Wales, United Kingdom: Veenkoloniale Genealogieën

Notes:
Wales (Welsh: Cymru; pronounced IPA: /ˈkəmrɨ/) is one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom. Wales is located in the south-west of Great Britain and is bordered by England (Lloegr) to the east, the Bristol Channel (Môr Hafren) to the south and the Irish Sea (Môr Iwerddon) to the west and north, and also by the estuary of the River Dee (Afon Dyfrdwy) in the north-east. Wales is the largest principality in the world.

Welsh cultural identity, represented by elements such as monastic asceticism, a highly evolved secular legal system (Cyfraith Hywel), and a distinctive literary tradition emerged after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century. Of thhe principal polities within Wales, only Gwynedd retained independence until the late 13th century, when it too was conquered by England. However, formal annexation and abolition of Welsh law did not take place until the 16th century. Wales (with all regions united under one government) has never been a sovereign state, although a number of rival principalities remained independent until the Anglo-Norman conquest.

From the 19th Century parts of Wales became heavily industrialised, supplying the British Empire and its colonies with vast quantities of coal and steel and establishing a large manufacturing base which has only recently been overtaken by the service sector. Despite lower GDP than other regions of Britain, the gap in real living standards across the whole of Wales, compared to other parts of Britain, is not as pronounced.

Two thirds of the population of Wales live in the valleys and coastal plain of the south, with a further significant population concentration in the north east. The remaining areas in Mid Wales, the south west and west are predominantly rural and characterised by hilly and mountainous terrain.

From the 20th Century a revival in Welsh national consciousness and sentiment has taken place. Wales's largest city, Cardiff (Caerdydd) was established as the capital of Wales in 1955 and has become a centre of culture and employment in Wales. T The National Assembly for Wales (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) was formed in 1999, with powers to amend primary legislation from the U.K. Parliament. These powers were widened by the Government of Wales Act 2006, which will take effect after the 2007 Welsh Assembly election. The Welsh Assembly Government (Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru) will be reformed from a committee within the Assembly to a separate Welsh Government executive body, with a role similar to that of the Scottish Executive.

Etymology

The English name for Wales originates from the Germanic word Walha, meaning "stranger" or "foreigner", probably derived from the term Volcae. The term also appears in the "-wall" of Cornwall. The Welsh called themselves Cymry, "compatriots", and named their country Cymru, which is thought to have meant "Land of the Compatriots" in Old Welsh; this has reference to their awareness that they were the original countrymen of Wales, and indeed Britain by virtue of their ancestors the Brythoniaid (Brythons), and also in order to distinguish themselves from the foreign invaders of Britain, the Saeson (English). There is also a mediaeval legend found in the Historia Regum Britanniae of Sieffre o Fynwy (Geoffrey of Monmouth) that derives it from the name Camber, son of Brutus and, according to the legend, the eponymous King of Cymru (Cambria in Latin); this however was largely the fruit of Geoffrey's vivid imagination. Cumberland and Cumbria in the North of England derive their names from the same Old Welsh word.

The area now known as Wales has been inhabited by modern humans for at least 29,000 years, though continuous human habitation dates from the period after the last Ice age. Wales has many remains from the Neolithic period (mainly chambered tombs), as well as from the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The written history of Wales begins with the arrival of the Romans, who launched their first campaign against the Deceangli in what is now North-East Wales in 48. Two of the larger tribes, the Silures and the Ordovices, resisted Roman rule for some years, with the Ordovices only being finally subdued in 79. The area of Wales we know today became part of the Roman province of Brittania, and remained under Roman rule until the legions were withdrawn in about 400. During the next few centuries kingdoms such as Gwynedd and Powys were formed and the area we now call Wales became Christian.

During the early mediaeval period Wales was divided into a number of kingdoms, though some rulers were able to combine several kingdoms to extend their rule to much of Wales and Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in the mid 11th century controlled all of Walees and some areas in England for a period. These centuries were marked by struggles against English kingdoms such as Mercia, then against the united English kingdom and finally against the Normans, who arrived on the borders of Wales around 1067. Warfare continued for over two centuries until the death of Llywelyn the Last in 1282 led to the annexation of Wales to the kingdom of England. Owain Glyndŵr led a rebellion in the early 15th century and kept control of Wales for a few years before the English crown reimposed its authority. In the 16th century legislation was passed aimed at fully incorporating Wales into England.

The eighteenth century saw the beginnings of two changes which would greatly affect Wales, the Industrial Revolution and the Methodist revival. During the 19th century south-east Wales in particular experienced rapid industrialization and a dramamatic rise in population. These areas were Welsh-speaking initially but became increasingly anglicized in speech later in the century. The 19th century also saw Wales become predominantly Nonconformist in religion. In the 20th century the period after the Second World War saw the beginnings of a long decline in the coal and iron industries and in politics saw the Labour party replace the Liberal party as the dominant force. In the second half of the century Plaid Cymru won its first seat at Westminster in 1966 and devolution became an item on the political agenda. A referendum on devolution in 1979 resulted in a "no" vote, but the issue reappeared towards the end of the century. A second referendum in 1997 resulted in a "yes" vote by a narrow margin and led to the Welsh Assembly being established in Cardiff.

Prehistoric Wales

The earliest known human remain discovered in modern-day Wales is a human tooth, found in a cave in the valley of the River Elwy in north Wales, whose owner lived about 250,000 years ago in the Lower Palaeolithic period. The Red Lady of Paviland, a human skeleton dyed in red ochre, was discovered in 1826 in one of the Paviland limestone caves of the Gower Peninsula in south Wales. Despite the name, the skeleton is that of a young man who lived about 26,000 years ago at the end of the Upper Paleolithic Period (old stone age). He is considered to be the oldest known ceremonial burial in Western Europe. The skeleton was found along with jewellery made from ivory and seashells, and a mammoth's skull.

Following the last Ice age, Wales became roughly the shape it is today by about 8000 BC and was inhabited by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. The earliest farming communities are now believed to date from about 4000 BC, marking the beginning of the Neolithic period. This period saw the construction of many chambered tombs, the most notable including Bryn Celli Ddu and Barclodiad y Gawres on Anglesey.

Metal tools first appeared in Wales about 2500 BC, initially copper followed by bronze. The climate during the Early Bronze Age (c. 2500-1400 BC) is thought to have been warmer than at present, as there are many remains from this period in whahat are now bleak uplands. The Late Bronze Age (c. 1400-750 BC) saw the development of more advanced bronze implements. Much of the copper for the production of bronze probably came from the copper mine on the Great Orme, where prehistoric mining on a very large scale dates largely from the middle Bronze Age.

The earliest iron implement found in Wales is a sword from Llyn Fawr at the head of the Rhondda Valley, which is thought to date to about 600 BC. The Iron Age saw the building of hillforts which are particularly numerous in Wales, examples beining Pen Dinas near Aberystwyth and Tre'r Ceiri on the Lleyn peninsula. A particularly significant find from this period was made in 1943 at Llyn Cerrig Bach on Anglesey, when the ground was being prepared for the construction of a Royal Air Force base. The cache included weapons, shields, chariots along with their fittings and harnesses, and slave chains and tools. Many had been deliberately broken and seem to have been votive offerings.

