(Redirected from Maredudd ab Owain)'Maredudd ap Owain' (died
999) was a King of
Gwynedd and of
Deheubarth.
Maredydd was the grandson of
Hywel Dda. His father, Owain ap Hywel Dda, was king of Deheubarth. As Owain grew too old to lead in battle his son Maredydd took his place, and in
986 captured Gwynedd from
Cadwallon ab Ieuaf. On Owain's death in
988 Maredydd also became ruler of Deheubarth. He may have controlled all Wales apart from
Gwent and
Morgannwg.
He is recorded as raiding Mercian settlements on the borders of Radnor and as paying a ransom of one penny a head to rescue some of his subjects who had been taken captive in
Viking raids. Danish raids were a constant problem during Maredudd's reign. In
987 Godfrey Haroldson raided
Anglesey, killing one thousand and carrying away two thousand as captives. Maredudd died in
999 and was described by the annalists as "the most famous
king of the Britons". Following his death, the throne of Gwynedd was recovered for the line of
Idwal Foel by
Cynan ap Hywel.
References
★
A history of Wales: from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest, John Edward Lloyd, , , Longmans, Green & Co, 1911,
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