King of the Britons

The title King of the Britons (Welsh: Brenin y Brythoniaid, Latin: Rex Britannorum) was used (often retrospectively) to refer to a ruler, especially one who might be regarded as the most powerful, among the Celtic Britons, both before[1] and after[2] the period of Roman Britain up until the Norman invasion of Wales and the Norman conquest of England. Britons were the Brittonic-speaking (ancestral language of Welsh) peoples of what is now Wales, England and southern Scotland. The Britons are the ethnic ancestors of the Welsh in addition to the Cornish and Bretons.[3]

For a list of the rulers that followed, see List of rulers of Wales.
For legendary Kings of Britain, many of whom are found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, see List of legendary kings of Britain.

During the Norman and Plantagenet periods, only Wales (or parts thereof) remained under Brittonic rule in Britain and the term "Britons" (Brythoniaid, Britaniaid, Brutaniaid) was used in Britain to mean the Welsh people (Cymry in modern Welsh). This, and the diminishing power of the Welsh rulers relative to the Kings of England, is reflected in the gradual evolution of the titles by which these rulers were known from "King of the Britons" in the 11th century to "Prince of Wales" in the 13th.[2]

List of the Kings of the Britons, Kings in Wales, Princes of Wales
Name DepictionReignRegional power baseRecorded title or descriptionSourceNotes
Kings prior to this period are generally regarded as fictional Legendary Kings of Britain
Cassivellaunus

(Welsh: Caswallawn fab Beli)

 54BC
Tasciovanus 20 BC – 9 AD
Cunobeline

(Welsh: Cynfelyn)

 9 – 40lands of the Trinovantes and CatuvellauniKing of the BritonsSuetonius,
Dio Cassius		perhaps retrospective
(Roman rule from 43 to 410 AD)
Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus / Togodumnus 40–43lands of the Regni, Atrebates, and BelgaeGreat King of the Britons (or perhaps: Great King of Britain)marble inscription at Chichestercontemporary, self-description
(post-Roman, from 410 AD)
Vortigern

(Welsh: Gwrtheyrn)

 mid-5th centuryunknown, but traditionally PowysKing of the Britons (in c. 449)Bedeprobably retrospective
Riothamus c. 469unknown, but active in GaulKing of the Britons (in c. 469)Jordanesmay refer only to Britons in Gaul
Ambrosius Aurelianus

(Welsh: Emrys Wledig)

 late 5th centuryprobably in the southLeader [of the Britons]Gildasnear contemporary
unnamed c. 545unknownKing over them [the Britons]Procopius[4]contemporary but distant
Maelgwn Gwynedd ?–549?GwyneddKing [who] reigned among the BritonsHistoria Brittonumretrospective
Selyf ap Cynan ?– c. 613PowysKing of the Britons (in c. 613)Annals of Ulsternear contemporary
Ceretic of Elmet

(Welsh: Ceredig ap Gwallon)

 c. 614 – 617ElmetKing of the Britons (in 614)Bedemay refer only to Britons in Elmet
Cadwallon ap Cadfan ?–634Gwynedd(Cadwalla,) King of the Britons (in 633)Bede
Idris ap Gwyddno ?–635unknown. perhaps MeirionnyddKing of the Britons (in 635)Annals of Ulster (sub anno 633)[5]perhaps Idris Gawr
Eugein I of Alt Clut c. 642StrathclydeKing of the Britons (in 642)Annals of Ulster
Rule within the modern territory of Wales only
Cadwaladr c. 654 – c. 664Gwynedd[King who] reigned among the BritonsHistoria Brittonumretrospective
Ifor 683–698 Llydaw (Brittanny) "Sovereignty of the Britons" Brut y Tywysogion[6]
Rhodri Molwynog c. 712 – 754GwyneddKing of the Britons (in 754)Annales Cambriaeperhaps retrospective
Use of King of Wales title begins (King of the Britons title continues also)
Cynan Dindaethwy 798–816Gwynedd (insecurely from 754)King of the Britons (in 816); The King (in 816)
  • "King of all Wales" (Welsh: "Brenin Cymry oll"[7]
 Annals of Ulster; Annales Cambriae
Merfyn Frych 825–844GwyneddKing of the Britons (in 829); Glorious King of the BritonsHistoria Brittonum; Bamberg Cryptogramcontemporary
Rhodri the Great (Welsh: Rhodri Fawr)
844–878Gwynedd, from 855 also Powys, from 872 also SeisyllwgKing of the Britons (in 878)
  • "began to reign over the Welsh" (843 AD)[8]
 Annals of Ulster
Anarawd ap Rhodri 878–916GwyneddKing of the Britons (in 916)
  • "ruled over all Wales" (900 AD)[9]
 Annales Cambriae
Idwal Foel ap Anarawd 916–942GwyneddKing of the Britons (in 927)William of Malmesbury
Hywel Dda
942–950Deheubarth (from 920), from 942 also Gwynedd and PowysKing of the Britons (in 950)
  • "King of all Wales" (Welsh: "Brenin Cymry oll"[10]
 Annals of Ulster and Annales Cambriae
Dyfnwal ab Owain 930s–970sStrathclydeKing of the Britons (in 973)Annals of Ulster
Maredudd ab Owain 986–999Deheubarth and Gwynedd and PowysKing of the Britons (in 999)Brut y Tywysogion
Llywelyn ap Seisyll 1018–1023Gwynedd and Powys; from 1022 also DeheubarthKing of the Britons (in 1023)
  • "took the government upon himself...in his time the country of Wales was twelve years without war"
  • "sovereignty of Wales"[11]
 Annals of Ulster
Iago ab Idwal 1023–1039Gwynedd and PowysKing of the Britons (in 1039)Annals of Ulster
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn 1039–1063Gwynedd and Powys, from 1057 also the rest of WalesKing of the Britons (in 1063; in 1058)