Traditionally, historians have believed that successive waves of immigrants brought different cultures into the area, largely replacing the previous inhabitants, with the last wave of immigrants being the Celts. However, some studies of population genetics now suggest that this may not be true, and that the introduction of Celtic language in the Bronze Age may have been a result of immigration on a smaller scale.

Wales under the Romans: 48–410

Up to and during the Roman occupation of Britain, Wales was not a separate country, but all inhabitants of Britain and Ireland spoke Celtic languages and were essentially of the same ethnic origin. The area was divided among a number of tribes, of which the Silures in modern south-east Wales and the Ordovices in central and northwest Wales were the largest and most powerful. These two tribes were the ones who put up the strongest resistance to the Roman invasion.

The first attack on the Celtic tribes of what is now Wales was made under the legate Publius Ostorius Scapula about 48 AD. Ostorius first attacked the Deceangli in the north-east, who appear to have surrendered with little resistance. He then spspent several years campaigning against the Silures and the Ordovices. Their resistance was led by Caratacus, who had fled what is now southeast England when it was conquered by the Romans. He first led the Silures, then moved to the territory of the Ordovices, where he was defeated by Ostorius in 51 AD. Caratacus fled to the Brigantes, whose queen handed him over to the Romans.

The Silures were not subdued, however, and waged effective guerilla warfare against the Roman forces. Ostorius died with this tribe still unconquered; after his death they won a victory over the Roman Second Augusta Legion. There were no furtheer attempts to extend Roman control in Wales until the governorship of Caius Suetonius Paulinus, who attacked further north and captured the island of Anglesey in 60 or 61 AD. However he was forced to abandon the offensive to meet the threat from the rebellion of Boadicea. The Silures were eventually subdued by Sextus Julius Frontinus in a series of campaigns ending about 78 AD. His successor Gnaeus Julius Agricola subdued the Ordovices and recaptured Anglesey by the beginning of 79 AD.

The Romans occupied the whole of the area now known as Wales, where they built roads and forts, mined gold and conducted commerce, but their interest in the area was limited because of the difficult geography and shortage of flat agricultural land. Most of the Roman remains in Wales are military in nature. The area was controlled by legionary bases at Deva (Chester) and Isca (Caerleon), with roads linking these bases to auxiliary forts such as Segontium (Caernarfon) and Moridunum (Carmmarthen). Romans are only known to have founded one town in Wales, Venta Silurum (Caerwent), althoug the fort at Moridunum (Carmarthen) was later superseded by a civilian settlement. The modern day country of Wales is thought to have been part of the Roman province of Britannia Superior and later of the province of Britannia Prima, which also included the West Country of England.

Sub-Roman Wales and the Age of the Saints: 411–700

When the Roman garrison of Britain was withdrawn in 410, the various states within Wales were left self-governing, as was the rest of Celtic Britain. Evidence for a continuing Roman influence after the departure of the legions is provided by an inscribed stone from Gwynedd dated between the late 5th and mid 6th century commemorating a certain Cantiorix who was described as a citizen (cives) of Gwynedd and a cousin of Maglos the magistrate (magistratus). There was considerable Irish colonization in Dyfed in south-west Wales, where there are many stones with Ogham inscriptions.

One of the reasons for the Roman withdrawal was the pressure put upon the empire's military resources by the incursion of barbarian tribes from the east. These tribes, including the Angles and Saxons, who later became the English, were unable t to make inroads into Wales except possibly along the Severn Valley as far as Llanidloes. However they gradually conquered eastern and southern Britain (which then became England), thus leaving Wales cut off from her Celtic relations in Scotland, Cornwall and Cumbria. Wales became Christian, and the "age of the saints" (approximately 500–700) was marked by the establishment of monastic settlements throughout the country, by religious leaders such as Saint David, Illtud and Teilo.

At the Battle of Chester in 613 or 616, the forces of Powys were defeated by the Northumbrians under Æthelfrith, with king Selyf ap Cynan among the dead. It has been suggested this battle finally severed the land connection between Wales and the northern British kingdoms of Rheged, Strathclyde, and Elmet where Old Welsh was spoken.

Wales was divided into a number of separate kingdoms, the largest of these being Gwynedd in northwest Wales and Powys in east Wales. Gwynedd was the most powerful of these kingdoms in the 6th and 7th centuries, under rulers such as Maelgwn Gwynedd (died 547) and Cadwallon ap Cadfan (died 634/5) who in alliance with Penda of Mercia was able to lead his armies as far as Northumbria and control it for a period. Following Cadwallon's death in battle the following year, his successor Cadafael ap Cynfeddw also allied himself with Penda against Northumbria but thereafter Gwynedd, like the other Welsh kingdoms, was mainly engaged in defensive warfare against the growing power of Mercia.

Early Mediaeval Wales: 700–1066

Powys as the easternmost of the major kingdoms of Wales came under the most pressure from the English. This kingdom originally extended east into areas now in England, and its ancient capital, Pengwern, has been variously identified as modern Shrewsbury or a site north of Baschurch. These areas were lost to the kingdom of Mercia. The construction of the earthwork known as Offa's Dyke (usually attributed to Offa, King of Mercia in the 8th century) may have marked an agreed border.

For a single man to rule the whole country during this period was rare. This is often ascribed to the inheritance system practised in Wales. All sons received an equal share of their father's property (including illegitimate sons), resulting in the division of territories. However, the Welsh laws prescribe this system of division for land in general, not for kingdoms, where there is provision for an edling (or heir) to the kingdom to be chosen, usually by the king. Any son, legitimate or illegitimate, could be chosen as edling and there were frequently disappointed candidates prepared to challenge the chosen heir.

The first to rule a considerable part of Wales was Rhodri Mawr, originally king of Gwynedd during the 9th century, who was able to extend his rule to Powys and Ceredigion. On his death his realms were divided between his sons. Rhodri's grandson, Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good), formed the kingdom of Deheubarth by joining smaller kingdoms in the southwest and had extended his rule to most of Wales by 942. He is traditionally associated with the codification of Welsh law at a council which he called at Whitland, the laws from then on usually being called the "Laws of Hywel". Hywel followed a policy of peace with the English. On his death in 950 his sons were able to keep control of Deheubarth but lost Gwynedd to the traditional dynasty of this kingdom.

Wales was now coming under increasing attack by Viking raiders, particularly Danish raids in the period between 950 and 1000. Godfrey Haroldson is said to have carried off two thousand captives from Anglesey on 987, and the king of Gwynedd, Maredudd ab Owain is reported to have redeemed many of his subjects from slavery by paying the Danes a large ransom.

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was the next ruler to be able to unite most of the Welsh kingdoms under his rule. Originally king of Gwynedd, by 1055 he was ruler of almost all of Wales and had annexed parts of England around the border. However, he was defeated by Harold Godwinson in 1063 and killed by his own men. His territories were again divided into the traditional kingdoms.

