Hywel Dda
Encyclopedia
Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good, sometimes anglicized to Howell the Good) was the well-thought-of king of Deheubarth in south-west Wales
, who eventually came to rule Wales
from Prestatyn
to Pembroke
. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr
, through his father Cadell
, Hywel was a member of the Dinefwr
branch of the dynasty and is also named Hywel ap Cadell. He was recorded as King of the Britons
in the Annales Cambriae
and the Annals of Ulster
.
He is remembered as one of the most responsible native Welsh rulers of all time. His name is particularly linked with the development of the Welsh law
s, generally known as the Laws of Hywel Dda. The latter part of his name ('Dda' or 'Good') refers to the fact that his laws were just and good. The historian Dafydd Jenkins sees in them compassion rather than punishment, plenty of common sense and recognition of the rights of women.
Hywel Dda was certainly a well-educated man, even by modern standards, having a good knowledge of Welsh, Latin, and English.
In April 2008 a merger of Pembrokeshire & Derwen, Ceredigion and Mid Wales, and Carmarthenshire NHS Trusts was named the Hywel Dda NHS Trust in his honour. The office building and original home of the National Assembly for Wales is named Ty Hywel (Hywel's House) in honour of Hywel Dda. The original Assembly chamber, now known as Siambr Hywel (Hywel's Chamber), is used for educational courses and for children and young people's debates.
, King of Seisyllwg. He had a brother, Clydog, who was probably the younger of the two. At some point Hywel married Elen, daughter and heir of Llywarch ap Hyfaidd
of Dyfed
, giving him firm ties to that kingdom.
Hywel's father Cadell had been installed as King of Seisyllwg by his father, Rhodri the Great
of Gwynedd
, following the accidental drowning of the last king in the traditional line, Gwgon, in 872. Following Gwgon's death, Rhodri, husband to the dead king's sister Angharad, became steward of his kingdom. This gave Rhodri no standing to claim the kingship of Seisyllwg himself, but he was able to install his son Cadell as a subject king. Cadell died in 911, and Seisyllwg appears to have been divided between his two sons Hywel and Clydog according to Welsh custom.
Hywel probably already controlled Dyfed by that time. No king is recorded after the death of Llywarch ap Hyfaidd in 904, and Hywel's marriage to Llywarch's only surviving heir likely ensured that the kingdom came into his hands. Hywel and Clydog seem to have ruled Seisyllwg together following their father's death, and jointly submitted to Edward the Elder
of England
in 918. However, Clydog died in 920, evidently leaving the whole realm to Hywel. Hywel soon joined Seisyllwg and Dyfed into a single realm known as Deheubarth. This became the first significant event of his reign.
, becoming the first Welsh prince to undertake such a trip and return. Upon his return he forged very close relations with Athelstan of England
. From the outset Athelstan's intention was to secure the submission of all other kings in Britain; unusually, Hywel embraced submission to England and used it to his advantage whenever possible. Later in his reign, he was able to leverage his close association with Athelstan and the English crown to great effect in his ambitions within Wales.
In 942 Hywel's cousin Idwal Foel
, King of Gwynedd, determined to cast off English overlordship and took up arms against the new English king, Edmund
. Idwal and his brother Elisedd were both killed in battle against Edwin's forces. By normal custom Idwal's crown should have passed to his sons, Iago
and Ieuaf
, but Hywel intervened. He sent Iago and Ieuaf into exile and established himself as ruler over Gwynedd, which also likely placed him in control of the Kingdom of Powys, which was under the authority of Gwynedd. As such Hywel became king of nearly all of Wales except for Morgannwg and Gwent in the south. This overlordship allowed Hywel to pursue the accomplishment for which he is best known: the codification of Welsh law
.
. Athelstan and Hywel ruled part of Wales jointly. Such was the relationship between the neighbouring countries that Hywel was able to mint his own coinage in the English city of Chester. He was the first Welsh ruler to produce coinage for at least a thousand years since the coinage of his Celtic
predecessors. His study of legal systems and his pilgrimage to Rome
in 928 combined to enable him to formulate advanced ideas about law. A comparative study of law and lawmaking at the time reveals a deep concern for law and its documentation throughout Europe and also the Islamic world, the Cordoba Islamic Law translation schools being a fine example, from Greek to Arabic to Latin. The Hywel 'Law' book was written partly in Latin, about laws of court, law of country and the law of justices.
