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Hywel Dda
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Hywel Dda (c. 880?–950), (English Hywel the Good, sometimes anglicized to Howell the Good) was a well-thought-of king of Deheubarth in south-west Wales, who, using his cunning, eventually came to rule Wales from Prestatyn to Pembroke. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr through his father Cadell, Hywel was a member of the Dinefwr branch of the dynasty and is also named Hywel ap Cadell.
He is remembered as one of the most responsible native Welsh rulers of all time.
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Hywel Dda (c. 880?–950), (English Hywel the Good, sometimes anglicized to Howell the Good) was a well-thought-of king of Deheubarth in south-west Wales, who, using his cunning, eventually came to rule Wales from Prestatyn to Pembroke. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr through his father Cadell, Hywel was a member of the Dinefwr branch of the dynasty and is also named Hywel ap Cadell.
He is remembered as one of the most responsible native Welsh rulers of all time. His name is particularly linked with the development of the Welsh laws, generally known as the Laws of Hywel Dda. The latter part of his name ('Dda' or 'Good') refers to the fact that his laws were just and good. The historian Dafydd Jenkins sees in them compassion rather than punishment, plenty of common sense and a sense of respect towards women (something unheard of in other laws throughout Europe until recently)
Hywel Dda was certainly a well-educated man, even by modern standards, having a good knowledge of Welsh, Latin, and English.
In April 2008 a merger of Pembrokeshire & Derwen, Ceredigion and Mid Wales, and Carmarthenshire NHS Trusts was named the Hywel Dda NHS Trust in his honour.
Biography
Hywel was born at around 880, the younger son of Cadell ap Rhodri, himself the son of Rhodri the Great. In 905, Cadell, having conquered Dyfed, gave it to his son to rule on his behalf. Hywel was able to consolidate his position by marrying Elen, whose father Llywarch ap Hyfaidd had ruled Dyfed until his death. Following his father's death in 909, he acquired a share of Seisyllwg, and on his brother's death in 920, he merged Dyfed and Seisyllwg, creating for himself a new kingdom, which became known as Deheubarth. Following the death of his cousin Idwal Foel in 942, he also seized the Kingdom of Gwynedd.
Accomplishments
Peace with Wessex
Hywel's reign was a violent one, and he achieved an understanding with Athelstan of England. Athelstan and Hywel ruled part of Wales jointly. Such was the relationship between the neighbouring countries that Hywel was able to mint his own coinage in the English city of Chester. He was the first Welsh ruler to produce coinage for at least a thousand years, since the coinage of his Celtic predecessors. His study of legal systems and his pilgrimage to Rome in 928 combined to enable him to formulate advanced ideas about law. A comparative study of law and lawmaking at the time reveals a deep concern for law and its documentation throughout Europe and also the Islamic world, the Cordoba Islamic Law translation schools being a fine example, from Greek to Arabic to Latin. The Hywel 'Law' book was written partly in Latin, about laws of court, law of country and the law of justices.
Opinions vary as to the motives for Hywel's close association with the court of Athelstan. J.E. Lloyd claimed Hywel was an admirer of Wessex, while D.P. Kirby suggests that it may have been the action of a pragmatist who recognized the realities of power in mid-10th century Britain. It is notable that he gave one of his sons an Anglo-Saxon name, Edwin. His policies with regard to England were evidently not to the taste of all his subjects. Athelstan and Hywel had similar interests. They both developed a coinage; they both had a kingdom; both were attributed a Law book. Hywel was aware of the greater power and acceded to it.
A Welsh language poem entitled Armes Prydein, considered by Sir Ifor Williams to have been written in Deheubarth during Hywel's reign, called for the Welsh to join a confederation of all the non-English peoples of Britain and Ireland to fight the Saxons. The poem may be linked to the alliance of Norse and Celtic kingdoms which challenged Athelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937. No Welsh forces joined this alliance, and this may well have been because of the influence of Hywel. On the other hand neither did he send troops to support Athelstan.
Welsh Law
The conference held at Whitland circa 945, was an assembly in which Welsh law was codified and set down in writing for posterity. According to tradition, much of the work was done by the celebrated clerk, Blegywryd. Following Hywel's death, his kingdom was soon split into three. Gwynedd was reclaimed by the sons of Idwal Foel, while Deheubarth was divided between Hywel's sons. However, his legacy endured in the form of his laws, which remained in active use throughout Wales until the conquest and were not abolished by the English Parliament until the 16th century. A surviving copy of a Latin text of the Law (ms Peniarth 28) is held at The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and can be seen online. More than 30 manuscripts were recently selected for a discussion of the "Law" of Hywel, by a Welsh professor of Medieval studies, Hywel Emanuel. Only five of them were considered to be of sufficient antiquity, dating back to the 13thC or earlier, to merit serious attention. Three of them were in Latin and two in Welsh.
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