Wales and the Normans: 1067–1283

At the time of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the dominant ruler in Wales was Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, who was king of Gwynedd and Powys. The initial Norman successes were in the south, where William Fitz Osbern overran Gwent before 1070. By 1074 the forces of the Earl of Shrewsbury were ravaging Deheubarth.

The killing of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn in 1075 led to civil war and gave the Normans an opportunity to seize lands in North Wales. In 1081 Gruffydd ap Cynan, who had just won the throne of Gwynedd from Trahaearn ap Caradog at the Battle of Mynydd Carn was enticed to a meeting with the Earls of Chester and Shrewsbury and promptly seized and imprisoned, leading to the seizure of much of Gwynedd by the Normans. In the south, Iestyn ab Gwrgant, the last ruler of the kingdom of Morgannwg, was deposed about 1090 by Robert Fitzhamon, lord of Gloucester, who established a lordship based in Cardiff and subsequently conquered the lowland part of Glamorgan. Rhys ap Tewdwr of Deheubarth was killed in 1093 while resisting Norman encroachment in Brycheiniog, and his kingdom was seized and divided between various Norman lordships. The Norman conquest of Wales appeared virtually complete. In 1094 however there was a general Welsh revolt against Norman rule, and gradually territories were won back. Gruffydd ap Cynan was eventually able to build a strong kingdom in Gwynedd. His son, Owain Gwynedd, allied with Gruffydd ap Rhys of Deheubarth won a crushing victory over the Normans at the Battle of Crug Mawr in 1136 and annexed Ceredigion. Owain followed his father on the throne of Gwynedd the following year and ruled until his death in 1170. He was able to profit from disunity in England, where Stephen of Blois and the Empress Matilda were engaged in a struggle for the throne, to extend the borders of Gwynedd further east than ever before.

Powys also had a strong ruler at this time in Madog ap Maredudd, but when his death in 1160 was quickly followed by the death of his heir, Llywelyn ap Madog, Powys was split into two parts and never subsequently reunited. In the south, Gruffydydd ap Rhys was killed in 1137, but his four sons, who all ruled Deheubarth in turn, were eventually able to win back most of their grandfather's kingdom from the Normans. The youngest of the four, Rhys ap Gruffydd (The Lord Rhys) ruled from 11555 to 1193. In 1171 Rhys met Henry II and came to an agreement with him whereby Rhys had to pay a tribute but was confirmed in all his conquests and was later named Justiciar of South Wales. Rhys held a festival of poetry and song at his court at Cardigan over Christmas 1176 which is generally regarded as the first recorded Eisteddfod. After Owain Gwynedd's death led to the splitting of Gwynedd between his sons, Rhys made Deheubarth dominant in Wales for a time.

Out of the power struggle in Gwynedd eventually arose one of the greatest of Welsh leaders, Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, also known as Llywelyn Fawr (the Great), who was sole ruler of Gwynedd by 1200 and by his death in 1240 was effectively ruler of much of Wales. Llywelyn made his 'capital' and headquarters at Garth Celyn on the north coast, overlooking the Menai Strait. *His son Dafydd ap Llywelyn followed him as ruler of Gwynedd, but the king would not allow him to inherit his father's position elsewhere in Wales. War broke out in 1245, and the issue was still in the balance when Dafydd died suddenly at the royal home Garth Celyn, Aber Garth Celyn, Gwynedd without leaving an heir in early 1246. Llywelyn the Great's other son, Gruffudd had been killed trying to escape from the Tower of London in 1244. Gruffudd had left four sons, and a period of internal conflict between three of these ended in the rise to power of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (also known as Llywelyn the Last Leader). The Treaty of Montgomery in 1267 gave Llywelyn control, directly or indirectly, over a large part of Wales. However, Llywelyn's ambition in uniting Wales under his leadership conflicted with Edward I of England's ambitions in Wales, and w war followed in 1277. Llywelyn was obliged to seek terms, and the Treaty of Aberconwy greatly restricted his authority. War broke out again when Llywelyn's brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd attacked Hawarden Castle on Palm Sunday 1282. Llywelyn appearars to have hesitated before joining the rising, but eventually supported his brother. On 11 December 1282, Llywelyn was lured into a meeting in Builth Wells Castle with the Mortimer Brothers, captured and executed. His brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd continued the resistance, but was no match for the expensively equipped English army. He was captured at Bera Mountain, in the uplands above Aber Garth Celyn in June 1283 and executed by hanging, drawing and quartering at Shrewsbury. Wales became England's first colony.

* http://www.llywelyn.co.uk

Annexation: from the Statute of Rhuddlan to the Laws in Wales Acts 1283–1542

After passing the Statute of Rhuddlan which restricted Welsh laws, King Edward's ring of impressive stone castles assisted the domination of Wales, and he crowned his conquest by giving the title Prince of Wales to his son and heir in 1301. Walees became, effectively, part of England, even though its people spoke a different language and had a different culture. English kings paid lip service to their responsibilities by appointing a Council of Wales, sometimes presided over by the heiir to the throne. This Council normally sat in Ludlow, now in England but at that time still part of the disputed border area. Welsh literature, particularly poetry, continued to flourish however, with the lesser nobility now taking over from the princes as the patrons of the poets. Dafydd ap Gwilym who flourished in the middle of the 14th century is considered by many to be the greatest of the Welsh poets.

There were a number of rebellions including ones led by Madog ap Llywelyn in 1294–5 and by Llywelyn Bren, Lord of Senghenydd, in 1316–18. In the 1370s the last representative in the male line of the ruling house of Gwynedd, Owain Lawgoch, twice planned an invasion of Wales with French support. The English government responded to the threat by sending an agent to assassinate Owain in Poitou in 1378.

In 1400, a Welsh nobleman, Owain Glyndŵr (or Owen Glendower), revolted against King Henry IV of England. Owain inflicted a number of defeats on the English forces and for a few years controlled most of Wales. Some of his achievements includcluded holding the first ever Welsh Parliament at Machynlleth and plans for two universities. Eventually the king's forces were able to regain control of Wales and the rebellion died out, but Owain himself was never captured. His rebellion caused a great upsurge in Welsh identity and he was widely supported by Welsh people throughout the country.

As a response to Glyndŵr's rebellion, the English parliament passed the Penal Laws in 1402. These prohibited the Welsh from carrying arms, from holding office and from dwelling in fortified towns. These prohibitions also applied to Englishmen who married Welsh women. These laws remained in force after the rebellion, although in practice they were gradually relaxed.

In the Wars of the Roses which began in 1455 both sides made considerable use of Welsh troops. The main figures in Wales were the two Earls of Pembroke, the Yorkist Earl William Herbert and the Lancastrian Jasper Tudor. In 1485 Jasper's nepheww, Henry Tudor, landed in Wales with a small force to launch his bid for the throne of England. Henry was of Welsh descent, counting princes such as Rhys ap Gruffydd (The Lord Rhys) among his ancestors, and his cause gained much support in Wales. Henry defeated King Richard III of England at the Battle of Bosworth with an army containing many Welsh soldiers and gained the throne as King Henry VII of England.

