Anarawd ap Rhodri () was King of Gwynedd from 878 to 916. He faced challenges from the

kingdom of Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

and

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

raiders during a period of uncertainty for his realm. Nonetheless, he managed to secure his dynasty's future through his actions and leadership in this tumultuous era.

Early life

Anarawd was born in the 9th century in the

Kingdom of Gwynedd The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: ; Middle Welsh: ) was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire Succession of states, successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon ...

, which was ruled by his father, King

Rhodri Mawr Rhodri ap Merfyn, commonly known as , was a Welsh king whose legacy has impacted the history of Wales. Rhodri rose to power during a tumultuous era, where the fate of Welsh kingdoms was often determined by the power of their leaders. Early life ...

. His mother was Angharad ferch Meurig of Ceredigion, sister of Gwgon ap Meurig who held the throne of Seisyllwg. Anawrad is considered to have been the eldest of the children, with brothers Cadell and Merfyn, although Rhodri is recorded in having six sons in some sources. Rhodri's reign was marked by successful territorial expansions and the defense against numerous Viking invasions. However, Rhodri met his demise in a battle against Ceowulf of Mercia. Following his father's death, Anarawd ascended to the throne, inheriting a vast kingdom that stretched from the Isle of

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

to the Wye River.

Reign

Battle of the Conwy

One of Anarawd's earliest and most significant achievements was his decisive victory at the Battle of the Conwy in 881. In this battle, he defeated

Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians Æthelred (died 911) became Lord of the Mercians in England shortly after the death or disappearance of Mercia's last king, Ceolwulf II, in 879. He is also sometimes called the Ealdorman of Mercia. Æthelred's rule was confined to the wester ...

, in Cymryd, near the mouth of the Conwy River. This triumph was celebrated and revered in Welsh history, with the Welsh annals even dubbing it as "God's Vengeance for Rhodri". The Battle of Conwy proved to be a catastrophic defeat for Æthelred, as it shattered any aspirations he had of extending Mercian authority over

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. In the wake of this defeat, his position became increasingly unsustainable, ultimately leading him to submit to the overlordship of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

, the King of

Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...

. This marked a significant turning point not only in the rule of Æthelred, reign but also in the broader political dynamics of the time, as it effectively ended Mercian ambitions in

and solidified Alfred's influence in the region. Contrastingly, the Battle of the Conwy marked a resounding success for Anarawd, as it brought stability to his borders and opened up new opportunities for expansion. In the aftermath of the battle, Anarawd seized the chance to raid and exert his influence over the small kingdoms in the south that were no longer under Mercian overlordship. These raids had a significant impact, prompting Hyfaidd ap Bleddri and Tewdr ap Elisedd of

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 ...

and

Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans ...

to seek the overlordship of Alfred, who had begun to show interest in the

Welsh kingdoms Wales in the early Middle Ages covers the time between the Roman departure from Wales c. 383 until the middle of the 11th century. In that time there was a gradual consolidation of power into increasingly hierarchical kingdoms. The end of the ea ...

Alliances with Scandinavian York and Wessex

After the Battle of the Conwy, Anarawd took a strategic step to safeguard his kingdom and mitigate the threat of future Mercian advances. He forged an

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

with the

Scandinavian York Scandinavian York or Viking York () is a term used by historians for what is now Yorkshire during the period of Scandinavian domination from late 9th century until it was annexed and integrated into England after the Norman Conquest; in parti ...