Opinions vary as to the motives for Hywel's close association with the court of Athelstan. J.E. Lloyd
claimed Hywel was an admirer of Wessex
, while D.P. Kirby suggests that it may have been the action of a pragmatist who recognized the realities of power in mid-10th century Britain. It is notable that he gave one of his sons an Anglo-Saxon name, Edwin. His policies with regard to England were evidently not to the taste of all his subjects. Athelstan and Hywel had similar interests. They both developed a coinage; they both had a kingdom; both were attributed a Law book. Hywel was aware of the greater power and acceded to it.
A Welsh language
poem entitled Armes Prydein
, considered by Sir Ifor Williams
to have been written in Deheubarth during Hywel's reign, called for the Welsh to join a confederation of all the non-English peoples of Britain and Ireland to fight the Saxons. The poem may be linked to the alliance of Norse and Celtic kingdoms which challenged Athelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh
in 937. No Welsh forces joined this alliance, and this may well have been because of the influence of Hywel. On the other hand neither did he send troops to support Athelstan.
circa 945, was an assembly in which Welsh law
was codified and set down in writing for posterity. According to tradition, much of the work was done by the celebrated clerk, Blegywryd. Following Hywel's death, his kingdom was soon split into three. Gwynedd was reclaimed by the sons of Idwal Foel, while Deheubarth was divided between Hywel's sons. However, his legacy endured in the form of his laws, which remained in active use throughout Wales until the appointed date of implementation of the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542
of Henry VIII of England
who asserted his royal descent by blood-line from Rhodri Mawr via Hywel Dda. A surviving copy of a Latin text of the Law (ms Peniarth 28) is held at The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and can be seen online.http://www.llgc.org.uk/?id=lawsofhyweldda More than 30 manuscripts were recently selected for a discussion of the "Law" of Hywel, by a Welsh professor of Medieval studies, Hywel Emanuel. Only five of them were considered to be of sufficient antiquity, dating back to the 13thC or earlier, to merit serious attention. Three of them were in Latin
and two in Welsh.
West Wales
West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....
, who eventually came to rule Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
from Prestatyn
Prestatyn
Prestatyn is a seaside resort, town and community in Denbighshire, North Wales. It is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. At the 2001 Census, Prestatyn had a population of 18,496.-Prehistory:...
to Pembroke
Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
Pembroke is an historic settlement and former county town of Pembrokeshire in west Wales. The town and the county derive their name from that of the cantref of Penfro: Pen = "head" or "end", and bro = "region", "country", "land", and so it means essentially "Land's End".-History:The main point of...
. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr
Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great was King of Gwynedd from 844 until his death. He was the first Welsh ruler to be called 'Great', and the first to rule most of present-day Wales...
, through his father Cadell
Cadell ap Rhodri
Cadell ap Rhodri was the son of Rhodri Mawr . He inherited the kingdom of Seisyllwg from his mother Angharad of Seisyllwg in 878, and passed it to his son, Hywel Dda , on his death in 909. Cadell and Hywel had previously conquered Dyfed in 904/905, establishing Hywel as the king in that region...
, Hywel was a member of the Dinefwr
Dinefwr
Dinefwr was a local government district of Dyfed, Wales from 1974 to 1996. It was named after Dinefwr Castle which was the royal capital of the Principality of Deheubarth and one of the three principal royal courts of Wales....
branch of the dynasty and is also named Hywel ap Cadell. He was recorded as King of the Britons
King of the Britons
The Britons or Brythons were the Celtic-speaking people of what is now England, Wales and southern Scotland, whose ethnic identity is today maintained by the Welsh, Cornish and Bretons...
in 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...
and the Annals of Ulster
Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
.
He is remembered as one of the most responsible native Welsh rulers of all time. His name is particularly linked with the development of the Welsh law
Welsh law
Welsh law was the system of law practised in Wales before the 16th century. According to tradition it was first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales; as such it is usually called Cyfraith Hywel, the Law of Hywel, in Welsh...
s, generally known as the Laws of Hywel Dda. The latter part of his name ('Dda' or 'Good') refers to the fact that his laws were just and good. The historian Dafydd Jenkins sees in them compassion rather than punishment, plenty of common sense and recognition of the rights of women.
Hywel Dda was certainly a well-educated man, even by modern standards, having a good knowledge of Welsh, Latin, and English.
In April 2008 a merger of Pembrokeshire & Derwen, Ceredigion and Mid Wales, and Carmarthenshire NHS Trusts was named the Hywel Dda NHS Trust in his honour. The office building and original home of the National Assembly for Wales is named Ty Hywel (Hywel's House) in honour of Hywel Dda. The original Assembly chamber, now known as Siambr Hywel (Hywel's Chamber), is used for educational courses and for children and young people's debates.
