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- Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (also spelled Cadwalader or Cadwallader in English) was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around 655 to 682 AD. Two devastating plagues happened during his reign, one in 664 and the other in 682; he himself was a victim of the second. Little else is known of his reign.
Though little is known about the historical Cadwaladr, he became a mythical redeemer figure in Welsh culture. He is a prominent character in the romantic stories of Geoffrey of Monmouth, where he is portrayed as the last in an ancient line to hold the title King of Britain. In Geoffrey's account, he does not die of plague. He renounces his throne in 688 to become a pilgrim, in response to a prophecy that his sacrifice of personal power will bring about a future victory of the Britons over the Anglo-Saxons. Geoffrey's story of Cadwaladr's prophecy and trip to Rome is believed to be an embellishment of the events in the life of Cædwalla of Wessex, whom Geoffrey mistakenly conflated with Cadwaladr. Cædwalla renounced his throne and travelled to Rome in 688.
For later Welsh commentators, the myth "provided a messianic hope for the future deliverance of Britain from the dominion of the Saxons".[1] It was also used by both the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions during the Wars of the Roses to claim that their candidate would fulfil the prophecy by restoring the authentic lineage stemming from Cadwaladr.
The red dragon (Welsh: Y Ddraig Goch) has long been known as a Welsh symbol, appearing in the Mabinogion, the Historia Brittonum, and the stories of Geoffrey of Monmouth. Since the accession of Henry VII to the English throne, it has often been referred to as "The Red Dragon of Cadwaladr". The association with Cadwaladr is a traditional one, without a firm historical provenance.
Cadwaladr was the son of a famous father, Cadwallon ap Cadfan, and the successor to King Cadafael. His name appears in the pedigrees of the Jesus College MS. 20[2] (as "Kadwaladyr vendigeit", or "Cadwaladr the Blessed").
Cadwaladr appears to have suffered a major military defeat at the hands of the West Saxons at Pinhoe near Exeter in 658. He is said to have been of a "peaceful and pious" temperament and to have patronised many churches. The church of Llangadwaldr in Anglesey identifies him as its founder.[3]
Cadwaladr's name appears as 'Catgualart' in a section of the Historia Brittonum, where it says he died of a dreadful mortality while he was king.[4] The great plague of 664 is not noted in the Annales Cambriae, but Bede's description[5] makes clear its impact in both Britain and Ireland, where its occurrence is also noted in the Irish Annals.[6] The plague of 682 is not noted by Bede, but the Annales Cambriae note its occurrence in Britain and that Cadwaladr was one of its victims.[7] Both the Annales Cambriae and the Irish Annals note the plague's impact in Ireland in 683,[8][9] as do other sources.[10]
The genealogies in Jesus College MS. 20[11][12] and the Harleian genealogies[13][14] give Cadwaladr as the son of Cadwallon and the father of Idwal Iwrch. Idwal, who fathered the later king Rhodri Molwynog, may have been his successor.
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630 - 682 (52 years)
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