Tag Archives: Cynan

12/18/12

A Question about Rhuddlan Castle (Twthill)

A reader of the Gareth and Gwen medieval mysteries asked me a question today and I thought it and my answer was worth sharing …

The Uninvited GuestQuestion: Rhuddlan is an important component of the plot [of The Uninvited Guest]. A sentence in Wikipedia (yes, I know Wikipedia has its limitations, but I notice that, on occasion, even your blogs have referenced Wikipedia) brings up a question. Wikipedia states that Owain Gwynedd did not conquer Rhuddlan until about 1150. It appears that the Welsh/English border was somewhat fluid during the reign of Owain Gwynedd, and other online sources are not clear on whether Rhuddlan was part of Wales or England in 1143. It is my perception that your research is thorough, and I am guessing that there is a historical basis for your describing Rhuddlan as part of Gwynedd in 1143. Can you elaborate?

Answer:

It is my understanding that Rhuddlan was reunited with Gwynedd as part of the campaign of Owain’s father, Gruffydd, that cost the life of Owain’s elder brother, Cadwallon in 1132. Cadwallon killed some of his own uncles in order to achieve this. Owain’s marriage to Cristina reconciled these two sides of the family. The campaigns of 1136/37, which brought Ceredigion into the fold, expanded Gruffydd’s (and then Owain’s) hold over Wales to include all of north Wales and most of the west coast.

Earlier, Robert of Rhuddlan controlled both Deganwy and Rhuddlan (these locations are referred to as in the hands of the Earl of Chester in the Wiki quote below), but Gruffydd killed Robert in 1093 and I find no indication (other than the quote below) that Normans regained control of either site after his death. (For example, a quote here: “Robert’s lands in Gwynedd were now taken over by Earl Hugh of Chester, but the Welsh revolt of 1094 led by Gruffydd ap Cynan resulted in the loss of most of this territory.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_of_Rhuddlan)

Cantrefs in Medieval WalesI draw your attention to this map: http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/565px-Cantrefi_Medieval_Wales.jpg
along with some further wikipedia information. The cantrefs in question are Rhos, Rhufoniog, and Tegeingel, all of which intersect at Rhuddlan.

“In 1120 a minor border war between Llywarch ab Owain, lord of a commote in the Dyffryn Clwyd cantref, and Hywel ab Ithel, lord of Rhufoniog and Rhos brought Powys and Chester into conflict in the Perfeddwlad. Powys brought a force of 400 warriors to the aid of its ally Rhufoniog, while Chester sent Norman knights from Rhuddlan to the aid of Dyffryn Clwyd. The bloody Battle of Maes Maen Cymro, fought a mile to the north-west of Ruthin, ended with Lywarch ab Owain slain and the defeat of Dyffryn Clwyd. However, It was a pyrrhic victory as the battle left Hywel ab Ithel mortally wounded. The last of his line, when Hywel ab Ithel died six weeks later he left Rhufoniog and Rhos bereft.  Powys, however, was not strong enough to garrison Rhufoniog and Rhos, nor was Chester able to exert influence inland from its coastal holdings of Rhuddlan and Degannwy.  With Rhufoniog and Rhos abandoned, Gruffydd I annexed the cantrefs.[23]

On the death of Einion ap Cadwgan, lord of Meirionydd, a quarrel engulfed his kinsmen on who should succeed him. Meirionydd was then a vassal cantref of Powys, and the family there a cadet of the Mathrafal house of Powys. Gruffydd gave license to his sons Cadwallon and Owain to press the opportunity the dynastic strife in Meirionydd presented.  The brothers raided Meirionydd with the Lord of Powys as important there as he was in the Perfeddwlad. However it would not be until 1136 that the cantref was firmly within Gwynedd’s control. Perhaps because of their support of Earl Hugh of Chester, Gwynedd’s rival, in 1124 Cadwallon slew the three rulers of Dyffryn Clwyd, his maternal uncles, bringing the cantref firmly under Gwynedd’s vassalage that year.[23] And in 1125 Cadwallon slew the grandsons of Edwin ap Goronwy of Tegeingl, leaving Tegeingl bereft of lordship.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Gwynedd#cite_note-Tegeingl-21

I grant the possibility that Rhuddlan remained a tiny outpost amidst a sea of control by Gruffydd/Owain. Given the bloodbath he instituted, however, I went with the assumption he’d taken the whole of it to write The Uninvited Guest. I also must point out that the the book from which all of this information is taken is A History of Wales; From the Norman Invasion to the Edwardian Conquest by John Edward Lloyd. It was written in 1911.

