- Hywel ap Ieuaf
Hywel ap Ieuaf (died 985) was a King of Gwynedd in north-west
Wales from 979 to 985.Hywel was the son of
Ieuaf ap Idwal who had ruled Gwynedd jointly with his brotherIago ab Idwal until 969. In that year the sons of Idwal quarrelled and Iago took Ieuaf prisoner. Hywel is first recorded as accompanying Iago toChester to meet KingEdgar of England in 973, when together with a number of other kings including the kings ofScotland and ofStrathclyde he pledged that he would be the king's henchmen on sea and land. Later chroniclers made the kings into eight, all plying the oars of Edgar's state barge on the River Dee.In 974 Hywel raised an army and drove his uncle from Gwynedd temporarily. Iago was able to return, but was forced to share power with his nephew. In 978 Hywel made another attempt to take the kingdom from his uncle, raiding the monastery at
Clynnog Fawr . In this raid Hywel has helped by English troops, possibly provided by Aelfhere, Earl of Mercia. Hywel defeated Iago in battle in 979, and the same year Iago was captured by a force of Vikings, possibly in Hywel's pay, and vanished from the scene. Hywel was left as sole ruler of Gwynedd, but apparently did not set his father free, since according to J.E. Lloyd, Ieuaf remained in captivity until 988.In 980 Hywel faced a challenge from Iago's son, Custennin ab Iago, who attacked Anglesey in alliance with Godfrey Haraldsson, a Viking chief from the
Isle of Man . Hywel defeated them in battle, killing Custennin and putting Godfrey and his men to flight. Now securely in possession of Gwynedd, Hywel aimed to expand his kingdom to the south. He again made an alliance with Aelfhere of Mercia and attackedBrycheiniog andMorgannwg with some success, although he was not able to annex these kingdoms. However in 985 his English allies turned on him and killed him, possibly alarmed by his growing power. He was succeeded by his brotherCadwallon ap Ieuaf , who had not been on the throne long when Gwynedd was annexed byMaredudd ap Owain ofDeheubarth .References
*cite book|author=
John Edward Lloyd |title=A history of Wales: from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co|year=1911
*cite book|author=Kari Maund|title=The Welsh kings: warriors, warlords and princes |publisher=Tempus|year=2006|id=ISBN 0-7524-2973-6
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