Merfyn Frych ('Merfyn the Freckled';
Old Welsh
Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...
''Mermin''), also known as Merfyn ap Gwriad ('Merfyn son of Gwriad') and Merfyn Camwri ('Merfyn the Oppressor'), was King of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
from around 825 to 844, the first of its kings known not to have descended from the male line of King
Cunedda
Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' ( 5th century), was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe.
Name
The name ''Cunedda'' (spelled ''Cuned ...
.
Little is known of his reign, and his primary notability is as the father of
Rhodri the Great
Rhodri ap Merfyn ( 820 – 873/877/878), popularly known as Rhodri the Great ( cy, Rhodri Mawr), succeeded his father, Merfyn Frych, as King of Gwynedd in 844. Rhodri annexed Powys c. 856 and Seisyllwg c. 871. He is called " King of the Brito ...
and founder of his dynasty, which was sometimes called the Merfynion after him. Merfyn came to the throne in the aftermath of a bloody dynastic struggle between two rivals named Cynan and Hywel generally identified with the sons of
Rhodri Molwynog
Rhodri Molwynog ("Rhodri the Bald and Grey"; died ), also known as Rhodri ap Idwal ("Rhodri son of Idwal") was an 8th-century king of Gwynedd. He was listed as a King of the Britons by the ''Annals of Wales''.
This era in the history of Gwynedd ...
.
The ''
Annales Cambriae
The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later ed ...
'' say Merfyn died around 844, the same year in which a battle occurred at Cetyll, but it is unclear whether those were two unrelated events or he fell in battle.
Political background
![Gwynedd General Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Gwynedd_General_Map.png)
The times leading up to Merfyn's reign were unsettled for both Gwynedd and neighbouring
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
. Both kingdoms were beset by internal dynastic strife, external pressure from
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
, and bad luck with nature. In 810, there was a bovine plague that killed many cattle (the primary form of wealth at the time) throughout Wales. The next year, the ancient wooden
llys at
Deganwy
Deganwy (Middle Welsh ''Degannwy'', Brythonic *''Decantouion'') is a town and electoral ward in Conwy County Borough in Wales with a population of 3,936 (2011). It lies in the Creuddyn Peninsula alongside Llandudno (to the north) and Rhos-on-Se ...
was struck by lightning. A destructive war for control of Gwynedd raged between 812 and 816, while in Powys a son of the king was killed by his brother "through treachery". In 818, there was a notable battle at
Llanfaes
Llanfaes (formerly also known as Llanmaes) is a small village on the island of Anglesey, Wales, located on the shore of the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the north Wales coast. Its natural har ...
on
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
. Although our sources do not identify the combatants, the site had been the llys of King Cynan.
Coenwulf of Mercia
Coenwulf (; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph; la, Coenulfus) was the King of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son ...
took advantage of the situation in 817, occupying
Rhufoniog
{{coord, 52.950, -3.275, display=title, region:GB_scale:20000
Rhufoniog was a small sub-kingdom of the Dark Ages Gwynedd, and later a cantref in medieval Wales.
Geography
The cantref Rhos lay between it and the Irish Sea. Sometimes the t ...
(see map) and laying waste to the mountains of
Snowdonia
Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.
Name and extent
It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...
. Coastal Wales along the
Dee Estuary
The Dee Estuary ( cy, Aber Dyfrdwy) is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five-mile (8 km) 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several miles ...
must have remained under Mercia’s control through 821, as Coenwulf is recorded dying peacefully at
Basingwerk
Basingwerk Abbey ( cy, Abaty Dinas Basing) is a Grade I listed ruined abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. The abbey, which was founded in the 12th century, belonged to the Order of Cistercians. It maintained significant lands in the English ...
in that year. In 823, Mercia laid waste to Powys and returned to Gwynedd to burn Deganwy to the ground. Gwynedd and Powys then gained a respite when Mercia's attention turned elsewhere and its fortunes waned. King
Beornwulf was killed fighting the
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
ns in 826, his successor
Ludeca suffered the same fate the following year, and Mercia was conquered and occupied by
Ecgberht of Wessex
Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlema ...
in 829. Though Mercia managed to throw off Ecgberht's rule in 830, it was thereafter beset by dynastic strife and never regained its former dominance, either in Wales or eastern
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Family background and marriage
Merfyn was linked to the earlier dynasty through his mother
Esyllt, the daughter of
King Cynan (d. after 816), rather than through his father
Gwriad ap Elidyr
Gwriad ap Elidyr ( en, Gwriad son of Elidyr) or Gwriad Manaw was a late-8th century figure in Wales. Very little is known of him, and he chiefly appears in the historical record in connection to his son Merfyn Frych, King of Gwynedd from around 82 ...
.
, ''heirship through the female line'') for the justification. However, ''mamwys'' refers to matters of property., group=note As his father's origins are obscure, so is the basis of his claim to the throne.
[
Extremely little is known of Merfyn's father Gwriad. Merfyn claimed descent from ]Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen (, "Llywarch the Old"; c. 534 – c. 608), was a prince and poet of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain (modern southern Scotland and northern England). Along with Taliesin, A ...
through him, and the royal pedigree in Jesus College MS. 20 says that Gwriad was the son of Elidyr, who bears the same name as his ancestor, the father of Llywarch Hen, Elidyr lydanwyn. Supporting the veracity of the pedigree is an entry in the ''Annales Cambriae'', which states that Gwriad, the brother of Rhodri the Great
Rhodri ap Merfyn ( 820 – 873/877/878), popularly known as Rhodri the Great ( cy, Rhodri Mawr), succeeded his father, Merfyn Frych, as King of Gwynedd in 844. Rhodri annexed Powys c. 856 and Seisyllwg c. 871. He is called " King of the Brito ...