Here is a link to my other post on Rhuddlan and the videos of when I visited the two castle sites in May 2012:  http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/rhuddlan-castle-s-26-may-2012/

07/17/12

The Great Prophecy of Britain

Armes Prydein Fawr, the Great Prophecy of Britain, is a poem attributed to Taliesin (although could not be his work as it was composed in the 10th century) in which he sings of the return of Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (the hero in my book, The Last Pendragon) and Cynan, another dark age leader of the Welsh people.  Among the Welsh, it was these two, not Arthur, who would return in the future to save Britain.  The motivation was the same, however, in that the poet desires to drive the invading Saxons out of the land that had belonged to the Cymry.

In the poem, Taliesin predicts the allliance of the Irish and Scots with the Welsh towards that purpose.  John Davies, in his book, The History of Wales, writes that the poem expresses frustration with the peaceful, compromising policies of Hywel Dda (c. 930)  towards the Saxons (2007:93).  Further, the poem finds the root of its anguish in the deep sense of loss which became the motivating force behind much of Welsh mythology–the loss of their country to the Saxons after the fall of Rome (2007:48).

Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon was a King of Gwynedd, born in 633 AD.  His father, a powerful king himself who’d allied himself with Mercia in marrying Alcfrith, sister of King Penda, was killed in battle in 634.  With Cadwallon’s death, Gwynedd was left in disarray, and Cadwaladr’s people (whoever they were–there is no record of what happened to Alcfrith so perhaps she died in childbirth), fled Gwynedd with him.  His place was taken by a man named Cadfael of unknown origin.

http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/cadwagd.html

Cadwaladr grew up and returned to overthrow the usurper, ruling from 655 to 682 AD and is recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth as the last great King of Wales.  Consequently, anything that we ‘know’ about Cadwaladr that is based on his story, is probably apocryphal.  What is well established is that the red dragon of Wales–The Red Dragon of Cadwaladr–is attributable to him.

Far less is known about Cynan, who ruled in the middle/late 6th century Powys in the east and southeast of Wales.

http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/cynangpw.html

From Taliesin’s poem (not a fabulous translation, but a free one

http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/t06.html):

With sharp-ground blades utterly they will kill.
There will be no advantage to the physician from what they do.
The armies of Cadwaladyr, mighty they come,
The Cymry were exalted, a battle they made.
A slaughter without measure they assailed.
In the end of their taxes, death they know.
0thers, large branches they planted.
For age of ages their taxes they will not leave off.
In wood, in plain, on lull,
A candle in the dark will go with them.
Cynan opening a forward way in every descent.
Saxons against the Brython, woe they will sing.
Cadwaladyr a pillar with his princes.
Though prudence utterly attending to then.
When they drop their covering over their support.
In affliction, and the crimson gore on the cheeks of the Allmyn.
At the end of every expedition spoil they lead.

Also included in the Book of Taliesin is an enigmatic poem, cut off almost before it begins.  It is called The Prediction of Cadwaladr.

The knight of the swift bay horse
with the double face, creates turmoil:
With treachery afoot, a blessing his
death and burial in Snowdonia.
When our war-lord comes he will make,
in a mead in Prydein, a chief place.
His manifest life will invigorate morals:
and his confines will be to us an Eden.
There will come, thither,
A Saxon seeking hospitality.
Grief he will know; from excess
of presumption, he will sin
The yoking of a wife by a vassal
will renew old hatred: he will
know grief: from presumption
comes contempt; he commits treason.
Did you see my friend
playing with my spouce?
I saw a slim corse,
and crows full of activity.
But the catastrophe lacks the prostrate form
of the sword-stroke.
And beyond the bank of…  (the manuscript is cut off)