Under his son, Henry VIII of England, the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 were passed, annexing Wales to England in legal terms, abolishing the Welsh legal system, and banning the Welsh language from any official role or status, but it did for the first time define the England-Wales border and allowed members representing constituencies in Wales to be elected to the English Parliament. They also abolished any legal distinction between the Welsh and the English, thereby effectively ending the Penal Code although this was not formally repealed.

From the Union to the Industrial Revolution 1543 - 1800

Following Henry VIII's break with Rome, Wales for the most part followed England in accepting Anglicanism, although a number of Catholics were active in attempting to counteract this and produced some of the earliest books printed in Welsh. In 1588 William Morgan produced the first complete Welsh translation of the Bible.

Wales was overwhelmingly Royalist in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the early 17th century though there were some notable exceptions such as John Jones Maesygarnedd and the Puritan writer Morgan Llwyd. Wales was an important source of men for the armies of King Charles I of England, though no major battles took place in Wales. The Second English Civil War began when unpaid Parliamentarian troops in Pembrokeshire changed sides in early 1648. Colonel Thomas Horton defeated the Royalist rebels at the battle of St. Fagans in May and the rebel leaders surrendered to Cromwell on July 11 after the protracted two month siege of Pembroke.

Education in Wales was at a very low ebb in this period, with the only education available being in English while the majority of the population spoke only Welsh. In 1731 Griffith Jones (Llanddowror) started circulating schools in Carmarthenshirire, held in one location for about three months before moving (or 'circulating') to another location. The language of instruction in these schools was Welsh. By Griffith Jones' death, in 1761, it is estimated that up to 250,000 people had learnt to read in schools throughout Wales.

The 18th century also saw the Welsh Methodist revival, led by Daniel Rowland, Howell Harris and William Williams Pantycelyn. In the early 19th century the Welsh Methodists broke away from the Anglican church and established their own denominatioon, now the Presbyterian Church of Wales. This also led to the strengthening of other nonconformist denominations, and by the middle of the 19th century Wales was largely nonconformist in religion. This had considerable implications for the Welslsh language as it was the main language of the nonconformist churches in Wales. The Sunday schools which became an important feature of Welsh life made a large part of the population literate in Welsh, which was important for the survival of the language as it was not taught in the schools.

The end of the eighteenth century saw the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, and the presence of iron ore, limestone and large coal deposits in south-east Wales meant that this area soon saw the establishment of ironworks and coal mines, notably the Cyfarthfa Ironworks and the Dowlais Ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil.

The Nineteenth Century

In the early 19th century parts of Wales became heavily industrialised. Ironworks were set up in the valleys running south from the Brecon Beacons particularly around the new town of Merthyr Tydfil, with iron production later spreading westwards to the hinterlands of Neath and Swansea where anthracite coal was already being mined. From the 1840s coal mining spread to the Aberdare and Rhondda valleys. This led to a rapid increase in the population of these areas.

The social effects of industrialisation led to bitter social conflict between the Welsh workers and the English factory owners. During the 1830s there were two armed uprisings, in Merthyr Tydfil in 1831, and the Chartist uprising in Newport in 11839, led by John Frost. The Rebecca Riots, which took place between 1839 and 1844 in South and Mid Wales were rural in origin. They were a protest not only against the high tolls which had to be paid on the local Turnpike roads but against rural deprivation.

Partly as a result of these disturbances, a government enquiry was carried out into the state of education in Wales. The enquiry was carried out by three English commissioners who spoke no Welsh and relied on information from witnesses, many of them Anglican clergymen. Their report, published in 1847 as Reports of the commissioners of enquiry into the state of education in Wales concluded that the Welsh were ignorant, lazy and immoral, and that this was caused by the Welsh language and nonconformity. This resulted in a furious reaction in Wales, where the affair was named the Treachery of the Blue Books.

Socialism gained ground rapidly in the industrial areas of South Wales in the latter part of the century, accompanied by the increasing politicisation of religious Nonconformism. The first Labour MP, Keir Hardie, was elected as junior member foor the Welsh constituency of Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare in 1900. In common with many European nations, the first movements for national autonomy began in the 1880s and 1890s with the formation of Cymru Fydd, led by Liberal Party politicians such as T. E. Ellis and David Lloyd George.

Another movement which gained strength during the 1880s was the campaign for disestablishment. Many felt that since Wales was now largely nonconformist in religion, it was inappropriate that the Church of England should be the established church in Wales. The campaign continued until the end of the century and beyond, with the passing of the Welsh Church Act 1914, which did not come into operation until 1920, after the end of the First World War.

The nineteenth century brought about a large increase in population as Wales, like the rest of the UK, largely attributable to high birth rates. In 1801 just over 587,000 people lived in Wales; by 1901, this had increased to over 2,012,000. ThThe most significant rises in population occurred in industrial counties - Denbigh, Flint, Monmouth and Glamorgan. The century witnessed a transition from a society that was predominantly rural (around 80% lived outside urban settlements in 1800) to a largely urbanised, industrial society (in 1911, only 20% lived in non-urban areas).

The Twentieth Century

In the early part of the century Wales still largely supported the Liberal Party, particularly when David Lloyd George became Prime Minister during the First World War. However the Labour party was steadily gaining ground, and in the years after the war replaced the Liberals as the dominant party in Wales, particularly in the industrial valleys of South Wales.

Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 but initially its growth was slow and it gained few votes at parliamentary elections. In 1936 an RAF training camp and aerodrome at Penyberth near Pwllheli was burnt by three members of Plaid Cymru – Saunders Lewisis, Lewis Valentine, and D. J. Williams. This was a protest not only against the construction of the training camp, known as "the bombing school" but also against the destruction of the historic house of Penyberth to make room for it. This action and the subsequent imprisonment of the three perpetrators considerably raised the profile of Plaid Cymru, at least in the Welsh-speaking areas

The period following the Second World War saw a decline in several of the traditional industries, in particular the coal industry. The numbers employed in the south Wales coalfield, which at its peak around 1913 employed over 250,000 men, fell to around 75,000 in the mid 1960s and 30,000 in 1979. This period also saw the Aberfan disaster in 1966, when a tip of coal slurry slid down to engulf a school with 144 dead, most of them children. By the early 1990s there was only one deep pit still working in Wales. There was a similar decline in the steel industry, and the Welsh economy, like that of other developed societies, became increasingly based on the expanding service sector.

Wales was officially de-annexed from England within the United Kingdom in 1955, with the term "England" being replaced with "England and Wales", and Cardiff was proclaimed as the capital of Wales. Nationalism only became a major issue during thhe second half of the twentieth century. In 1962 Saunders Lewis gave a radio talk entitled Tynged yr Iaith (The fate of the language) in which he predicted the extinction of the Welsh language unless action was taken. This led to the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) the same year. Nationalism grew particularly following the flooding of the Tryweryn valley in 1965, drowning the village of Capel Celyn to create a reservoir supplying water to Liverpool. In 1966 Gwynfor Evans won the Carmarthen seat for Plaid Cymru at a by-election, their first Parliamentary seat.

