Howell the good
Howell the Good , also Hywel Dda , (* around 880 , † 950 ) was originally King of Deheubarth in south-west Wales , later he ruled over most of Wales.
Howell was a descendant of Rhodri Mawr through his father and thus a member of the Dinefwr branch of the Powys dynasty. He is referred to as the most successful Welsh ruler from before the Norman conquest. His name is associated with the development of Welsh laws, also known as the Laws of Hywel . They are narrated in the Llyfr Gwyn Hergest ("The White Book of Hergest").
In 2008 the Crickhowell House in Cardiff , seat of the National Assembly for Wales between 1999 and 2006 , was renamed Tŷ Hywel , the former plenary hall located there in Siamber Hywel .
Life
Howell the Good was born around 880, the younger son of Cadell ap Rhodris , a son of Rhodri Mawr. After Cadell conquered Dyfed, he gave it to his son, who was to rule it on his behalf. Hywel was able to consolidate his position as ruler by marrying Elen, whose father had been ruler of Dyfed before his death. After his father died in 909, he inherited part of Seisyllwg and united Dyfed and Seisyllwg after his brother's death in 920. So he created a new kingdom for himself that came to be known as Deheubarth. After the death of his cousin Idwal Foel in 942, he also took control of Gwynedd and ruled over three-quarters of what is now Wales. Hywel's reign was not characteristic of that time, as he hardly fought any wars and achieved a friendly relationship with Æthelstan of England. The relationship between the two states enabled Hywel, the first and only Welsh ruler to ever have his own currency, to have his own coins minted in the English city of Chester . The study of the English legal system and the pilgrimage to Rome in 928 - of course he wanted to have the opportunity to meet one of the Popes John X , Leo VI. or to meet Stephen VII , who sat in the Holy See that year - made it possible for him to work out advanced ideas of a government. The conference, held in Whitland in 945, was a kind of parliament where Welsh law was discussed and written down. After the death of Hywel Dda, his kingdom quickly fell into three kingdoms; Gwynedd was taken over by Idwal Foel's sons, and Deheubarth was divided among Hywels s sons. Hywel's laws were in full effect until the English conquest of Wales and were not completely abolished by the English parliament until the 16th century.
literature
- John Edward Lloyd: A history of Wales: from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest . Longmans, Green & Co., 1911
- David Peter Kirby: Hywel Dda: Anglophile? , Welsh Historical Review, 8 (1976-1977)
Individual evidence
- ^ Crickhowell House, Cardiff Bay . Entry in the online database Coflein of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, accessed on June 28, 2019.
See also
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Howell the good |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hywel Dda |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | welsh king |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 880 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 950 |