Idwal Foel ap Anarawd (died 942) was a King of Gwynedd

Kingdom of Gwynedd

Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...

, referred to as King of the Britons

King of the Britons

The Britons or Brythons were the Celtic-speaking people of what is now England, Wales and southern Scotland, whose ethnic identity is today maintained by the Welsh, Cornish and Bretons...

 by William of Malmesbury

William of Malmesbury

William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...

 in his Gesta Regum Anglorum. William spells his name as Judwalum in the original Latin (anglicized Jothwel); the Annales Cambriae

Annales Cambriae

Annales Cambriae, or The Annals of Wales, is the name given to a complex of Cambro-Latin chronicles deriving ultimately from a text compiled from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales, not later than the 10th century...

spell it Iudgual.

Idwal inherited the throne of Gwynedd on the death of his father, Anarawd ap Rhodri

Anarawd ap Rhodri

Anarawd ap Rhodri was a King of Gwynedd, also referred to as "King of the Britons" by the Annales Cambriae.Anarawd's father Rhodri the Great had eventually become ruler of most of Wales, but on his death in 878 his kingdom was shared out between his sons, with Anarawd inheriting the throne of...

 in 916. He was obliged to acknowledge Athelstan of England

Athelstan of England

Athelstan , called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924 or 925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder, grandson of Alfred the Great and nephew of Æthelflæd of Mercia...

 as overlord. Following Athelstan's death, Idwal and his brother Elisedd took to arms against the English, but both were killed in battle in 942. The rule of Gwynedd should now have passed to his sons, Iago ab Idwal

Iago ab Idwal

Not to be confused with Iago ab Idwal ap MeurigIago ab Idwal was a King of Gwynedd and possibly Powys, also referred to as "King of the Britons" by the Annals of Ulster....

 and Idwal, usually called Ieuaf ab Idwal

Ieuaf ab Idwal

Ieuaf ap Idwal was a king of part of Gwynedd and possibly part of Powys .Ieuaf was the son of Idwal Foel...

. However Hywel Dda

Hywel Dda

Hywel Dda , was the well-thought-of king of Deheubarth in south-west Wales, who 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...

 of Deheubarth, already ruler of most of south Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, invaded Gwynedd and forced them into exile, adding Gwynedd to his realm. After Hywel's death in 950, Idwal's sons were able to claim the kingdom.