Hywel ap Rhys ('Hywel son of Rhys') (ruled 886) was a

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Glywysing Glywysing was, from the sub-Roman period to the Early Middle Ages, a petty kingdom in south-east Wales. Its people were descended from the Iron Age tribe of the Silures, and frequently in union with Gwent, merging to form Morgannwg. Name and ...

(either in part or in its entirety) in South

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. His sons Arthfael and Owain were probably responsible for the reünification of the realm of

Morgannwg Morgannwg was a medieval Welsh kingdom formed via the merger of the kingdoms of the Kingdom of Glywysing and the Kingdom of Gwent. Formation of Morgannwg First under King Morgan the Generous (fl. ) until the end of the reign of his descendant ...

.Charles-Edwards, T.
Wales and the Britons, 3501064
', p. 495. Oxford Univ. Press, 2012. Accessed 20 Feb 2013. A third son may have fallen helping

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 ...

resist a

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= , ...

n invasion of

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 ...

around 843.

The Houelt Cross

A cross in the collection of ancient stones at St Illtyd's Church, Llantwit Major has been identified with Hywel. The ''Houelt Cross'' has a Latin inscription written in

half-uncial Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library, p. 494. script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to ...

Latin which has consistently been interpreted as a memorial cross raised by Hywel for his father. R. A. Stewart Macalister read the inscription as:

"NINOMINEDIPATRISE/TS , PERETUSSANTDIANC , --]UCEMHOUELTPROPE , --]BITPROANIMARESPA , --]ESEUS"

In 1950 Victor Erle Nash-Williams translated it as "In the Name of God the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This cross Houelt (PN) prepared for the soul of Res (PN) his father" while in 1976 the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; cy, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectur ...

translated it as "In the name of God, the Father and the Holy Spirit, Houelt (PN) prepared this cross for the soul of Res (PN) his father". The Cross itself is a striking example of a Celtic wheel cross and features interlacing carvings, and the work is a lasting reminder of Hywel's wealth and influence.

Children

* Arthfael (died ) * Owain (died ) * Ermithridd *

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 materi ...

''Ibid.''

References

9th-century Welsh monarchs Monarchs of Glywysing {{wales-hist-stub