Another response to the flooding of Capel Celyn was the formation of groups such as the Free Wales Army and Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (MAC - Welsh Defence Movement). In the years leading up to the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969, these groups were responsible for a number of bomb blasts destroying water pipes and tax and other offices. Two members of MAC, George Taylor and Alwyn Jones, the "Abergele Martyrs", were killed by a home made bomb at Abergele the day before the investiture ceremony.

Plaid Cymru made gains in the two General Elections held in 1974, winning three seats. There was increased support for devolution within the Labour party and a Devolution Bill was introduced in late 1976. However a referendum on the creation oof an assembly for Wales in 1979 led to a large majority for the "no" vote. The new Conservative government elected in the 1979 General Election had pledged to establish a Welsh-language television channel, but announced in September 1979 that it would not honour this pledge. This led to a campaign of non-payment of television licences by members of Plaid Cymru and an announcement by Gwynfor Evans in 1980 that he would fast unto death if a Welsh channel was not established. In September 1980 the government announced that the channel would after all be set up, and S4C was launched in November 1982. The Welsh Language Act 1993 gave the Welsh language equal status with English in Wales with regard to the public sector.

In May 1997, a Labour government was elected with a promise of creating devolved institutions in Scotland and Wales. In late 1997 a referendum was held on the issue which resulted a "yes" vote, albeit by a narrow majority. The Welsh Assembly was set up in 1999 (as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 1998) and possesses the power to determine how the government budget for Wales is spent and administered.

Over the course of the 20th century, the population of Wales increased from just over 2,012,000 in 1901 to 2.9 million in 2001, but the process was not linear - 430,000 people left Wales between 1921 and 1940 largely owing to the economic depression of the 1930s. English in-migration became a major factor from the first decade of the 20th century, when there was net gain of 100,000 people from England. In this era, most incomers settled in the expanding industrial areas, contributing tto a partial Anglicisation of some parts of south and east Wales. The proportion of the Welsh population able to speak the Welsh language fell from just under 50% in 1901 to 43.5% in 1911, and continued to fall to a low of 18.9% in 1981. Over thhe century there has also been a marked increase in the proportion of the population born outside Wales; at the time of the 2001 Census 20% of Welsh residents were born in England, 2% were born in Scotland or Ireland, and 3% were born outside the UK. Whereas most incomers settled in industrial districts in the early 1900s, by the 1990s the highest proportions of people born outside Wales were found in Ceredigion, Powys, Conwy, Denbighshire and Flintshire.

The Twenty-first Century

he results of the 2001 Census showed an increase in the number of Welsh speakers to 21% of the population aged 3 and over, compared with 18.7% in 1991 and 19.0% in 1981. This compares with a pattern of steady decline indicated by census results during the 20th century.

In Cardiff the Millennium Stadium, opened in 1999, was followed by the Wales Millennium Centre opened in 2004 as a centre for cultural events, notably opera. The new Welsh Assembly building, to be known as the Senedd, was completed in February 2006 and officially opened on St. David's Day that year.

In 2006 the Government of Wales Act gained Royal Assent meaning that from May 2007 the Queen would have the new legal identity of 'Her Majesty in Right of Wales' and would for the first time appoint Welsh Ministers and sign Welsh Orders in Council. It also made provision for a future referendum to ask the Welsh people if they would like the Welsh Assembly to gain the power to pass primary legislation e.g. to make true Welsh laws.

North Wales (Welsh: Gogledd Cymru) is the northernmost regionvi of Wales. It is bordered by the principal areas of Ceredigion, Powys, and the rest of Wales to the south, England and its counties of Shropshire, and Cheshire to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. It is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia National Park, known for its mountains, waterfalls and trails, located wholly within the region. North Wales has no official designation; it is mostly used for organising the 6 northern principal areas for the public purposes of health, policing and emergency services, and for statistical, economic and culturalvii purposes.

Historically, for most of North Wales, the region can be referred to as simply "Gwynedd",viii named after one of the last independent Welsh kingdoms, the Kingdom of Gwynedd. This has led to a stronger sense of Welsh identity and home to more Welsh-language speakers, especially in North West Wales, than the rest of Wales. Those from North Wales are sometimes referred to as "Gogs" (from "gogledd" – the Welsh word for "north"); in comparison, those from South Wales are sometimes called "Hwntws" by those from North Wales. The term "North Wales" is rarely applied to all of Wales during the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain and the period of the Heptarchy, to distinguish it from "West Wales", known today as Cornwall, although the term "Wales" or the names of the various petty kingdoms of Wales (Gwynedd, and Powys in North Wales) are more commonly used to depict the region during this time.

The region includes the localities of Wrexham, Deeside, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Flint, Bangor, Llandudno, and Holyhead. The largest localities in North Wales are the town of Wrexham and the conurbations of Deeside and Rhyl/Prestatyn, where the main retail, cultural, educational, tourism and transport infrastructure and services of North Wales are located.

The boundaries and status of North Wales are undefined (compared to regions of England), definitions and the boundary of North Wales with South or Mid Wales differs between organisations. It is strongly used culturally for comparison to the more urban South Wales. The most common definition for statistical and administrative purposes of North Wales contains the 6 principal areas of: Isle of Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, and Wrexham. Of which have a combined estimated population in 2018 of 698,400 people. Other definitions, especially historical, commonly include Montgomeryshire, one of the historic counties of Wales, to be part of North Wales. The definitions of North and Mid Wales constantly overlap, with Meirionnydd (southern part of the modern principal area of Gwynedd) sometimes considered Mid Wales.

History

The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: Venedotia or Norwallia; Middle Welsh: Guynet) was a Roman Empire successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.

Based in northwest Wales, the rulers of Gwynedd repeatedly rose to dominance and were acclaimed as "King of the Britons" before losing their power in civil wars or invasions. The kingdom of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn—the King of Wales from 1055 to 1063—was shattered by a Saxon invasion in 1063 just prior to the Norman invasion of Wales, but the House of Aberffraw restored by Gruffudd ap Cynan slowly recovered and Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd was able to proclaim the Principality of Wales at the Aberdyfi gathering of Welsh princes in 1216. In 1277, the Treaty of Aberconwy granted peace between the two but would also guarantee that Welsh self-rule would end upon Llewelyn's death, and so it represented the completion of the first stage of the conquest of Wales by Edward I.

Welsh tradition credited the founding of Gwynedd to the Brittonic polity of Gododdin (Old Welsh Guotodin, earlier Brittonic form Votadini) from Lothian invading the lands of the Brittonic polities of the Deceangli, Ordovices, and Gangani in the 5th century. The sons of their leader, Cunedda, were said to have possessed the land between the rivers Dee and Teifi. The true borders of the realm varied over time, but Gwynedd proper was generally thought to comprise the cantrefs of Aberffraw, Cemais, and Cantref Rhosyr on Anglesey and Arllechwedd, Arfon, Dunoding, Dyffryn Clwyd, Llŷn, Rhos, Rhufoniog, and Tegeingl at the mountainous mainland region of Snowdonia opposite.