Rex Walensium ("King of Wales")[12]

 Annals of Ulster; Brut y Tywysogion
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn 1063–1075Gwynedd and Powys and SeisyllwgSupport[er of] the whole Kingdom of the Britons (in 1075); Chiefest of the BritonsBrut y Tywysogion (sub anno 1173; sub anno 1113)
Rhys ap Tewdwr 1079–1093Deheubarth (insecurely until 1081)[Upholder of the] Kingdom of the Britons (in 1093)Brut y Tywysogion
Use the title of Prince of Wales begins (King of Wales title continues also)
Gruffudd ap Cynan 1136–1137Gwynedd (insecurely from 1081)King of all the Welsh (in 1137)Brut y Tywysogion
Owain Gwynedd 1137–1170GwyneddPrince over the British nation (in 1146); King of Wales, King of the Welsh, Prince of the WelshBrut y Tywysogion; contemporary charters[13]

Other uses
Geraint?670–c. 710DumnoniaKing of the Welsh (=Britons) (in 710)Anglo-Saxon ChronicleMay refer only to Britons in Dumnonia

(Not mentioned by Brut y Tywysogion, so possibly a King of the Welsh in Dumnonia only)

See also

References
  1. Stuart Laycock (2008). Britannia: The Failed State. Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-4614-1.
  2. Kari Maund (2000). The Welsh Kings: The Medieval Rulers of Wales. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2321-5.
  3. C. A. Snyder (2003). The Britons. Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-22260-X.
  4. Procopius (2000). History of the Wars (book 8, chapter 20, verses 6–10). Translated by H. B. Dewing. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-99191-5.
  5. Annals of Ulster, 633.1 "Bellum Iudris regis Britonum"
  6. "Archaeologia Cambrensis (1846–1899) | BRUT Y TYWYSOGION: GWENTIAN CHRONICLE 1863 | 1863 | Welsh Journals – The National Library of Wales". journals.library.wales. p. 5. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  7. "Archaeologia Cambrensis (1846-1899) | BRUT Y TYWYSOGION: GWENTIAN CHRONICLE 1863 | 1863 | Welsh Journals - The National Library of Wales". journals.library.wales. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  8. "Archaeologia Cambrensis (1846-1899) | BRUT Y TYWYSOGION: GWENTIAN CHRONICLE 1863 | 1863 | Welsh Journals - The National Library of Wales". journals.library.wales. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  9. "Archaeologia Cambrensis (1846-1899) | BRUT Y TYWYSOGION: GWENTIAN CHRONICLE 1863 | 1863 | Welsh Journals - The National Library of Wales". journals.library.wales. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  10. "Archaeologia Cambrensis (1846-1899) | BRUT Y TYWYSOGION: GWENTIAN CHRONICLE 1863 | 1863 | Welsh Journals - The National Library of Wales". journals.library.wales. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  11. "Archaeologia Cambrensis (1846-1899) | BRUT Y TYWYSOGION: GWENTIAN CHRONICLE 1863 | 1863 | Welsh Journals - The National Library of Wales". journals.library.wales. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  12. Maund, K. L. (1991). Ireland, Wales, and England in the Eleventh Century. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-85115-533-3.
  13. Carpenter, David (2003). The struggle for mastery: Britain 1066–1284. ISBN 9780140148244.
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