Early life
Hywel was born around 880, the son of CadellCadell ap Rhodri
Cadell ap Rhodri was the son of Rhodri Mawr . He inherited the kingdom of Seisyllwg from his mother Angharad of Seisyllwg in 878, and passed it to his son, Hywel Dda , on his death in 909. Cadell and Hywel had previously conquered Dyfed in 904/905, establishing Hywel as the king in that region...
, King of Seisyllwg. He had a brother, Clydog, who was probably the younger of the two. At some point Hywel married Elen, daughter and heir of Llywarch ap Hyfaidd
Llywarch ap Hyfaidd
Llywarch ap Hyfaidd was the king of Dyfed, Wales until its conquest in 904 or 905 by Cadell ap Rhodri and his son Hywel Dda, rulers of Seisyllwg. Kingship passed briefly to his brother, Rhodri, until rule was consolidated by Hywel. Hywel married Llywarch's daughter, Elen, to legitimise his claim...
of Dyfed
Kingdom of Dyfed
The Kingdom of Dyfed is one of several Welsh petty kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in south-west Wales, based on the former Irish tribal lands of the Déisi from c 350 until it was subsumed into Deheubarth in 920. In Latin, the country of the Déisi was Demetae, eventually to...
, giving him firm ties to that kingdom.
Hywel's father Cadell had been installed as King of Seisyllwg by his father, Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great was King of Gwynedd from 844 until his death. He was the first Welsh ruler to be called 'Great', and the first to rule most of present-day Wales...
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...
, following the accidental drowning of the last king in the traditional line, Gwgon, in 872. Following Gwgon's death, Rhodri, husband to the dead king's sister Angharad, became steward of his kingdom. This gave Rhodri no standing to claim the kingship of Seisyllwg himself, but he was able to install his son Cadell as a subject king. Cadell died in 911, and Seisyllwg appears to have been divided between his two sons Hywel and Clydog according to Welsh custom.
Hywel probably already controlled Dyfed by that time. No king is recorded after the death of Llywarch ap Hyfaidd in 904, and Hywel's marriage to Llywarch's only surviving heir likely ensured that the kingdom came into his hands. Hywel and Clydog seem to have ruled Seisyllwg together following their father's death, and jointly submitted to Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 918. However, Clydog died in 920, evidently leaving the whole realm to Hywel. Hywel soon joined Seisyllwg and Dyfed into a single realm known as Deheubarth. This became the first significant event of his reign.
Later reign
In 928 Hywel made a pilgrimage to RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, becoming the first Welsh prince to undertake such a trip and return. Upon his return he forged very close relations with Athelstan of England
Athelstan of England
Athelstan , called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924 or 925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder, grandson of Alfred the Great and nephew of Æthelflæd of Mercia...
. From the outset Athelstan's intention was to secure the submission of all other kings in Britain; unusually, Hywel embraced submission to England and used it to his advantage whenever possible. Later in his reign, he was able to leverage his close association with Athelstan and the English crown to great effect in his ambitions within Wales.
In 942 Hywel's cousin Idwal Foel
Idwal Foel
Idwal Foel ap Anarawd was a King of Gwynedd, referred to as King of the Britons by William of Malmesbury in his Gesta Regum Anglorum. William spells his name as Judwalum in the original Latin ; the Annales Cambriae spell it Iudgual.Idwal inherited the throne of Gwynedd on the death of his...
, King of Gwynedd, determined to cast off English overlordship and took up arms against the new English king, Edmund
Edmund I of England
Edmund I , called the Elder, the Deed-doer, the Just, or the Magnificent, was King of England from 939 until his death. He was a son of Edward the Elder and half-brother of Athelstan. Athelstan died on 27 October 939, and Edmund succeeded him as king.-Military threats:Shortly after his...
. Idwal and his brother Elisedd were both killed in battle against Edwin's forces. By normal custom Idwal's crown should have passed to his sons, Iago
Iago ab Idwal
Not to be confused with Iago ab Idwal ap MeurigIago ab Idwal was a King of Gwynedd and possibly Powys, also referred to as "King of the Britons" by the Annals of Ulster....
and Ieuaf
Ieuaf ab Idwal
Ieuaf ap Idwal was a king of part of Gwynedd and possibly part of Powys .Ieuaf was the son of Idwal Foel...
, but Hywel intervened. He sent Iago and Ieuaf into exile and established himself as ruler over Gwynedd, which also likely placed him in control of the Kingdom of Powys, which was under the authority of Gwynedd. As such Hywel became king of nearly all of Wales except for Morgannwg and Gwent in the south. This overlordship allowed Hywel to pursue the accomplishment for which he is best known: the codification of Welsh law
Welsh law
Welsh law was the system of law practised in Wales before the 16th century. According to tradition it was first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales; as such it is usually called Cyfraith Hywel, the Law of Hywel, in Welsh...