Etymology

The name Gwynedd is believed to be an early borrowing from Irish (reflective of Irish settlement in the area in antiquity), either cognate with the Old Irish ethnic name Féni, "Irish People", from Primitive Irish *weidh-n- "Forest People"/"Wild People" (from Proto-Indo-European *weydh- "wood, wilderness"), or (alternately) Old Irish fían "war band", from Proto-Irish *wēnā (from Proto-Indo-European *weyH1- "chase, pursue, suppress").

The 5th-century Cantiorix Inscription now in Penmachno church seems to be the earliest record of the name. It is in memory of a man named Cantiorix, and the Latin inscription is Cantiorix hic iacit/Venedotis cives fuit/consobrinos Magli magistrati: "Cantiorix lies here. He was a citizen of Gwynedd and a cousin of Maglos the magistrate". The use of terms such as "citizen" and "magistrate" may be cited as evidence that Romano-British culture and institutions continued in Gwynedd long after the legions had withdrawn

Gwynedd in the Early Middle Ages

Cunedda and his sons

Ptolemy marks the Llŷn Peninsula as the "Promontory of the Gangani", which is also a name he recorded in Ireland. In the late and post-Roman eras, Irish from Leinster may have arrived in Anglesey and elsewhere in northwest Wales, with the name Llŷn derived from Laigin, an Old Irish form that means "of Leinster".

The region became known as Venedotia in Latin. The name was initially attributed to a specific Irish colony on Anglesey, but broadened to refer to Irish settlers as a whole in North Wales by the 5th century. According to 9th century monk and chronicler Nennius, North Wales was left defenseless by the Roman withdrawal and subject to increasing raids by marauders from the Isle of Man and Ireland, a situation which led Cunedda, his sons and their entourage, to migrate in the mid-5th century from Manaw Gododdin (now Clackmannanshire, Scotland) to settle and defend North Wales against the raiders and bring the region within Romano-British control. According to traditional pedigrees, Cunedda's grandfather was Padarn Beisrudd, Paternus of the red cloak, "an epithet which suggests that he wore the cloak of a Roman officer", according to Davies. Nennius recounts how Cunedda brought order to North Wales and after his death Gwynedd was divided among his sons: Dynod was awarded Dunoding, another son Ceredig received Ceredigion, and so forth. However, this overly neat origin myth has been met with skepticism:

Early Welsh literature contains a wealth of stories seeking to explain place-names, and doubtless the story is propaganda aimed at justifying the right of Cunedda and his descendants to territories beyond the borders of the original Kingdomwd. That kingdom probably consisted of the two banks of the Menai Straits and the coast over towards the estuary of the river Conwy, the foundations upon which Cunedda's descendants created a more extensive realm.

— John Davies, History of Wales, p. 51,

Undoubtedly, a Brittonic leader of substance established himself in North Wales, and he and his descendants defeated any remaining Irish presence, incorporated the settlements into their domain and reoriented the whole of Gwynedd into a Romano-British and "Welsh" outlook.

The Welsh of Gwynedd remained conscious of their Romano-British heritage, and an affinity with Rome survived long after the Empire retreated from Britain, particularly with the use of Latin in writing and sustaining the Christian religion. The Welsh ruling classes continued to emphasize Roman ancestors within their pedigrees as a way to link their rule with the old imperial Roman order, suggesting stability and continuity with that old order. According to Professor John Davies, "There is a determinedly Brythonic, and indeed Roman, air to early Gwynedd." So palpable was the Roman heritage felt that Professor Bryan Ward-Perkins of Trinity College, Oxford, wrote "It took until 1282, when Edward I conquered Gwynedd, for the last part of Roman Britain to fall and a strong case can be made for Gwynedd as the very last part of the entire Roman Empire, east and west, to fall to the barbarians." Nevertheless, there was generally quick abandonment of Roman political, social, and ecclesiastical practices and institutions within Gwynedd and elsewhere in Wales. Roman knowledge was lost as the Romano-Britons shifted towards a streamlined militaristic near-tribal society that no longer included the use of coinage and other complex industries dependent on a money economy, architectural techniques using brick and mortar, and even more basic knowledge such as the use of the wheel in pottery production. Ward-Perkins suggests the Welsh had to abandon those Roman ways that proved insufficient, or indeed superfluous, to meet the challenge of survival they faced: "Militarized tribal societies, despite their political fragmentation and internecine strife, seem to have offered better protection against Germanic invasion than exclusive dependence on a professional Roman army (that in the troubled years of the fifth century was all too prone to melt away or mutiny)."

Reverting to a more militaristic tribal society allowed the Welsh of Gwynedd to concentrate on those martial skills necessary for their very survival, and the Romano-Britons of western Britain did offer stiffer and an ultimately successful resistance. The region of Venedotia, however, had been under Roman military administration and included established Irish Gaelic settlements, and the civilian element there was less extensive, perhaps facilitating technological loss.

In the post-Roman period, the earliest rulers of Wales and Gwynedd may have exerted authority over regions no larger than the cantrefi (hundred) described in Welsh law codified centuries later, with their size somewhat comparable in size to the Irish tuath. These early petty kings or princelings (Lloyd uses the term chieftain) adopted the title rhi in Welsh (akin to the Irish Gaelic rí), later replaced by brenin, a title used to "denote a less archaic form of kingship," according to Professor John Davies. Genealogical lists compiled around 960 bear out that a number of these early rulers claimed degrees of association with the old Roman order, but do not appear in the official royal lineages. "It may be assumed that the stronger kings annexed the territories of their weaker neighbors and that the lineages of the victors are the only lineages to have survived," according to Davies. Smaller and weaker chieftains coalesced around more powerful princelings, sometimes through voluntary vassalage or inheritance, though at other times through conquest, and the lesser princelings coalesced around still greater princelings, until a regional prince could claim authority over the whole of north Wales from the River Dyfi in the south to the Dee in the east, and incorporating Anglesey.

Other evidence supports Nennius's claim that a leader came to north Wales and brought the region a measure of stability, although an Irish Gaelic element remained until the mid-5th century. Cunedda's heir Einion Yrth ap Cunedda defeated the remaining Gaelic Irish on Anglesey by 470, while his son, Cadwallon Lawhir ap Einion, appears to have consolidated the realm during the time of relative peace following the Battle of Badon, where the Anglo-Saxons were soundly defeated. During that peace he established a mighty kingdom. After Cadwallon, Gwynedd appears to have held a pre-eminent position amongst the petty Cambrian states in the post-Roman period. The great-grandson of Cunedda, Maelgwn Hir "Maelgwn the Tall", was one of the most famous (or infamous) leaders in Welsh history. There are several legends about his life concerning miracles performed either by him or in his presence. He is attributed in some old stories as hosting the first Eisteddfod and he is one of five Celtic British kings castigated for their sins by the contemporary Christian writer Gildas (who referred to him as Maglocunus, meaning 'Prince-Hound' in Brittonic) in De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae. Maelgwn was curiously described as "the dragon of the island" by Gildas which was possibly a title, but explicitly as the most powerful of the five named British kings. "You the last I write of but the first and greatest in evil, more than many in ability but also in malice, more generous in giving but also more liberal in sin, strong in war but stronger to destroy your soul."

