Caradog ap Meirion (died ) was an 8th-century

king of Gwynedd Prior to the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, Conquest of Wales, completed in 1282, Wales consisted of a number of independent monarchy, kingdoms, the most important being Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd, Kingdom of Powys, Powys, Deheubarth (originally ...

in northwest

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. This era in the history of Gwynedd was not notable and, given the lack of reliable information available, serious histories such that as by

Davies Davies is a patronymic surname of English or Welsh origin. There are two main theories concerning its beginnings, neither of which has been definitively proven. The first theory contends that it may be a corruption of "Dyfed", the name of a medie ...

do not mention Caradog or (like that of Lloyd) mention his name only in a footnote quoting the year of his death in 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 ...

''., ''A History of Wales, Vol. I'' It is assumed Caradog rose to the throne upon the death of King

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 ...

, which Phillimore's reconstruction of the ''

Annals of Wales 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 ...

'' dates to AD 754. However, there is no other basis for the date and, as the records are quite sparse in this era, intervening kings cannot be precluded. The sole references to Caradog in the historical record are the appearance of his name in genealogies such as those in Jesus College MS. 20, and the entry of his death in the ''Annales Cambriae'' (Phillimore's year 798), noting he was killed (lit. "throat-slit") by the Saxons (probably the

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 ...

ns). It was during Caradog's reign that the Welsh church adopted the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

method of calculating

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

through the efforts of Bishop

Elfodd Elfodd, Elvodug or Elfoddw ( la, Elbodus or ''Elbodius''; died 809) was a Welsh bishop. He induced the Welsh church to accept the Roman computus for determining the date of Easter endorsed elsewhere in Britain at the Synod of Whitby in 664. This w ...

in 768, thus removing a longstanding point of ecclesiastical contention. In 796, a battle occurred at Rhuddlan Marsh ( cy, Morfa Rhuddlan) but neither the combatants nor the outcome is given. According to ''Brut Aberpergwm'', a purported medieval Welsh text which was accepted as such by the editors of the '' Myvyrian Archaiology'' (but which is now known to a forgery of

Iolo Morganwg Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedi ...

's), Caradog was slain in the 796 battle. Thomas Stephens was the first to doubt the text's authenticity. The pedigree in Jesus College MS. 20 states that the later King

Hywel Hywel (), sometimes anglicised as Howel or Howell, is a Welsh masculine given name. It may refer to: * Saint Hywel, a sixth-century disciple of Saint Teilo and the king of Brittany in the Arthurian legend. *Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog, 9th-century kin ...

(reigned 816 – 825) was Caradog's son, while historical works such as that by Lloyd say that Hywel was the son of Caradog's predecessor and the brother of his successor, King

Cynan Cynan (also spelled Conan or Kenan) is a Welsh masculine given name. It may refer to: * Cynan, the bardic name of Albert Evans-Jones (1895–1970), Welsh poet and dramatist * Cynan ab Iago (11th century), prince of Gwynedd and father of Gruffydd ...

(reigned 798 – 816)., ''A History of Wales Vol. I'' Lloyd does not cite his sources for this assertion.

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caradog ap Meirion 790s deaths Monarchs of Gwynedd 8th-century Welsh monarchs Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain