Roman Conquest Of Anglesey
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The Roman conquest of Anglesey refers to two separate invasions 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 ...
in
North West Wales North West Wales () is an area or region of Wales, commonly defined as a grouping of the principal areas of Conwy County Borough, Gwynedd and the Isle of Anglesey in the north-west of the country. These principal areas make up the entire pre ...
that occurred during the early decades of the
Roman conquest of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain was the Roman Empire's conquest of most of the island of Great Britain, Britain, which was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the ...
in the 1st century CE. The first invasion of
North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...
began after the Romans had subjugated much of southern Britain. It was led by the Provincial governor of
Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...
, Suetonius Paulinus, who led a successful assault on the island in 60–61 CE, but had to withdraw because of the
Boudican revolt The Boudican revolt was an armed uprising by native Celtic Britons against the Roman Empire during the Roman conquest of Britain. It took place circa AD 60–61 in the Roman province of Britain, and it was led by Boudica, the Queen of the Ice ...
. In 77 CE,
Gnaeus Julius Agricola Gnaeus Julius Agricola (; 13 June 40 – 23 August 93) was a Roman general and politician responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. Born to a political family of senatorial rank, Agricola began his military career as a military tribu ...
's thorough subjugation of the island left it under Roman rule until the
end of Roman rule in Britain The end of Roman rule in Britain occurred as the military forces of Roman Britain withdrew to defend or seize the Western Roman Empire's continental core, leaving behind an autonomous post-Roman Britain. In 383, the usurper Magnus Maximus wit ...
in the early 5th century CE. Anglesey was invaded as it was an important centre for the
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...
s and their religious practices which made it a place of resistance to Roman rule. No surviving Roman sources mention Anglesey, which was recorded in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
as ''Mona'' (and is still known as ''Môn'' in modern Welsh), after its conquest. Archaeologists have located a fort dated shortly after the first conquest near Cemlyn Bay; a trading settlement on the shore of the
Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...
; and a village of huts huddled together on a hill for defence. In the last decades of Roman rule in Britain several military forts were built on the northern and western coasts to defend the island against Irish sea raiders. However, despite more than three centuries of Roman rule, archaeologists have found no evidence of major civic centres or villas on the island indicating that
Romano-British culture The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
lacked the influence it had in other parts of the
Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...
of Britannia. The only Roman source for the island's two invasions is the Roman historian
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
. His last work ''
The Annals The ''Annals'' () by Roman historian and senator Tacitus is a history of the Roman Empire from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero, the years AD 14–68. The ''Annals'' are an important source for modern understanding of the history of the R ...
,'' written as a history of the Roman Empire from
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...
until
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
, mentions the first invasion by Suetonius Paulinus. The second invasion is detailed in Tacitus' work '' The Life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola,'' which was written to record and extol the life and accomplishments of his father-in-law. Tacitus may have used first-hand accounts from Agricola, who had been present with the Roman forces on both occasions.


First invasion (60 CE)

The first invasion of Anglesey took place in 60 or 61 CE following Suetonius Paulinus' success in other parts of the province, subjugating British tribes and establishing Roman forts. Tacitus writes: "Britain was in the hands of Suetonius Paulinus, who in military knowledge and in popular favour, which allows no one to be without a rival, vied with Corbulo, and aspired to equal the glory of the recovery of Armenia by the subjugation of Rome's enemies. He therefore prepared to attack the island of Mona which had a powerful population and was a refuge for fugitives." Tacitus, who later married the daughter of Suetonius Paulinus's young aide-de-camp,
Gnaeus Julius Agricola Gnaeus Julius Agricola (; 13 June 40 – 23 August 93) was a Roman general and politician responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. Born to a political family of senatorial rank, Agricola began his military career as a military tribu ...
, may have heard first-hand accounts of the campaign and even of Suetonius's personal comments. The decision to invade may also have been motivated by information about copper mines on Anglesey.