Maelgwn eventually died from the plague in 547, leaving a succession crisis in his wake. His son-in-law, Elidyr Mwynfawr of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, claimed the throne and invaded Gwynedd to displace Maelgwn's son, Rhun Hir ap Maelgwn. Elidyr was killed in the attempt, but his death was then avenged by his relatives, who ravaged the coast of Arfon. Rhun counter-attacked and exacted the same penalty on the lands of his foes in what is now central Scotland. The long distances these armies travelled suggests they were moving across the Irish Sea, but, because almost all of what is now northern England was at this point (c. 550) under Brittonic rule, it is possible that his army marched to Strathclyde overland. Rhun returned to Gwynedd, and the rest of his reign was far less eventful. He was succeeded by his son, Beli ap Rhun in c. 586.

On the accession of Beli's son Iago ap Beli in c. 599, the situation in Britain had deteriorated significantly. Most of northern England had been overrun by the invading Angles of Deira and Bernicia, who were in the process of forming the Kingdom of Northumbria. In a rare show of common interest, it appears that Gwynedd and the neighbouring Kingdom of Powys acted in concert to rebuff the Anglian advance but were defeated at the Battle of Chester in 613. Following this catastrophe, the approximate borders of northern Wales were set with the city of Caerlleon (now called Chester) and the surrounding Cheshire Plain falling under the control of the Anglo-Saxons.

Cadwallon ap Cadfan

The Battle of Chester would not end the ability of the Welsh to seriously threaten the Anglo-Saxon polities. Among the most powerful of the early kings was Cadwallon ap Cadfan (c. 624 – 634), grandson of Iago ap Beli. He became engaged in an initially disastrous campaign against Northumbria where following a series of epic defeats he was confined first to Anglesey and then just to Puffin Island before being forced into exile across the Irish Sea to Dublin – a place which would come to host many royal refugees from Gwynedd. All must have seemed lost but Cadwallon raised an enormous army and after a brief time in Guernsey he invaded Dumnonia, relieved the West Welsh who were suffering a Mercian invasion and forced the pagan Penda of Mercia into an alliance against Northumbria. With new vigour Cadwallon returned to his Northumbrian foes, devastated their armies and slaughtered a series of their kings. In this furious campaign his armies devastated Northumbria, captured and sacked York in 633 and briefly controlled the kingdom. At this time, according to Bede, many Northumbrians were slaughtered, “with savage cruelty”, by Cadwallon.

He neither spared the female sex, nor the innocent age of children, but with savage cruelty put them to tormenting deaths, ravaging all their country for a long time, and resolving to cut off all the race of the English within the borders of.

— Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

However, these tumultuous events would come to be short-lived, for he died in battle in 634 close to Hadrian's Wall. On account of these deeds, he and his son Cadwaladr appear to have been considered the last two High Kings of Britain. Cadwaladr presided over a period of consolidation and devoted much time to the Church, earning the title "Bendigaid" for "Blessed".

Rhodri the Great and Aberffraw primacy

During the later 9th and 10th centuries, the coastal areas of Gwynedd, particularly Anglesey, were coming under increasing attack by the Vikings. These raids no doubt had a seriously debilitating effect on the country but fortunately for Gwynedd, the victims of the Vikings were not confined to Wales. The House of Cunedda – as the direct descendants of Cunedda are known – eventually expired in the male line in 825 upon the death of Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog and, as John Edward Lloyd put it, "a stranger possessed the throne of Gwynedd."

This "stranger" who became the next King of Gwynedd was Merfyn "Frych" (Merfyn "the Freckled"). When, however, Merfyn Frych's pedigree is examined – and to the Welsh pedigree meant everything – he seems not a stranger but a direct descendant of the ancient ruling line. he was the son of Gwriad, the contemporaneous king of the Isle of Man and depending on the source either son or husband of Essyllt daughter of Cynan Dindaethwy a former King of Gwynedd. The most ancient genealogical sources agree that Merfyn was the son of Essyllt, heiress and cousin of the aforementioned Hywel ap Caradog, last of the ruling House of Cunedda in Gwynedd, and that Merfyn's male line went back to the Hen Ogledd to Llywarch Hen, a first cousin of Urien and thus a direct descendant of Coel Hen. Thus the House of Cunedda and the new House of Aberffraw, as Merfyn's descendants came to be known, shared Coel Hen as a common ancestor, although the House of Cunedda traced their line through Gwawl his daughter and wife of Cunedda.

Merfyn married Nest ferch Cadell, the sister of Cyngen ap Cadell, the King of Powys, and founded the house of Aberffraw, named after his principal court on Anglesey. No written records are preserved from the Britons of southern Scotland and northern England and it is very likely that Merfyn Frych brought many of these legends as well as his pedigree with him when he came to north Wales. It appears most probable that it was at Merfyn's court that all the lore of the north was collected and written down during his reign and that of his son.

Rhodri the Great (844–878), son of Merfyn Frych and Nest ferch Cadell, was able to add Powys to his realm after its king (his maternal uncle) died on pilgrimage to Rome in 855. Later, he married Angharad ferch Meurig, the sister of King Gwgon of Seisyllwg. When Gwgon drowned without heir in 872, Rhodri became steward over the kingdom and able to install his son, Cadell ap Rhodri, as a subject king. Thus, he became the first ruler since the days of Cunedda to control the greater part of Wales.

When Rhodri died in 878 the relative unity of Wales ended and it was once again divided into its component parts each ruled by one of his sons. Rhodri's eldest son Anarawd ap Rhodri inherited Gwynedd and would firmly establish the princely House of Aberffraw that would come to rule Gwynedd with but a few interruptions until 1283.

From the successes of Rhodri and the seniority of Anarawd among his sons the Aberffraw family claimed primacy over all other Welsh lords including the powerful kings of Powys and Deheubarth. In The History of Gruffudd ap Cynan, written in the late 12th century, the family asserted its rights as the senior line of descendants from Rhodri the Great who had conquered most of Wales during his lifetime. Gruffudd ap Cynan's biography was first written in Latin and intended for a wider audience outside Wales. The significance of this claim was that the Aberffraw family owed nothing to the English king for its position in Wales, and that they held authority in Wales "by absolute right through descent," wrote historian John Davies.

The House of Aberffraw was displaced in 942 by Hywel Dda, a King of Deheubarth from a junior line of descent from Rhodri Mawr. This occurred because Idwal Foel, the King of Gwynedd, was determined to cast off English overlordship and took up arms against the new English king, Edmund I. Idwal and his brother Elisedd were both killed in battle against Edmund's forces. By normal custom Idwal's crown should have passed to his sons, Ieuaf and Iago ab Idwal, but Hywel Dda intervened and sent Iago and Ieuaf into exile in Ireland and established himself as ruler over Gwynedd until his death in 950 when the House of Aberffraw was restored. Nonetheless, surviving manuscripts of Cyfraith Hywel recognize the importance of the lords of Aberffraw as overlords of Wales along with the rulers of Deheubarth.