, was slain on Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
by the Saxons. That is to say, Merfyn named one of his sons after his father Gwriad.
The discovery of a cross inscribed ''Crux Guriat'' ( en, Cross of Gwriad) on the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
and dated to the 8th or 9th century raised the question of whether Gwriad's possible connection to "Manaw" was to Manaw Gododdin
Manaw Gododdin was the narrow coastal region on the south side of the Firth of Forth, part of the Brythonic-speaking Kingdom of Gododdin in the post-Roman Era. It is notable as the homeland of Cunedda prior to his conquest of North Wales, and ...
, once active in North Britain, or to the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
( cy, Ynys Manaw).[ ]John Rhys
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
suggested that Gwriad might well have taken refuge on the Isle of Man during the bloody dynastic struggle between Cynan and Hywel prior to Merfyn's accession to the throne, and that the cross perhaps does refer to the refugee Gwriad, father of Merfyn. He goes on to note that the ''Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ...
'' mention a 'Gwryat son of Gwryan in the North'. Other locations for "Manaw" have been suggested, including Ireland, Galloway
Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway.
A native or i ...
and Powys.[
While Rhys's suggestion is not implausible, his reference to Gwriad's father Gwrian contradicts the royal pedigree, which says that Gwriad's father was Elidir, so this may be a confusion of two different people named Gwriad. Gwriad's name does appear with northern origins in the '']Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ...
'' as one of the ''"Three kings, who were of the sons of strangers"'' (sometimes referred to as the ''"Three Peasant Kings"''), where he is identified as the son of "Gwrian in the North".
Merfyn allied his own royal family with that of Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
by marrying Nest
A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...
, daughter or sister of King Cadell ap Brochfael
Cadell ap Brochfael ( en, Cadell, son of Brochfael; died c. 808), also known as Cadell Powys, was an 8th- and 9th-century king of Powys.
He was the son of Brochfael ap Elisedd, whom he succeeded to the throne c. 773.
The '' Annals of Wales'' m ...
, of the Royal House of Gwertherion
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...
.
Reign
Precious little is known of Merfyn's reign. Thornton suggests that Merfyn was probably among the Welsh kings who were defeated by Ecgberht, king of Wessex, in the year 830, but it is unknown how this affected Merfyn's rule.[
Merfyn is mentioned as a king of the Britons in a copyist's addition to the '']Historia Brittonum
''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British (Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Bri ...
'' and in the ''Bamberg Cryptogram'', but as both sources are traced to people working in Merfyn's own court during his reign, it should not be considered more significant than someone's respectful reference to his patron while working in his service.
In the literary sources, Merfyn's name appears in the ''Dialogue between Myrddin
Myrddin Wyllt (—"Myrddin the Wild", kw, Marzhin Gwyls, br, Merzhin Gueld) is a figure in medieval Welsh legend. In Middle Welsh poetry he is accounted a chief bard, the speaker of several poems in The Black Book of Carmarthen and The Red B ...
and his sister Gwenddydd
Gwenddydd, also known as Gwendydd and Ganieda, is a character from Welsh legend. She first appears in the early Welsh poems like the ''Dialoge of Myrddin'' and in the 12th-century Latin ''Vita Merlini'' by Geoffrey of Monmouth, where she is rep ...
'' ( cy, Cyfoesi Myrddin a Gwenddydd ei Chwaer
''Cyfoesi Myrddin a Gwenddydd ei Chwaer'' ("The Conversation of Myrddin and His Sister Gwenddydd") is an anonymous Middle Welsh poem of uncertain date consisting of 136 stanzas, mostly in ''englyn'' form. Myrddin, the legendary 6th-century Nort ...
), found in the mid-13th-century manuscript known as the Red Book of Hergest
The ''Red Book of Hergest'' ( cy, Llyfr Coch Hergest, Oxford, Jesus College, MS 111) is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preser ...
. The dialogue is a prophecy of the future kings, and lists among them Merfyn in the passage "meruin vrych o dir manaw" ( en, Merfyn Frych of the land of Manau).
Children
* Rhodri the Great
Rhodri ap Merfyn ( 820 – 873/877/878), popularly known as Rhodri the Great ( cy, Rhodri Mawr), succeeded his father, Merfyn Frych, as King of Gwynedd in 844. Rhodri annexed Powys c. 856 and Seisyllwg c. 871. He is called " King of the Brito ...
* Gwriad
* Anarawd ap Merfyn
See also
* List of rulers of Gwynedd
This is a list of the rulers of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.
Many of them were also acclaimed " King of the Britons" or "Prince of Wales".
List of Kings or Princes of Gwynedd House of Cunedda
* Cunedda ''Wledig'' ap Edern (Cunedda the Imperator ...
* Kings of Wales family trees
Family trees of the kings of Gwynedd, Deheubarth and
Powys and some of their more prominent relatives and heirs. The early generations of these genealogies are traditional and their historical accuracy is debated by scholars.
...
Notes
References
Sources
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Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad
844 deaths
Monarchs of Gwynedd
Year of birth unknown
9th-century Welsh monarchs