Approaching the Menai Strait

Tacitus says: " uetonius Paulinusbuilt flat-bottomed vessels to cope with the shallows, and uncertain depths of the sea. Thus the infantry crossed, while the cavalry followed by fording, or, where the water was deep, swam by the side of their horses." He does not state where these boats were built, perhaps
Deva Victrix Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary castra, fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II Adiutrix, Legio II ''Adiutrix'' in the 70s AD as the ...
(
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 ...
), where a few pre-Flavian coins may indicate an early base whose role would have been tied to the movement of troops by sea along the coasts of north Wales. Marshy ground to the west of Chester made it a poor base for overland penetration of North Wales, and Suetonius' march to the Menai Strait may have used the oldest known crossing of the River Dee, some 13 km south of Chester at Holt. An army moving on foot along the north coast of Wales would have first seen Anglesey from the mouth of the Sychnant Pass near Abergwyngregyn, where the three land routes converge.


Crossing the Menai Strait

The Roman forces then had to cross the
Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...
, a narrow strip of water some 8km long that separates the island of Anglesey from the rest of the Welsh mainland. The sea crossing would be short and relatively easy at
slack water Slack tide or slack water is the short period in a body of tidal water when the water is completely unstressed, and there is no movement either way in the tidal stream. It occurs before the direction of the tidal stream reverses. Slack water c ...
, but at full strength the tidal currents can be up to 7.5
knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot or knots may also refer to: Other common meanings * Knot (unit), of speed * Knot (wood), a timber imperfection Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film * ''Kn ...
with much turbulence in the narrower and rockier sections. Local knowledge, at least a long enough period of observation to predict the tidal currents with reasonable accuracy, would be required to plan safe transit. (The later invasion under Agricola took the natives by surprise because they had expected to see a fleet in plenty of time to gather for their defence of the island.) The locations of the Menai crossings are not known and modern suggestions are purely speculative. William Manning suggested that a possible site is at the north-eastern end of the Strait, near the present city of Bangor, easily accessible from the Sychnant Pass, where travellers on the mediaeval ferry set out across the Lavan Sands to cross the Strait. The Lavan Sands at low tide would be an appropriate place to ground and load flat-bottomed boats, and to assemble cavalry ready to swim. The path across the sand flats is some 4.5 km, but the sea crossing would be only some 240 metres at the lowest state of the tide. If Suetonius had established a camp a little further west, across the River Ogwen on the present site of Penrhyn Castle
Bangor Flats
would have offered access to a similar 240-metre crossing, reached by only some 1.5 km on tidal sand flats. The attackers would need to time their movement across the tidal flats with care, to avoid being caught by the incoming tide before the boats were loaded and the swimming units in position. Both of these locations would require the Roman troops landing on Anglesey to fight up slopes that rise steeply almost from the water's edge, except nea
Gallows Point
where a small peninsula and a stony beach offer some hectares of fairly flat space by the waterside. The parish of Llanidan is on Anglesey, towards the southwestern end of the Menai Strait. The Llanidan locations require a longer sea crossing (a minimum of some 350 metres between sandbanks at low tide, some 850 metres at high tide), and offer less violent currents, less turbulence, and gentler slopes up from the sea shore. There are no large sand flats on the mainland side, but there are areas of gentle terrain where troops could have been assembled. A land force moving from the north coast of Wales to cross to Llanidan would have to cross an area of high ground, or move through a glacially-deepened valley between steep slopes that offer possible ambush positions. Henry Rowlands in the 1700s identified a ford a
Porthamel
in Llanidan parish, across the Menai Strait from the present site of
Felinheli Y Felinheli (), formerly known in English as Port Dinorwic, is a village and community beside the Menai Strait ( or ''Afon Menai'') between Bangor, Wales, Bangor and Caernarfon in Gwynedd, northwest Wales. History Toponymy Etymologically, it ...
, where he suggested that the Roman cavalry had swum across and the human sacrifice had happened. Still within Llanidan parish, further southwest along the Menai Strait, local field names "Maes Hir Gad" (Area of long battle) and "Cae Oer Waedd" (Field of cold or bitter lamentation) were recorded in 1867, with the suggestion that these may indicate the site of a Roman attack.