.
Peace with Wessex
Hywel's reign was a violent one, and he achieved an understanding with Athelstan of EnglandAthelstan of England
Athelstan , called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924 or 925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder, grandson of Alfred the Great and nephew of Æthelflæd of Mercia...
. Athelstan and Hywel ruled part of Wales jointly. Such was the relationship between the neighbouring countries that Hywel was able to mint his own coinage in the English city of Chester. He was the first Welsh ruler to produce coinage for at least a thousand years since the coinage of his Celtic
Celtic coinage
Celtic coinage refers to the coins minted by the Celts from the late 4th century BC to the late 1st century BC. Celtic coinage was influenced by trade with and the supply of mercenaries to the Greeks, and initially copied Greek designs, especially Macedonian coins from the time of Philip II of...
predecessors. His study of legal systems and his pilgrimage to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 928 combined to enable him to formulate advanced ideas about law. A comparative study of law and lawmaking at the time reveals a deep concern for law and its documentation throughout Europe and also the Islamic world, the Cordoba Islamic Law translation schools being a fine example, from Greek to Arabic to Latin. The Hywel 'Law' book was written partly in Latin, about laws of court, law of country and the law of justices.
Opinions vary as to the motives for Hywel's close association with the court of Athelstan. J.E. Lloyd
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...
claimed Hywel was an admirer of Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
, while D.P. Kirby suggests that it may have been the action of a pragmatist who recognized the realities of power in mid-10th century Britain. It is notable that he gave one of his sons an Anglo-Saxon name, Edwin. His policies with regard to England were evidently not to the taste of all his subjects. Athelstan and Hywel had similar interests. They both developed a coinage; they both had a kingdom; both were attributed a Law book. Hywel was aware of the greater power and acceded to it.
A Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
poem entitled Armes Prydein
Armes Prydein
Armes Prydein is an early 10th-century Welsh prophetic poem from the Book of Taliesin.In a rousing style characteristic of Welsh heroic poetry, it describes a future where all of Brythonic peoples are allied with the Scots, the Irish, and the Vikings of Dublin under Welsh leadership, and together...
, considered by Sir Ifor Williams
Ifor Williams
Sir Ifor Williams was a Welsh scholar who laid the foundations for the academic study of Old Welsh, particularly early Welsh poetry....
to have been written in Deheubarth during Hywel's reign, called for the Welsh to join a confederation of all the non-English peoples of Britain and Ireland to fight the Saxons. The poem may be linked to the alliance of Norse and Celtic kingdoms which challenged Athelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh
Battle of Brunanburh
The Battle of Brunanburh was an English victory in 937 by the army of Æthelstan, King of England, and his brother Edmund over the combined armies of Olaf III Guthfrithson, the Norse-Gael King of Dublin, Constantine II, King of Scots, and Owen I, King of Strathclyde...
in 937. No Welsh forces joined this alliance, and this may well have been because of the influence of Hywel. On the other hand neither did he send troops to support Athelstan.
Welsh law
The conference held at WhitlandWhitland
Whitland is a small town in Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales, lying on the River Tâf. Whitland is home to the elusive "Whitland Trout" noted for its eggs and oily scales.- History :...
circa 945, was an assembly in which Welsh law
Welsh law
Welsh law was the system of law practised in Wales before the 16th century. According to tradition it was first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales; as such it is usually called Cyfraith Hywel, the Law of Hywel, in Welsh...
was codified and set down in writing for posterity. According to tradition, much of the work was done by the celebrated clerk, Blegywryd. Following Hywel's death, his kingdom was soon split into three. Gwynedd was reclaimed by the sons of Idwal Foel, while Deheubarth was divided between Hywel's sons. However, his legacy endured in the form of his laws, which remained in active use throughout Wales until the appointed date of implementation of the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542
Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542
The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 were parliamentary measures by which the legal system of Wales was annexed to England and the norms of English administration introduced. The intention was to create a single state and a single legal jurisdiction; frequently referred to as England and Wales...
of Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
who asserted his royal descent by blood-line from Rhodri Mawr via Hywel Dda. A surviving copy of a Latin text of the Law (ms Peniarth 28) is held at The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and can be seen online.http://www.llgc.org.uk/?id=lawsofhyweldda More than 30 manuscripts were recently selected for a discussion of the "Law" of Hywel, by a Welsh professor of Medieval studies, Hywel Emanuel. Only five of them were considered to be of sufficient antiquity, dating back to the 13thC or earlier, to merit serious attention. Three of them were in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and two in Welsh.