Between 986 and 1081 the throne of Gwynedd was often in contention with the rightful kings frequently displaced by rivals within and outside the realm. One of these, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, originally from Powys, displaced the Aberffraw line from Gwynedd making himself ruler there, and by 1055 was able to make himself king of most of Wales. He became powerful enough to present a real menace to England and annexed some neighbouring parts after several victories over English armies. Eventually he was defeated by Harold Godwinson in 1063 and later killed by his own men in a deal to secure peace with England. Bleddyn ap Cynfyn and his brother Rhiwallon of the Mathrafal dynasty of Powys, Gruffudd's maternal half-brothers, came to terms with Harold and took over the rule of Gwynedd and Powys.

Shortly after the Norman conquest of England in 1066 the Normans began to exert pressure on the eastern border of Gwynedd. They were helped by internal strife following the killing of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn in 1075 by his second cousin Rhys ap Owain King of Deheubarth. Another relative of Bleddyn's Trahaearn seized the throne but was soon challenged by Gruffudd ap Cynan, the exiled grandson of Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig who had been living in the Norse–Gael stronghold of Dublin. In 1081 Trahaearn was killed by Gruffudd in battle and the ancient line of Rhodri Mawr was restored.

Gwynedd in the High Middle Ages

See also: Culture of Gwynedd during the High Middle Ages and History of Gwynedd during the High Middle Ages

Gruffudd ap Cynan

The Aberffraw dynasty suffered various depositions by rivals in Deheubarth, Powys, and England in the 10th and 11th centuries. Gruffudd ap Cynan (c. 1055–1137), who grew up in exile in Norse–Gael Dublin, regained his inheritance following his victory at the Battle of Mynydd Carn in 1081 over his Mathrafal rivals then in control of Gwynedd. However, Gruffudd's victory was short-lived as the Normans launched an invasion of Wales following the Saxon revolt in northern England, known as the Harrowing of the North.

Shortly after the Battle of Mynydd Carn in 1081, Gruffudd was lured into a trap with the promise of an alliance but seized by Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester, in an ambush near Corwen. Earl Hugh claimed the Perfeddwlad up to the River Clwyd (the commotes of Tegeingl and Rhufoniog; the modern counties of Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wrexham) as part of Chester, and viewed the restoration of the Aberffraw family in Gwynedd as a threat to his own expansion into Wales. The lands west of the Clwyd were intended for his cousin Robert of Rhuddlan, and their advance extended to the Llŷn Peninsula by 1090. By 1094 almost the whole of Wales was occupied by Norman forces. However, although they erected many castles, Norman control in most regions of Wales was tenuous at best. Motivated by local anger over the "gratuitously cruel" invaders, and led by the historic ruling houses, Welsh control over the greater part of Wales was restored by 1100.

In an effort to further consolidate his control over Gwynedd, Earl Hugh of Chester had Hervey le Breton elected as Bishop of Bangor in 1092, and consecrated by Thomas of Bayeux, Archbishop of York. It was hoped that placing a prelate loyal to the Normans over the traditionally independent Welsh church in Gwynedd would help to pacify the local inhabitants, and Hervé recognized the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury over the episcopal see of Bangor, a recognition hitherto rejected by the Welsh church.

However, the Welsh parishioners remained hostile to Hervey's appointment, and the bishop was forced to carry a sword with him and rely on a contingent of Norman knights for his protection. Additionally, Hervey routinely excommunicated parishioners who he perceived as challenging his spiritual and temporal authority

Gruffudd escaped imprisonment in Chester, and slew Robert of Rhuddlan in a beachside battle at Deganwy on 3 July 1093. Gruffudd recovered Gwynedd by 1095, and by 1098 Gruffudd allied with Cadwgan ap Bleddyn of the Mathrafal house of Powys, their traditional dynastic rivalry notwithstanding. Gruffudd and Cadwgan led the Welsh resistance to the Norman occupation in north and mid Wales. However, by 1098 Earl Hugh of Chester and Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury advanced their army to the Menai Strait, with Gruffudd and Cadwgan regrouping on defensible Anglesey, where they planned to make retaliatory strikes from their island fortress. Gruffudd hired a Norse fleet from a settlement in Ireland to patrol the Menai and prevent the Norman army from crossing; however, the Normans were able to pay off the fleet to instead ferry them to Môn. Betrayed, Gruffudd and Cadwgan were forced to flee to Ireland in a skiff.

The Normans landed on Anglesey, and their furious 'victory celebrations' which followed were exceptionally violent, with rape and carnage committed by the Norman army left unchecked. The earl of Shrewsbury had an elderly priest mutilated, and made the church of Llandyfrydog a kennel for his dogs.

During the 'celebrations' a Norse fleet led by Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway, appeared off the coast at Puffin Island, and in the battle that followed, known as the Battle of Anglesey Sound, Magnus shot dead the earl of Shrewsbury with an arrow to the eye. The Norse left as suddenly and as mysteriously as they had arrived, leaving the Norman army weakened and demoralized.

The Norman army retired to England, leaving a Welshman, Owain ab Edwin of Tegeingl, in command of a token force to control Ynys Môn and upper Gwynedd, and ultimately abandoning any colonization plans there. Owain ap Edwin transferred his allegiance to Chester following the defeat of his ally Trahaearn ap Caradog in 1081, a move which earned him the epithet Bradwr "the Traitor" (Welsh: Owain Fradwr), among the Welsh.

In late 1098 Gruffudd and Cadwgan landed in Wales and recovered Angelsey without much difficulty, with Hervé the Breton fleeing Bangor for safety in England. Over the course of the next three years, Gruffudd was able to recover upper Gwynedd to the Conwy, defeating Hugh, Earl of Chester. In 1101, after Earl Hugh's death, Gruffudd and Cadwgan came to terms with England's new king, Henry I, who was consolidating his own authority and also eager to come to terms. In the negotiations which followed Henry I recognized Gruffudd's ancestral cl

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Birth	Person ID	Tree
1	Henry's Concubine 2	Abt 1139	I844180	savenije
2	Abrahams, Michael	Abt 1842	I269165	savenije
3	Davis, Mary	Abt 1860	I451701	savenije
4	James, Rodney Arthur VIncent	29 Mar 1923	I124456	savenije
5	Jenkins, Richard Walter	10 Nov 1925	I671338	savenije
6	John, Gwendolen Mary	22 Jun 1876	I687204	savenije
7	Johns, Thomas H.	Abt 1858	I451700	savenije
8	Owen, David ap Prince Of Wales	Abt 1134	I837557	savenije
9	Rees Williams, William Med. Dr.	Abt 1860	I65207	savenije
10	Rhys, Thomas Lord of South Wales	Abt 1309	I844420	savenije

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Occupation	Person ID	Tree
1	de Mowbray, John (II) baron, 3rd Lord Mowbray		I842890	savenije

Marriage

Matches 1 to 2 of 2

	Family	Marriage	Family ID	Tree
1	Owen / Plantagenêt	1173	F311691	savenije
2	Rein / Lastella	02 Mar 1974	F106149	savenije

Calendar

Ik vind deze site geweldig en wil graag financieel helpen het in stand te houden

I like this service very much and I want to donate money