Opposition

The landing was opposed by a mass of warriors, Druids, and women. Tacitus describes the scene: "On the shore stood the opposing army with its dense array of armed warriors, while between the ranks dashed women, in black attire like the
Furies The Erinyes ( ; , ), also known as the Eumenides (, the "Gracious ones"), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take v ...
, with hair dishevelled, waving brands. All around, the Druids, lifting up their hands to heaven, and pouring forth dreadful imprecations, scared our soldiers by the unfamiliar sight, so that, as if their limbs were paralysed, they stood motionless, and exposed to wounds." Roman soldiers are not often described as scared to paralysis and their reception must have been an extraordinary experience even for professional soldiers. However, the Romans rallied, and won a brutal victory over people who they regarded as savages. Tacitus reports: "Then urged by their general's appeals and mutual encouragements not to quail before a troop of frenzied women, they bore the standards onwards, smote down all resistance, and wrapped the foe in the flames of his own brands. A force was next set over the conquered, and their groves, devoted to inhuman superstitions, were destroyed. They deemed it indeed a duty to cover their altars with the blood of captives and to consult their deities through human entrails." No
sacred grove Sacred groves, sacred woods, or sacred forests are groves of trees that have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. These are forest areas that are, for the most ...
s have been confirmed on Anglesey by archaeology, but late Iron Age ritual deposits have been found on the other side of Anglesey, in the small lake called Llyn Cerrig Bach.


Occupation and abandonment

The Roman army remained on Anglesey long enough to begin the process of garrisoning the island, but shortly received serious news from southern Britain. Tacitus writes: "Suetonius while thus occupied received tidings of the sudden revolt of the province..." "Suetonius, however, with wonderful resolution, marched amidst a hostile population to
Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...
..." The Roman troops left Anglesey, which remained free from Roman rule for sixteen years until the second invasion under Agricola.


Between Roman attacks

After the Boudican revolt, the conquest of Wales was put on hold. Between Suetonius and Agricola, the province of Britannia had five British governors but none undertook any further military campaigns in the regions known as ''Cambria''. In general the Romans, affected by social and military conflicts throughout the Empire, unrest in the legions garrioned in Britain, and the aftermath of Boudica's rebellion, did not try to take more territory in this phase. Only when
Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...
became emperor in 69 CE was the conquest of Wales resumed, which Tacitus records in his book '' The Life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola''. After several quiet Governors, Agricola's predecessor Julius Frontinus arrived in 74 CE to resume the conquest of Wales. Tacitus only gives one line about Frontinus, claiming he subdued the powerful Silures tribe in South Wales. He continues: "Such was the state of Britain, and such were the vicissitudes of the war, which Agricola found on his crossing over about midsummer. Our soldiers made it a pretext for carelessness, as if all fighting was over, and the enemy were biding their time."


Second invasion (77 CE)

The second invasion of Anglesey was undertaken by
Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the m ...
, by then the
Roman Governor A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many Roman province, provinces constituting the Roman Empire. The generic term in Roman legal language was ''re ...
of
Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...
, in late 77. Tacitus' account of the invasion may be dramatized and his reliability should be carefully considered, especially because Tacitus was the husband of Agricola's daughter. However, his account is the only written record of the second invasion.


Situation on Agricola's arrival

Tacitus implies that the tribes on the border of the Roman province were generally hostile, kept from revolting by fear of the Roman forces and their leadership, and that they were informed of events and major personalities in the rest of Britain: "The Ordovices, shortly before Agricola's arrival, had destroyed nearly the whole of a squadron of allied cavalry quartered in their territory. Such a beginning raised the hopes of the country, and all who wished for war approved the precedent, and anxiously watched the temper of the new governor. Meanwhile, Agricola, though summer was past and the detachments were scattered throughout the province, though the soldiers' confident anticipation of inaction for that year would be a source of delay and difficulty in beginning a campaign, and most advisers thought it best simply to watch all weak points, resolved to face the peril."


