Cadwallon Lawhir ap Einion (c. 460 – c. 534), usually known as Cadwallon Lawhir ("Long Hand") and also called Cadwallon I by some historians, was a

king of Gwynedd This is a list of the rulers of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Many of them were also acclaimed "King of the Britons" or "Prince of Wales". List of kings or princes of Gwynedd House of Cunedda * Cunedda (Cunedda the Imperator) (c. 450 – c. 46 ...

around 500. Cadwallon was the son of

Einion Yrth ap Cunedda Einion Yrth ap Cunedda ( – c. 500; – c. 480), also known as Einion Yrth ( Welsh for "the Impetuous"), was a king of Gwynedd. He is claimed as an ancestor of the later rulers of North Wales. One of the sons of Cunedda, he travelled with h ...

and Prawst ferch Deithlyn. He is often considered to have been king of Gwynedd from his father's death in about 500 until his own death in 534. He is credited with having driven the last Irish settlers off the island 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 ...

. According to one tradition, Cadwallon and his army padlocked their own feet to their stirrups so that they could not be tempted to flee the battle. Cadwallon's opponent, the leader of the Irish of Angelsey, was said to be Serigi Wyddel (Serigi "The Irishman"), and the final battle was fought at either Cerrig y Gwyddyl or Llan y Gwyddyl near

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

. Cadwallon's epithet, ''Lawhir'', may possibly refer to him having longer than usual arms or might also be a metaphor, referring to the extent of his authority. The late medieval poet Iolo Goch claims that he could "reach a stone from the ground to kill a raven, without bending his back, because his arm was as long as his side to the ground." According to

Gildas Gildas (English pronunciation: , Breton language, Breton: ''Gweltaz''; ) — also known as Gildas Badonicus, Gildas fab Caw (in Middle Welsh texts and antiquarian works) and ''Gildas Sapiens'' (Gildas the Wise) — was a 6th-century Britons (h ...

, Cadwallon's son, Maelgwn, murdered his uncle in order to ascend the throne, which suggests that the actual king of Gwynedd was not Cadwallon but his brother Owain Danwyn.

Caswallon's Llys

There has been a longstanding association, in antiquarian writings, between Cadwallon and a possible Llys (medieval royal court building) known as Caswallon's Llys. This was indicated on the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

map of 1889 as within a field near Mynydd Eilian, in the Llaneilian community, in the north-east corner of 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 ...

. With no obvious remains by the 20th century, it had been largely discredited as a Llys site until a

geophysical survey Geophysical survey is the systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies. Detection and analysis of the geophysical signals forms the core of Geophysical signal processing. The magnetic and gravitational fields emanating from the ...

in 2009 identified foundations of a rectangular building within a trapezoidal enclosure, for which an early medieval site was a strong possibility.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadwallon Lawhir Ap Einion 460s births 530s deaths Monarchs of Gwynedd Arthurian legend 5th-century Welsh monarchs 6th-century Welsh monarchs

Caswallon's Llys

See also

References