Rhodri Mawr "the Great" King and Warrior

 Medieval Welsh History 825-950: The Merfynion Dynasty Part 2: 

As ever, continued gratitude and love to all readers of this. Rhodri may be to some of you slightly more high profile than Merfyn (if only because of his appearance in Assassin's Creed as Rhodri the Great). Again, I'm writing this because of lack of good, thorough, readable, accessible, accurate sources on the Internet. Sadly, I got the date wrong for the seminar yesterday...but that's fine because I found a new one on Queer Magic in the Late Middle Ages! Additionally, you may be interested in knowing I have now started a reddit community /r/CelticStudies for all of us nerds to discuss and ask questions - please do join!

  For those interested in learning more, check out my previous article on the father of Rhodri and previous king, Merfyn Frych. For those who are here due to a general interest in Welsh history and culture, you may want to check out my article giving a feminist perspective of the Mabinogi. And for beginners and well nerded Celticists alike, you may want to check out my introduction to Celtic studies, which contains a comprehensive guide to accessing resources. 

Rhodri the Great: king of Gwynedd

So...we left off the story in 844. Merfyn Frych is dead. He was the conqueror of Gwynedd, hard-headed, ruthless and adept. We all know the reliance of any country's safety, particularly a kingship, on the personality and ability of the ruler. While nothing is precisely known about the succession of kingship from Merfyn to Rhodri, it is assumed that it went fluidly. From the actions of Rhodri, certainly, and his epithet Mawr - "the great" - it is apparent that Rhodri had been taught well in the arts of warfare and kingship, and that he built on the consolidation of power that Merfyn had achieved. 

                                            Beautiful shot of Rhodri Mawr...I'd date him...

  Rhodri took care to build on the expansionist legacy of his father. There are debates as to the actual extent of his power. Most evidence comes from the lands indicated to be under the control of his sons, that would be unlikely to have been annexed so soon after their military triumph in 881. By the 880s, moreover, the amount of noteworthy kings across north and central Wales appears to have decreased. One of the main annexations attributed to Rhodri is that of Powys, a kingdom that had stood for centuries. Cyngen of Powys seems to have had close dealings with Rhodri's father, Merfyn - and perhaps this, and military or political pressure on Powys, contributed to the incorporation of Powys into Gwynedd on the death of Cyngen in 855 on a pilgrimage to Rome. The incorporation is not certain, but Powys does disappear from the record from the death of Cyngen so it appears likely. Another likely annexation of Rhodri was that of the kingdom of Ceredigion. This is strengthened by the marriage of Rhodri to Angharad, daughter of Meurig, sister of Gwydog, king of Ceredigion. It seems relatively likely that the marriage, recorded in the Harleian genealogies, is authentic, as the composition of the original version of the Harleian genealogies looks likely to be during the reign of Rhodri Mawr. Moreover Gwydog is included in the Harleian genealogies - before his drowning is recorded in 872. The drowning itself, a widespread method for execution of kings, seems evidence for Rhodri's takeover. If true, such expansion of power in the face of Viking incursions seems impressive, and certainly would appear so to his contemporaries.

  What we can see during the reign of Rhodri Mawr is constant warfare. From the 840s to 850s we can see numerous records of warfare with the Anglo-Saxons. This was likely due to designs relating to the age old English custom of overlordship, which could mean military service and dues paid to the English if they could get the fierce Welsh king Rhodri under their control. A further incentive was that control of Rhodri, and the powerful kingdom of Gwynedd, could easily be the key to a wider Welsh hegemony. But this was not to be. The Anglo-Saxons attacks scaled down in the 850s, with the advent of a more pressing military concern - the Vikings. 

 

  This did not, however, decrease any pressure on Rhodri, as the Vikings had set their eyes on Wales - and very likely the maritime prize, Anglesey, too. It is unknown, if the Merfynion dynasty indeed had control over the Isle of Man initially, how they lost it to the Vikings. But archaeological remains soon after this period suggest that it may have been during this period. It must have been a devastating loss to Rhodri, decreasing the maritime power over the Irish Sea that likely was the distinguishing feature of his father's reign - and the home of his ancestors. But we know nothing of that. What we do know is that the first Viking attack recorded in Wales occurred in 850, killing a leader, Cyngen, only six years into Merfyn's reign. In 853, moreover, the ravaging of Anglesey is recorded. Another three years, and in 856 Rhodri won a celebrated victory, defeating the "Dark Heathens" and killing their leader, Orm.

  It was years later, in the year 877, that the "Dark Heathens" are recorded as having gained an advantage over Rhodri, spelling the beginning of the end for his reign. In a way, all of the Merfynion kings must have felt that they were living on borrowed time. It was not a peaceful life. Rhodri fled to Ireland that year, but, determined not to lose power in his kingdom, he returned to Gwynedd the following year in 878. After all his victories against the Vikings, it was not the Northmen that killed him. Rhodri died in battle against Ceolwulf II, a Mercian king who was, at that point, merely a puppet ruler of the Danes. (It was unlikely to have been the act of Alfred of Wessex as at the time he had been battling the Vikings in East Anglia). He died alongside his son, Gwriad, who held the same name as his grandfather. 

It would be three years of Mercian control of Gwynedd before the sons of Rhodri Mawr would take their place as kings of Wales. During this period, it is likely that they were forced to submit to the Mercians. Rhodri's legacy would live on in their actions - their military triumph over the Mercians and subsequent success would largely have weighed on that of Rhodri. Rhodri would remain as one of the most celebrated medieval Welsh kings - most kings from the tenth century onwards would proudly claim descent from him. They would see his victories as a conqueror and in his successes against invaders a model for their own reigns. 

Want to know what happened next - head to my article on Anarawd ap Rhodri, and then my post on Hywel Dda!

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