Defeat of the Ordovices on the mainland of Wales

Tacitus presents Agricola as a courageous and aggressive leader: "He collected a force of veterans and a small body of auxiliaries; then as the Ordovices would not venture to descend into the plain, he put himself in front of the ranks to inspire all with the same courage against a common danger, and led his troops up a hill. The tribe was all but exterminated." The location of this battle is unknown, but the hillfort
Dinas Dinorwig Dinas Dinorwig, enclosing about a hectare of land, is the largest and best defended hillfort in Arfon, Wales. It is prominent in the landscape, overlooking a wide area. Its commanding position and the strength of its defences suggest that, until t ...
is on a foothill some 3 km from the Menai Strait. The name Dinorwig has been supposed to mean "fort of the Ordovices".


Exploitation of victory

Tacitus again attributes the Roman strategy to the virtue of his father-in-law: "Well aware that he must follow up the prestige of his arms, and that in proportion to his first success would be the terror of the other tribes, he formed the design of subjugating the island of Mona, from the occupation of which Paulinus had been recalled, as I have already related, by the rebellion of the entire province. But, as his plans were not matured, he had no fleet." Agricola's victory on the mainland, wherever it was, left him within striking distance of the strait and the island which he and some of his veterans must have remembered.


Crossing the Menai Strait

Tacitus again praises Agricola's military audacity and skill. The attack was a tactical surprise by auxiliaries, recruited in Britain, who swam across the strait, without legionaries and without using boats. The leadership on Mona had expected to have more time to prepare, and this sudden attack demoralized them to the point of
submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...
: "The skill and resolution of the general accomplished the passage. With some picked men of the auxiliaries, disencumbered of all baggage, who knew the shallows and had that national experience in swimming which enables the Britons to take care not only of themselves but of their arms and horses, he delivered so unexpected an attack that the astonished enemy who were looking for a fleet, a naval armament, and an assault by sea, thought that to such assailants nothing could be formidable or invincible." The location of this crossing is also unknown and could have been anywhere along the Strait; possibly, the place names around Llanidan might be associated with this invasion rather than Paulinus' earlier one. An army coming from Dinas Dinorwig might have moved most directly, some 3 km, to the south-western reaches of the Menai Strait opposite Llanidan.


Surrender

The virtue of Tacitus's hero become widely known: "And so, peace having been sued for and the island given up, Agricola became great and famous..."


Aftermath

After the second invasion of Anglesey the Romans administered the island for over three centuries.


Military occupation

The Cemlyn Cropmark is the first Roman military site on the island dated around the time of the second invasion in 77 CE. The cropmark was discovered in 1990 on an aerial photograph during a long dry spell. In 2015 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 ...
of the cropmark revealed characteristics of a typical Roman fortlet. Partial excavation of the site found two coins, one from
Nerva Nerva (; born Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was a Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dynast ...
's reign and one from
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
's, supporting the dating of the fortlet to post-invasion consolidation. The fortlet overlooks Cemlyn Bay, a good landing place on the north-coast of the island, and would have most likely served as a guide for landing sea-craft as well as a policing station for those wanting access to Anglesey.


Life under long-term Roman control

The Romans administered the island from
Segontium Segontium () is a Roman fort on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales. Etymology The fort probably takes its name either directly from the Afon Seiont or from a pre-existing British settlement itself named for the river. The name ...
(Caernarfon), a fort in mainland Wales just across the
Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...
s. By the end of that period, over most of the Empire, the city-based elites had assimilated into Roman culture, but no city has been found on the island, nor any sign of such an elite, and archaeology has revealed little Roman-style building. At Caer Lêb in the south of the island there is evidence of a possible farmstead, with a few Roman-period rectangular buildings outnumbered by traditiona
round houses
nearby. Presumably the agricultural economy continued functioning with little change after Agricola's conquest. Copper had been mined on Parys Mountain for centuries before the Roman arrival, and copper production – possibly increased, for export from the island – seems to have continued. Some 18 round ingots of copper, eight with Roman stamps, have been found on the island, two on Parys Mountain itself though the smelting sites are unknown. The settlement at Tai Cochion sits close to the Menai Strait across from
Segontium Segontium () is a Roman fort on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales. Etymology The fort probably takes its name either directly from the Afon Seiont or from a pre-existing British settlement itself named for the river. The name ...
(the auxiliary fort that oversaw the island). Excavation of one of the buildings revealed what appears to be Roman-style corridor housing, unlike the circular huts whose use continued in the rest of the island. Pottery and coins date its ''floruit'' to 100–300 CE; it was probably established as a civilian trading point shortly after the second invasion.


