Idris Gawr ( en, Idris the Giant; c. 560 – 632) was a king of

Meirionnydd Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a cantref, a district and, as Merionethshire, a county. Kingdom Meirionnydd (Meirion, with -''ydd'' as a Welsh suffix of land, literally ''Land adjoined to Meirion ...

in early medieval Wales. He is also sometimes known by the patronymic Idris ap Gwyddno (''Idris son of Gwyddno''). Although now known as Idris Gawr, (Idris the Giant) this may be an error and he may have originally been known as "Idris Arw" (Idris the Coarse). He was apparently so large that he could sit on the summit of Cadair Idris and survey his whole kingdom.

Cadair Idris Cadair Idris or Cader Idris is a mountain in the Meirionnydd area of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park near the town of Dolgellau. The peak, which is one of the most popular in Wales for walkers and hiker ...

, a Welsh mountain, literally means "Chair of Idris". Idris was said to have studied the stars from on top of it and it was later reputed to bestow either madness or poetic inspiration on whoever spent a night on its summit. According to John Rhys, there were three other giants in the Welsh tradition along with Idris; these were Ysgydion, Offrwm, and Ysbryn and each of them is said to have a mountain named after him somewhere in the vicinity of Cadair Idris. Another story has Idris seated in his chair plucking irritating grit from his shoe and throwing it down to the valley below, where it formed the three large boulders seen there till this day. The historical Idris is thought to have been killed during a battle with

Oswald of Northumbria Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642, however there is some question as to whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology an ...

near the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

around 632, although the Welsh annals merely state he was strangled in the same year. He may have retired to the mountain as a hermit, but if that was the case, he must have re-entered secular life to do battle. His grave, Gwely Idris, is said to be somewhere up on the mountain. However he died, he seems to have been succeeded by his son Sualda.

References

{{reflist Welsh mythology Welsh giants Medieval rulers Mythological kings Year of birth uncertain 632 deaths