Anarawd ap Rhodri

Anarawd ap Rhodri (855? - † 916) was a king of Gwynedd.

Anarawd was the son of Rhodri Large the, which had gone Master of almost all the Wales. With died of this last in 878, its kingdom was divided between its sons and Anarawd inherited the throne of Gwynedd. According to the chronicles, Anarawd and its brothers, Cadell and Merfyn would have narrowly collaborated against the leaders of the other kingdoms of Wales. The count Æthelred de Mercie tried to invade Gwynedd in 881, but Anarawd could control it, while crushing a good part of its troops to the mouth of the Conwy river. This victory was celebrated as “divine revenge for Rhodri” in reference to Rhodri the Large one which was killed by the Merciens.

Anarawd was combined with the Danish king of York in order to be protected from possible news attacks on behalf of Merciens. When this alliance proved not very satisfactory, it went to the court of Alfred Large the of Wessex to manage with him an agreement. In exchange of the protection of this last, Anarawd recognized its supremacy. It was the first time that king de Gwynedd recognized the supremacy of a king of England.

In 894, Anarawd managed to push back a Danish incursion on the north of Wales, then attacked Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi in the south. Annals imply that its troops comprised English manpower. In 902, it pushed back an attack of the Danes of Dublin on the Anglesey, ordered by Ingimund. Anarawd died in 916 and it was his/her son Idwal the Bald person who succeeded to him.

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