sister's son Merfyn Frych.