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King of the Britons
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The Britons, or Brythons were the indigenous Celtic-speaking people of what is now England, Wales and southern Scotland, whose ethnic identity is today maintained by the Welsh and to a lesser extent the Cornish and Bretons[1]. The title King of the Britons was often used by, or bestowed (often retrospectively) upon, the most powerful ruler among the Britons, both before and after the Roman occupation, up until the Norman Conquest of England. At least twenty kings were referred to as King of the Britons, while many others were given related titles or descriptions. From the 12th century onwards the title evolved into that of the Prince of Wales [2].
Although most of the Kings of the Britons had their power base in Gwynedd in north Wales, all insular Brythonic areas from the 7th century on are to be found in the list below, from Dumnonia in south-west England, to Strathclyde in south-west Scotland.
| Name | Reign | Regional power base | Recorded title or description | Source | Notes on bestowal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cunobelin | c.9-c.41 | lands of the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni | King of the Britons | Suetonius | perhaps retrospective |
| Interregnum (Roman occupation) | |||||
| Vortigern | mid 5th C. | unknown | King of the Britons (in c.449) | Bede | probably retrospective |
| Riothamus | c.469 | unknown, but active in Gaul | King of the Britons (in c.469) | Jordanes | may refer only to Britons in Gaul |
| Ambrosius Aurelianus | late 5th C. | probably in the south | Leader [of the Britons]; King among all the kings of the British nation | Gildas; Historia Britonum | near contemporary; legendary |
| unnamed | c.545 | unknown | King over the Britons | Procopius | contemporary but distant |
| Maelgwn Hir ap Cadwallon | ?-549? | Gwynedd | King [who] reigned among the Britons; King of Cambria; King of the Britons | Historia Britonum; Vita Sancti Bernachii; Vita Sancti Caranogii | retrospective; legendary; legendary |
| Urien ap Cynfarch | late 6th C. | Rheged | King of Kings; Battle leader of Britain | Taliesin; Welsh Triads | contemporary praise-poetry; legendary |
| Selyf ap Cynan | ?-c.613 | Powys | King of the Britons (in c.613); Battle leader of Britain | Annals of Ulster; Welsh Triads | near contemporary; legendary |
| Ceredig ap Gwallog | c.614-617 | Elmet | King of the Britons (in 614) | Bede | may refer only to Britons in Elmet |
| Cadwallon ap Cadfan | ?-634 | Gwynedd | King of the Britons (in 634) | Bede | |
| Idris Gawr | ?-635 | Meirionydd in Gwynedd | King of the Britons (in 635 (corrected from 633)) | Annals of Ulster | |
| Owain | ?-645 | Strathclyde | King of the Britons (in 645) | Annals of Ulster | |
| Cadwalladr ap Cadwallon | c.654-c.664 | Gwynedd | [King who] reigned among the Britons | Historia Britonum | retrospective |
| Geraint | ?670-c.710 | Dumnonia | King of the Welsh (=Britons) (in 710) | Anglo-Saxon Chronicle | may refer only to Britons in Dumnonia |
| Rhodri Molwynog | c.712-754 | Gwynedd | King of the Britons (in 754) | Annals of Wales | perhaps retrospective |
| Cynan ap Rhodri | 798-816 | Gwynedd (insecurely from 754) | King of the Britons (in 816); The King (in 816) | Annals of Ulster; Annals of Wales | |
| Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad | 825-844 | Gwynedd | King of the Britons (in 829); Glorious King of the Britons | Historia Britonum; Bamberg Cryptogram | contemporary |
| Rhodri Mawr ap Merfyn | 844-878 | Gwynedd, from 855 also Powys, from 872 also Seisyllwg | King of the Britons (in 878) | Annals of Ulster | |
| Anarawd ap Rhodri | 878-916 | Gwynedd | King of the Britons (in 916) | Annals of Wales | |
| Idwal Foel ap Anarawd | 916-942 | Gwynedd | King of the Britons (in 927) | William of Malmesbury | |
| Hywel Dda | 942-950 | Deheubarth (from 920), from 942 also Gwynedd and Powys | King of the Britons (in 950) | Annals of Ulster and Annals of Wales | |
| Domnall mac Eogain | 962-975 | Strathclyde | King of the Britons (in 973) | Annals of Ulster | |
| Maredudd ab Owain | 986-999 | Deheubarth and Gwynedd and Powys | King of the Britons (in 999) | Brut y Tywysogion | |
| Llywelyn ap Seisyll | 1005-1023 | Gwynedd and Powys | King of the Britons (in 1023) | Annals of Ulster | |
| Iago ab Idwal | 1023-1039 | Gwynedd and Powys | King of the Britons (in 1039) | Annals of Ulster | |
| Gruffudd ap Llywelyn | 1039-1063 | Gwynedd and Powys, from 1057 also the rest of Wales | King of the Britons (in 1063; in 1058) | Annals of Ulster; Brut y Tywysogion | |
| Bleddyn ap Cynfyn | 1069-1075 | Gwynedd and Powys and Seisyllwg | Ruler [of the Britons?] (from 1069) | Brut y Tywysogion | |
| Rhys ap Tewdwr | 1079-1093 | Deheubarth (insecurely until 1081) | Ruler [of the Britons?] (from 1079); [Upholder of the] Kingdom of the Britons (in 1093); | Brut y Tywysogion | |
| Gruffudd ap Cynan | 1136-1137 | Gwynedd (insecurely from 1081) | King of Wales (in 1137) | Brut y Tywysogion | probably retrospective |
| Owain Gwynedd | 1137-1170 | Gwynedd | Leader of the Britons (in 1146); King of Wales, Prince of the Welsh | Brut y Tywysogion; contemporary charters | |
| Rhys ap Gruffydd | 1171-1197 | Deheubarth (from 1155) | Head of all Wales (in 1197); Prince of the Welsh (in 1184), Prince of Wales | Brut y Tywysogion; contemporary charters | |
| Llywelyn Fawr | 1208-1240 | Gwynedd (from 1194), from 1208 also Powys, from 1216 also Deheubarth | Prince of the Welsh (in 1228), Prince of Wales (in 1240); Prince of Aberffraw and Lord of Snowdon (from 1230) | Brut y Tywysogion; contemporary charters | probably retrospective; |
| Dafydd ap Llywelyn | 1240-1246 | Gwynedd | Prince of Wales (from 1220) | treaty with England | |
| Llywelyn ap Gruffudd | 1258-1282 | Gwynedd (from 1246), at times also Powys and Deheubarth | Prince of Wales (in 1264; in 1258; in 1267) | Brut y Tywysogion; treaty with Scotland; treaty with England | |
| Interregnum (English rule) | |||||
| Owain Glyndŵr | 1400-1410 | Northern Powys, by 1404-5 all Wales, by 1409 only Gwynedd | Prince of Wales (from 1400) | contemporary records e.g. coronation ceremony (1404) | |
- ^ C. A. Snyder (2003). The Britons. Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-22260-X.
- ^ Kari Maund (2000). The Welsh Kings: The Medieval Rulers of Wales. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2321-5.