. This alliance served a dual purpose: first, it provided additional protection against potential Mercian incursions, and second, it aimed to curb the frequent Viking raids that had plagued

since the early years of the century. The alliance with the

seemed to have brought a period of relative calm between 880 and 890, with no recorded Viking activity in Anarawd's realm during this time. However, in 892, Anarawd faced a significant threat when a Viking host from

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

launched an attack on his kingdom. Anarawd's forces successfully repelled the raiders, who then redirected their incursion southward. This attack, coupled with the increasing Viking pressure in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

region, prompted Anarawd to reassess his strategic alliances. In the year 893, Anarawd and his brothers chose to abandon their alliance with the Scandinavian York and embarked on a journey to Alfred's court. There, they pledged their fealty to Alfred, becoming subject kings under his rule, much like Æthelred had done previously. As a result of this alliance, Anarawd received a range of valuable gifts from Alfred and, more importantly, the protection of Alfred's forces against external threats. It is highly likely that Anarawd also formed an alliance with his former rival, Æthelred, around this time. Both Anarawd and Æthelred, as powerful subjects of Alfred, shared common interests and ambitions that were hindered by West Saxon overlordship.

Conquest of Dyfed

In the year following these events, an opportunity presented itself when the

King of Dyfed This is a list of rulers in Wales (; and Welsh Marches, neighbouring regions) during the Middle Ages, between . The rulers were monarchs who ruled their respective Monarchy, realms, as well as those who briefly ruled the Principality of Wales ...

, Hyfaidd ap Bleddri, passed away. Anarawd wasted no time and seized this chance for expansion. In 894, he launched merciless raids into

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

and the Tywi Valley, and to bolster his efforts, he enlisted the assistance of Mercian troops. Hyfaidd's son,

Llywarch ap Hyfaidd Llywarch ap Hyfaidd (died ) was a king of Dyfed, 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 Llywar ...

, succeeded his father as the ruler of

, but his reign was marked by escalating pressure from

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 ...

under Anarawd's leadership. The circumstances surrounding Llywarch's death in 903 remain unclear. Following Llywarch's death, his brother Rhodri ap Hyfaidd assumed the rule of

. However, his reign was short-lived, lasting only a year as he was

beheaded Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

Arwystli Arwystli was a cantref in mid Wales in the Middle Ages, located in the headland of the River Severn. It was chiefly associated with the Kingdom of Powys, but was heavily disputed between Powys, Gwynedd, and the Norman Marcher Lords for hundred ...

after suffering a defeat in battle against the Merfynion. This event marked the culmination of Anarawd's conquest of Kingdom of Dyfed. Dyfed appears to have been ruled as a distinct kingdom from Gwynedd under the leadership of Anarawd's brother,

Cadell ap Rhodri Cadell ap Rhodri (854–909) was King of Seisyllwg, a minor kingdom in southwestern Wales, from about 872 until his death. The son of Rhodri Mawr, King of Gwynedd, Cadell was in turn the father of Hywel Dda, who eventually came to rule most o ...

. The precise circumstances and events that led to Cadell's acquisition of the Kingdom of Dyfed remain shrouded in ambiguity.

Conflict with Ingimundr

In the year 902, an alliance of

Irish Kings This page serves as an index of lists of kings of the Gaelic kingdoms of Ireland of the Early Medieval period The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded b ...

dealt a significant blow to the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, causing many of them to disperse. Some of these exiled Viking warriors formed roving bands, seeking opportunities for plunder and settlement in foreign lands. Among these bands was one led by the warrior Ingimundr, which chose to settle on the eastern coast of

in the region of

Llanfaes Llanfaes (formerly also known as Llanmaes) is a small village on the island of Anglesey, Wales, located on the shore of the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the north Wales coast. Its natural har ...

. Anarawd, however, was not one to tolerate Viking incursions. He confronted Ingimundr and his band in a battle on Anglesey, emerging victorious. Following this defeat, Ingimundr was forced to flee to

Death

Anarawd died in 916. He was commemorated in the

Annales Cambriae The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later ...

as the "

King of the Britons The title King of the Britons (, ) was used (often retrospectively) to refer to a ruler, especially one who might be regarded as the most powerful, among the Celtic Britons, both before and after the period of Roman Britain up until the Norman ...

Succession

Following his death, his son Idwal ascended to the throne, succeeding him as the King of Gwynedd.