Idwal Foel

Idwal Foel(died c. 942) orIdwal ab Anarawd(Idwal son of Anarawd) was a 10th centuryKing of GwyneddinWales.A member of theHouse of Aberffraw,he inherited the throne from his father,Anarawd ap Rhodri.William of Malmesburycredited him as "King of the Britons"in the manner of his father.

Life

Idwal inherited the throne of Gwynedd on the death of his fatherAnarawd ap Rhodriin 916. He allied himself withÆthelstan of Englandupon the latter's accession in 924. As Æthelstan was eager to establish his authority across Britain, Idwal honoured him by visiting theEnglish courtin 927, 928 and 937. On the first of these visits, he signed charters agreeing to campaign with Æthelstan against theScots,and marched withHywel DdaofDeheubarthandMorgan ab OwainofGwentagainstOwain ap Dyfnwal, King of Strathclydethat year. Owain was forced to submit to the English king and appear at court by Christmas.

Æthelstan died in 939 and was succeeded by his half-brotherEdmund.In 942 Idwal, apparently fearing that the Saxons would support Hywel in usurping him, launched an attack on the Saxons in Wales along with his brotherElisedd.TheAnnales Cambriærecord his failure: "Idwal and his brother Elisedd are killed in battle against the Saxons". The throne of Gwynedd should have passed to Idwal's sonsIagoandIeuaf,but Hywel invaded and drove them from the kingdom. He reigned for eight years before they were able to return and reclaim their patrimony.

Children

• Meurigwhose grandson wasIago ab Idwal ap Meurig;
• Iefan;
• Iago;
• Cynan;
• Ieuaf( "the younger" ) or "Idwal Fychan" ( "little Idwal" );
• Rhodri.

Sources

• John Edward Lloyd(1911).A history of Wales: from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest.Longmans, Green & Co.