United Wales

The sea was the pathway of the marauding Vikings, intent on voyages of plunder and easy pickings from the poorly defended communities along the coast of Britain. Place names around the Welsh coast testify to the Viking presence, with Anglesey and Great Orme in the North and Swansea in the South. In the latter half of the ninth century, the danger presented by the terrifying sight of the Viking ships and their fierce crews did, however, produce some benefits to Wales, for there, as in England, was the need for some kind of political unity under strong leaders to defend their own property. While the English kingdoms eventually united under Alfred the Great in the face of the threat and complete surrender to the Kingdom of the Danes, similar unity took place in Wales, although its result was not as firmly established nor secure.

The first leader of importance to emerge among the Welsh was the warrior king Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great). In 855 he became king, not only of Powys, but through skilful alliances and marriages, of a great deal of the rest of Wales as well. Successful in warding off attacks, killing in battle the Viking leader Gorm, Rhodri gave his country a remarkable period of unity and stability. Unfortunately his death was followed by a period of internal strife, and the alliance of his sons with the English monarch, Alfred, led to Wales's dependence upon the English monarch for protection. This was perhaps the first sign that the future of Wales was to be dependent upon its stronger neighbour to the East.

Rhodri was killed in battle fighting an English incursion into his lands, and it was his grandson, Hywel Dda (Howell the Good) who re-establish some sort of unity among the various petty kingdoms of Wales. Hwyel's territories were known as Deheubarth, which united with Gwynedd and Powys to cover most of Wales, with the exception of Glamorgan. His reign lasted from 904 to 950 and it may have been marked by absolute ruthlessness, but for his brilliant compilation of the Welsh laws.

The Law of Hywel was a unification of the legal customs which had developed in Wales over many centuries. It was, from the point of view of justice, a democratic system, but it, unfortunately in retrospect, specified that a father's lands be divided among all his sons (Gravelkind), rather than be given intact to the eldest son. This led to tragic results for Wales, as it prevented the build up of unified armies, which other nations, in particular England, achieved. However, in other respects the Welsh laws practised under Hywel, were far in advance of English law; for example, it gave significant status to women. They were guaranteed certain property rights, which did not become part of the laws of England until many hundreds of years later. A woman also had the right to seek compensation if abused by her spouse without cause and she could also receive up to one-half the family property upon divorce.

The primitive methods of proving guilt that were practised in Anglo-Saxon England were also foreign to the Law of Hywel. The Laws included ways of dealing with execution, theft and the rights of an illegitimate son to claim his patrimony. The fact that the majority of the surviving documents are in Welsh, with only a few in Latin, is a significant legitimacy of the language and intention of a sovereign state. The Laws of Hywel Dda were administered throughout most of Wales until the 16th century, they survived the provisions of the Statute of Rhuddlan of 1284, but were finally replaced by the provisions of the Act of Union of 1536.

Hywel is known to have visited the Pope in Rome in 928 and coins were struck in Wales bearing his name. During this birth of the nation he seems to have kept Wales free from the ravages of the Norsemen and his influence cannot be underestimated, but even with all his authority and support, he could not achieve a fully-united Wales. After his death the people of Wales were once again to find themselves living in minor kingdoms under a succession of rulers all chasing power and territory, with only a few exceptions.

In order to keep the peace throughout his lands, Hwyel had been forced to accept the position of sub-regulus, to Athelstan of Wessex, yet Wales continued to exist, with or without its Celtic allies, from whom it was completely separated with the exception of Ireland, now finding itself occupied with Norman invaders. Through military might, clever alliances and political manoeuvring, Gruffydd ap Llewelyn, acceding to the throne of Gwynedd in 1039 and became overlord of the whole territory of Wales. For the first time a single ruler was recognised throughout Wales. Unfortunately this unity with fully integrated kingdom, independent of the English monarch, disappeared with Gruffydd's death. It is possible that betrayal by his own men led to his defeat by Harold of Wessex in 1063. Unfortunately Gruffydd's death happened at the worse possible time, as the Normans were arriving on the Welsh borders in full force.