Idwal Iwrch (), or Idwal ap Cadwaladr (), reigned c. 682 – c. 720, is a figure in the genealogies of the kings of Gwynedd. He was the son of King

Cadwaladr Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (also spelled Cadwalader or Cadwallader in English) was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around 655 to 664 or 682. He died in one of two devastating plagues that happened in 664 and in 682. Little else is known of his reig ...

(reigned c. 655 – c. 682) and the father of King

Rhodri Molwynog Rhodri Molwynog ("Rhodri the Bald and Grey"; reigned c. 720 – c. 754, died circa 754), also known as Rhodri ap Idwal ("Rhodri son of Idwal") was an 8th century king of Gwynedd. He was listed as a King of the Britons by the ''Annals of Wale ...

(died 754). William Wynne places

Cynan Dindaethwy Cynan Dindaethwy () or Cynan ap Rhodri ("Cynan son of Rhodri") was a king of Gwynedd (reigned c. 798 – c. 816) in Wales in the early Middle Ages. Cynan was the son of Rhodri Molwynog and ascended to the throne of Gwynedd upon the death of Ki ...

as his son, but other sources have Cynan as the son of Rhodri. The records of this era are scanty, and Idwal's name appears only in the pedigrees of later kings and in a prophecy found in two 14th century Welsh manuscripts, which says that he will succeed his father Cadwaladr as king. The only mention of Idwal Iwrch in the historical record is the appearance of his name in genealogies such as those from Jesus College MS. 20 (as the father of "Rhodri Molwynog son of Idwal Iwrch son of Cadwaladr Fendigiad") and the

Harleian genealogies __NOTOC__ The Harleian genealogies are a collection of Old Welsh genealogies preserved in British Library, Harley MS 3859. Part of the Harleian Library, the manuscript, which also contains the '' Annales Cambriae'' (Recension A) and a version of ...

(as the father of "Rotri son of Intguaul son of Catgualart"). John Davies'; ''History of Wales'' does not mention Idwal, while

John Edward Lloyd Sir John Edward Lloyd (5 May 1861 – 20 June 1947) was a Welsh historian. Early life and eduction John Edward Lloyd was born in Liverpool on 5 May 1861. He was educated in the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth (which later become ...

's ''History'' says only that Idwal was Rhodri Molwynog's father. The King of Gwynedd during Idwal's lifetime is not known, and while he is one of the most likely candidates (because he was both the son of a king and the father of a king), there is no sufficiently reliable basis to either assert or deny it. Idwal's name appears in the ''Dialogue between

Myrddin Myrddin Wyllt (—"Myrddin the Wild", , ) is a figure in medieval Welsh legend. In Middle Welsh poetry he is accounted a chief bard, the speaker of several poems in The Black Book of Carmarthen and The Red Book of Hergest. He is called ''Wyll ...

and his sister

Gwenddydd Gwenddydd, also known as Gwendydd and Ganieda, is a character from Welsh legend. She first appears in the early Welsh poems like the ''Dialogue of Myrddin and Gwenddydd'' and in the 12th-century Latin ''Vita Merlini'' by Geoffrey of Monmouth, ...

'' (), a

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh (, ) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh (). Literature and history Middle Welsh is ...

vaticinatory poem whose text is preserved in two medieval Welsh manuscripts, Peniarth 3 (c. 1300) and the

Red Book of Hergest Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secon ...

(c. 1380–1410). In the text's question-answer form, a succession of "future" kings is prophesied, with Idwal among them. This succession agrees with the historical genealogies from father to son but does not agree with the known royal succession. – for example, Cadwallon was the father of Cadwaladr, but Cadafael followed Cadwallon in the royal succession and Cadwaladr followed Cadafael, not as the prophecy claims.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Idwal Iwrch Medieval Welsh literature 7th-century Welsh monarchs 8th-century Welsh monarchs

See also

References