Wales and its History

I live in what was strathclyde. right in the middle of it in fact :) 90% of the people have no idea what im on about when i talk of the Britons that lived here speaking what turned into welsh. There are some extremely strong links between this area and Cymru. including cunedda come from what is now Clackmannanshire in scotland. some claim him as the father of Gwynedd and the Welsh nation. Cunedda and his forebears led the Votadini against Pictish and Irish incursions south of Hadrian's Wall. Sometime after this, the Votadini troops under Cunedda relocated to North Wales to defend the region from Irish invasion. Cunedda established himself in Wales, in the territory of the Venedoti, which would become the centre of the kingdom of Gwynedd. He was the first King of the welsh and founder of the royal dynasty of Gwynedd which lasted nearly 1000 years and was the most powerful in the whole of Wales. The leader of Gwynedd was often called the king of the Britons. .........

The Viking attacks on the native Welsh is often overlooked for the better-recorded attacks and battles with the Saxons of England. The Viking raids on Saxon England is the subject of many documentaries and books. (probably 100s) Most of these don't even mention the natives of the islands, especially the Welsh. I decided to make a timeline but then I found one already done on my hard drive. I don't know where I got this but I do know  I didn't make it,  It is far more detailed than anything I could have done. so please don't credit me for it. If you know who did make this timeline then please let me know. Thank you. The Welsh suffered greatly from Viking attacks. A land already suffering extreme hardships suffered relentless attacks,  Viking Raids into Wales ·  795 AD  Some scholars believe that Viking incursions into Wales began in this year, suggesting that the Vikings who raided the Church on Recru or Lombay Island had sailed there from a previous attack up

Gruffudd ap yr Ynad Coch The heart of oak is cold behind the gates of Aberffraw.  The hand that gave gold  is still now – I cannot wear it,  the apparel he put about me.  This grief for my lord is a cloud on my soul  This grief for the fate that his wounds brought us  confounds the red spear of Cadwalader’s keeping.  For us now the darkness,  the hatred of Saxons  A time of lamenting  in the life left to us  A time now to praise him  to think of his glory  to reproach even God  who has left us without him;  For him life eternal.  What now for us left  with a full load of weeping?  The dark hand that felled him  haunts his kingdom; his hall now the grave.  A long vista of fear stretches before us.  Lord Christ deliver him  for the sake of our sorrow,  Heavy the sword blows that struck him to earth  Heir of brave princes, his flame  burned brightly: strong Lion of Gwynedd  Great was the need of the strength of his throne  All Britain was struck down with

Extracts from Llywelyn, Prince of Wales letter to John Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury in Autumn, 1282:​​ October 1282 From Llywelyn The realm of England may well be the special object of the Roman curia’s affection, but the aforesaid curia has yet to learn, and must learn, and the lord pope likewise, what evils have been wrought upon us by the English, how the peace formerly made has been violated in all the clauses of the treaty, how churches have been fired and devastated, and ecclesiastical persons, priests, monks and nuns slaughtered, women slain with children at their breast, hospitals and other houses of religion burned, Welsh people murdered in cemeteries, churches, yes at the very altar, with other sacrilegious offences horrible to hear.  We fight because we are forced to fight, for we, and all Wales, are oppressed, subjugated, despoiled, reduced to servitude by the royal officers and bailiffs, in defiance of the form of the peace and of all justice, more maliciously than

The picture below has been flying around social media for a few years now.  Kinnock said these words while trying to tell the Welsh that they have no right of nationhood or an assembly during the 1979 referendum campaign. The thing is though, folks, he isn't alone with these opinions. Many people of his generation have this opinion. They grew up at a time when many people were embarrassed of being welsh.  A time when the print media and the BBC have full control over what news the people had access to.  Anyway, I thought I would have a look to see what the differences are between the Welsh princes and so-called Brigands.  Iv decided to compare well-known brigands called the Red Bandits of Mawddwy and the Welsh prince who was called  Llywelyn ap Iorwerth.  I'm not going to go in depth here as I'm only comparing them :)  When Llewellyn becomes prince, deliberately set out on a policy of reconstructing the whole basis of Welsh political life. He