Overview
Cadwallon
(d. 634) king of Gwynedd
Quick Reference
Son of Cadfan, succeeded c.625. Geoffrey of Monmouth related that he was brought up with Edwin of Northumbria, then a child refugee, but after Edwin had recovered his kingdom, they fell out. In 631 Edwin headed an invasion of north Wales, which captured Anglesey and drove Cadwallon over to Ireland. He returned in 633 and, with the aid of Penda of Mercia, overran Northumbria and killed Edwin at Heathfield; he followed this by slaying both Osric of Deira and Eanfrith of Bernicia. In 634 he was himself killed at Heavenfield, near Hexham, by Oswald of Northumbria. To the Welsh, the death of Cadwallon wrecked any lingering hope of driving the Saxons into the sea; to Bede and the Saxons, he was ‘the abominable leader of the Britons’.
Subjects: History — Regional and National History
