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Maelgwn Gwynedd (died c. 547[1]) was King of Gwynedd (reigned from ? – c. 547). More formally his name was Maelgwn ap Cadwallon (English: Maelgwn son of Cadwallon), also known as Maelgwn Hir (English: Maelgwn the Tall). He was father of Rhun "Hîr".
The evidence suggests that he held a pre-eminent position among the kings in Wales and in parts of northern Britain known as 'The Old North' (Welsh: Yr Hen Ogledd). Maelgwn was a generous supporter of Christianity, making donations to found churches throughout Wales, far beyond the bounds of His own kingdom.
The history of Brythonic Gwynedd begins with the conquest of the Gaelic peoples of northern Wales by Maelgwn's great-grandfather Cunedda, with the conquest finally completed by Maelgwn's father Cadwallon. Maelgwn was the first king to enjoy thefruits of His family's conquest and he is considered the founder of the medieval kingdom's royal family. He is thus most commonly referenced by appending the name of the kingdom to his own: Maelgwn Gwynedd.
By tradition, his llys (English: royal court, literally hall) was located at Deganwy, in the Creuddyn peninsula of Rhos. Tradition also holds that he died at nearby Llanrhos, and was buried there.[2] Other traditions say that he was buried at Ynys Seiriol (English: Island of St. Seiriol, Puffin Island), off easternmost Anglesey. There are no historical records to confirm or deny these traditions.
Historical records of this early era are scant. Maelgwn appears in the royal genealogies of the Harleian genealogies,[3] Jesus College MS. 20,[4] and Hengwrt MS. 202.[5] His death in a "great mortality" of 547 is noted in the Annales Cambriae.[6] Tradition holds that he died of the 'Yellow Plague' of Rhos, but this is based on one of the Triads that was written much later. The record says only that it was a "great mortality".
Maelgwn was a generous contributor to the cause of Christianity throughout Wales. He made Donations to support Saint Brynach in Dyfed, Saint Cadoc in Gwynllwg, Saint Cybi in Anglesey, Saint Padarn in Ceredigion, and Saint Tydecho in Powys.[7] Heis also associated with the foundation of Bangor, but hard evidence of this is lacking.[7] In his 1723 Mona Antiqua Restaurata, Henry Rowlands asserts that Bangor was raised to an episcopal see by Maelgwn in 550, but he provides no source for the assertion.[8]
The only contemporary information about the person is provided by Gildas, who includes Maelgwn among the five British kings who he condemns in allegorical terms in his De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae. He says Maelgwn held a regional pre-eminence among the other 4 kings, going on to say that he overthrew his maternal uncle (Latin: avunculus) to gain the throne; that he had taken up life as a monk but then returned to the secular world; that he had been married and divorced, then remarried to the widow of His nephew after being responsible for his nephew's death; and that he was tall.[9][10]
Gildas refers to Maelgwn by the older form of His name, Maglocunus (or Maglocunos). This was successively softened down into Mailcon or Mailcun, to become Maelgwn. Maglo- in Brythonic means a prince or hero, equivalent to the Irish mál and different from Brythonic moel (bald, bare) and Irish mael (tonsured, servant). The early Brythonic cu has become Welsh ci, genitive or nominative plural cwn, the word for hound or dog, with a positive military connotation in the sense of the dangerous hound or hounds of War.
The evidence suggests that Maelgwn held a pre-eminent position over the regions ruled by the descendants of Cunedda, perhaps in the sense of a regional high king. There is nothing to suggest that Maelgwn held sway over any larger area. Gildas says as much in his condemnation, saying he held a pre-eminence over the other 4 kings similarly condemned, and also describing him as the "dragon of the island",[13] where the Isle of Anglesey is the ancient stronghold of the kings of Gwynedd.
Maelgwn's donations to the Christian missionaries supports the notion, as these are not restricted to the Kingdom of Gwynedd, but are spread throughout northern and southern Wales, in the various regions where the descendants of Cunedda held sway. This implies that Maelgwn had a responsibility to those regions, to a degree beyond the responsibilities of a king to his own kingdom only.
While the context is not definitive, Taliesin also implies it, in his Marwnad Rhun (English: Elegy of Rhun) that laments the death of Maelgwn's son Rhun, where he says that Rhun's death is "the fall of the court and girdle of Cunedda".
In his De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (English: On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain), written c. 540, Gildas makes an allegorical condemnation of 5 British kings by likening them to the beasts of the Christian Apocalypse as expressed in thebiblical Book of Revelation, 13-2: the lion, leopard, bear, and dragon, with the dragon supreme among them.[15] He says that Maelgwn is the "dragon of the island", and goes on with a litany of moral accusations, in the process describing him almost as a regional high king over the other kings (the power-giving dragon of the Apocalypse). The Isle of Anglesey was the base of power of the kings of Gwynedd, so describing Maelgwn as the "dragon of the island" is appropriate.[16][17][18]
Gildas restricts his attention to the kings of Gwynedd (Maelgwn), Dyfed (Vortiporius), Penllyn (probable, as its king Cuneglasus/Cynlas appears in royal genealogies associated with the region),[19] Damnonia/Alt Clud (Constantine), and the unknown region associated with Caninus. The Welsh kingdoms are all associated with the conquest of the Gaels by Cunedda, while Alt Clud had a long and ongoing relationship with Gwynedd and its kings.
In the course of His condemnations, Gildas makes passing reference to the other beasts mentioned in the Apocalypse, such as the eagle, serpent, calf, and wolf. The reason for Gildas' disaffection for these individuals is unknown. He was selective in his choice of Kings, as he had no comments concerning the kings of the other British kingdoms that were thriving at the time, such as Rheged, Gododdin, Elmet, Pengwern/Powys, or the kingdoms of modern-day southern England. That he chose only the kings associated with one king's pre-eminence (Maelgwn, the "dragon") suggests a reason other than his claim of moral outrage over personal depravity. Neither outrage nor a doctrinal dispute would seem to justify beginning the condemnationof the five kings with a personal attack against the mother of one of the kings, calling her an "unclean lioness".
Thomas Wolfgang
Ackermann