Growing insecurity, raids from the Irish Sea

Centuries passed with little known change to the island, but by the mid-fourth century a shore-fort, Caer Gybi, facing
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, was created as a base to secure the island against seaborne threats. The fort walls remain visible. Around the same time, Parciau hill fort contained a dense concentration of population in a defensible location, indicating a perception of significant insecurity. (
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
was kidnapped from somewhere near the west coast of Great Britain about 400 CE and taken as a slave to Ireland, and hi
Letter to Coroticus
complains about a murderous slave raid on Ireland from
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
.)
Pen Bryn-yr-Eglwys
is a rocky hilltop on the north-western corner of Anglesey, with a square stone platform measuring 9m by 7m on top. This has traditionally been assumed to be the remains of a chapel. However, the positioning of the platform, its small size, and three sherds of probably-Roman pottery, all strongly suggest that Pen Bryn-yr-Eglwys was a Roman watchtower. A similar site, also interpreted as a watchtower, has been excavated inside the pre-Roman fort of Caer y Twr on Holyhead Mountain. There is a possible second fortlet on Bwrdd Arthur, towards the eastern end of the north coast of the island.


Failure of empire

Direct Roman military control may have ceased on Anglesey about 383, when
Magnus Maximus Magnus Maximus (; died 28 August 388) was Roman emperor in the West from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian. Born in Gallaecia, he served as an officer in Britain under Theodosius the Elder during the Great Conspiracy ...
took much of the garrison of Britannia to the Continent to support his unsuccessful bid for imperial power. In 410,
Honorius Honorius (; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho ...
advised the remaining Roman cities in Britain that they should look to their own defence, and no imperial regime is known to have appointed officials to Britain thereafter.


Post-Roman

The fort of Caer Gybi in
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 ...
is the site of
St Cybi's Church St Cybi's Church is a medieval church near the Roman Caer Gybi in Holyhead, Anglesey, Wales. The church was Grade I listed in January 1968. The original church was constructed at Holyhead around 540 AD by St Cybi, a cousin of St David. The c ...
. According to a 12th-century source the site had been given to Saint
Cybi Saint Cybi ( Welsh), or Cuby ( Cornish), was a 6th-century Cornish bishop, saint, and, briefly, king, who worked largely in Cornwall and North Wales: his biography is recorded in two slightly variant medieval 'lives'. Life in Cornwall The ''vi ...
by
Maelgwn Gwynedd Maelgwn Gwynedd (; died c. 547)Based on Phillimore's (1888) reconstruction of the dating of the '' Annales Cambriae'' (A Text). was King of Gwynedd during the early 6th century. Surviving records suggest he held a pre-eminent position among t ...
in the sixth century CE.


See also

*
Defeat of Boudica The Boudican revolt was an armed uprising by native Celtic Britons against the Roman Empire during the Roman conquest of Britain. It took place circa AD 60–61 in the Roman province of Britain, and it was led by Boudica, the Queen of the Icen ...
*
Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brittonic languages, Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh language, Welsh as , ) was a queen of the Iceni, ancient ...


References

{{coord, 53.2833, N, 4.3333, W, source:wikidata, display=title Battles involving the Roman Empire Battles involving the Britons Military history of Roman Britain 61 Druidry History of Anglesey 1st century in Roman Britain 60s in the Roman Empire 60 77 60s conflicts 70s conflicts Invasions of Wales