Wales and its History

Viking attacks on Wales increase dramaticly around this time, you will find a timeline of viking attacks in this link  Timeline of Viking Raids on the Welsh 822   Coelwulf of Mercia invaded north Wales and captures  Deganwy  from Gwynedd and occupies the whole of Powys. Ceolwulf of Mercia conquers Powys  Annales Cambriae  "The fortress of Deganwy was destroyed by the Saxons and they took into their power the regio of Powys". 828  The lands of Powys are liberated from Mercian occupation by  Cyngen ap Cadell .  The  Pillar of Eliseg  was probably commissioned at this time. 830  Egbert of Wessex invades Powys and forces Cyngen ap Cadell to submit. Egbert then withdraws his forces.  831 A.D. 831 The Saxons of Mercia came unawares by night, and burnt the monastery of Senghenydd, which stood in the place the castle now does. From thence they went to the Castle of Treoda, and burnt it, and escaped from thence over the Severn Sea ...

  682    [ASC 16] This year also, Centwine chased the Britons into the sea. 720    In or about 722, the Welsh won a victory against the Mercians in south Wales, at a Pencon or Pencoed, a place not yet identified. Source: J.E.Lloyd, A History of Wales, 1954, vol.1, p.197. 721: The Britons prevailed in the battle of Pen-coed in Deheubarth [Carmarthenshire]. Source: Thomas Jones, The Chronicle of the Princes, 1955, p.5. "Castell Pen-y-coed hillfort near Llanddowror in Carmarthenshire] has been suggested as the possible scene of the battle of Pencon or Pencoed, said (Annales Cambriae and Brut y Tywysogion) to have been fought in the sixth century."  Source: RCAHMW Carmarthenshire Inventory, 1917, p.38, no.130. B.A.Malaws, RCAHMW, 05 July 2006. brut  'And then, a year after that, Beli, son of Elfin, died. And the battle of Heilin, with Rhodri Molwynog, took place in Cornwall; and the action of Garthmaelog, and the fight of Pencoed in South Wales. And in tho...

The Welsh conflict with the Saxons of England don't seem to get much attention compared to those against the Norman/English so i thought i would put this together. I decided to start with the battle of Chester, which was an extremely significant battle in Welsh history, there were battles before but because the Saxons called all Britons Welsh it is hard to tell if they mean the Welsh of Wales or not, the battle of Chester is significant in the fact it cut the Welsh of Wales off from the Britons of North West England , Battle of Deorham is said to have cut the Welsh off from those of south West England but this didn't have any involvement from the kingdoms in Wales.  616 The Battle of Chester where the Anglo Saxons beat native Britons near the city of Chester,. Æthelfrith of Northumbria annihilated a combined force from the Welsh kingdoms of Powys, Rhôs, and Mercia. It resulted in the deaths of Welsh leaders Selyf Sarffgadau of Powys and Cadwal Crysban of Rhôs.  Evidence sugge...

Before the 200 years of constant Norman/Welsh wars, the Welsh were either fighting each other or the Saxons . There are hundreds of encounters between the Welsh and the Saxons but not all have been documented for one reason or another.  Here are the Encounters I could find that have been recorded.  616 The Battle of Chester where the Anglo Saxons beat native Britons near the city of Chester,. Æthelfrith of Northumbria annihilated a combined force from the Welsh kingdoms of Powys, Rhôs, and Mercia. It resulted in the deaths of Welsh leaders Selyf Sarffgadau of Powys and Cadwal Crysban of Rhôs.  Evidence suggests that King Iago of Gwynedd may have also been killed. According to Bede, a large number of monks from the monastery at  Bangor on Dee  who had come to witness the fight were killed on the orders of Æthelfrith before the battle. He told his warriors to massacre the cle...