Llywarch ap Hyfaidd (died ) was a

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ...

, an independent kingdom in southwest Wales. He was the son of Hyfaidd ap Bleddri and is thought to have inherited the kingdom of Dyfed after his father's death in c. 892. Sometime soon after Llywarch's death at the beginning of the tenth century, Dyfed became part of the new kingdom of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...

, ruled by

Hywel Dda Hywel ap Cadell, commonly known as Hywel Dda, which translates to Howel the Good in English, was a Welsh king who ruled the southern Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth and eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllw ...

who was married to Llywarch's daughter Elen. Upon Llywarch's death in 904, the kingdom passed briefly to his brother Rhodri ap Hyfaidd, but he was killed by beheading in Arwystli in mid Wales, likely as a result of execution following a defeat in battle against Hywel, his father Cadell ap Rhodri, King of Seisyllwg or his uncle Anarawd ap Rhodri, King of Gwynedd. Hywel soon consolidated his rule, eventually merging Dyfed with his paternal inheritance as the new kingdom of Deheubarth. Later Welsh tradition held that Hywel inherited Dyfed peacefully through his supposed marriage to Llywarch's daughter Elen (d. 929) in a manner similar to the stories told about his great-grandfather Merfyn's acquisition of

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, his grandfather Rhodri's acquisition of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

, and his father Cadell's acquisition of Ceredigion, all of this despite female inheritance of land having no place in the Welsh law of the period. However, the repeated military attacks of Cadell and Hywel on Dyfed were recorded in

Asser Asser (; ; died 909) was a Welsh people, Welsh monk from St David's, Kingdom of Dyfed, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne (ancient), Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join ...

's (d. 909) ''

Life of King Alfred Asser (; ; died 909) was a Welsh people, Welsh monk from St David's, Kingdom of Dyfed, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne (ancient), Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join ...

'', where it states he was replaced by his brother Rhodri, although the cause of his death is unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llywarch ap Hyfaidd 10th-century Welsh monarchs 9th-century Welsh monarchs Monarchs of Dyfed 9th-century births 900s deaths Year of birth unknown

See also

References