Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal

Rhodri ap Idwal (c. 690-c. 754; reigned from c. 720) (Latin: Rodericus; English: Roderick), also known as Rhodri "Molwynog" ('the Bald and Gray'), and by some contemporary historians as Rhodri I, was a king of Gwynedd, also called King of the Britons by the "Annals of Wales."

The son of Idwal Iwrch and his wife, Princess Angharad of Brittany, comparatively little is known of Rhodri's life or accomplishments. There is even some debate as to when he actually assumed the throne of Gwynedd, with the years 712, 720, 722 or 730 being the most probable candidates. Legend suggests that Rhodri successfully invaded and occupied Dumnonia for a time, before being expelled by the Saxons. This story may indeed be apocryphal, and others have suggested that Rhodri instead focused on strengthening the island of Anglesey, which, by this time, had become the stronghold of the kingdom. This argument is based on the understanding that Æthelbald, king of Mercia and self-styled Bretwalda, was continuing to press the kingdoms of Wales, and that Rhodri would have been far more likely to have been forced to adopt a defensive, rather than offensive, policy in dealing with incursions from Mercia and other Anglo-Saxon principalities.

Rhodri married Margaret ferch Duplory, an Irish princess, who bore him a son by the name of Cynan "Dindaethwy". Because of the limited reliable information surrounding this period in Welsh history, it is not entirely clear who succeeded Rhodri upon his death, although the most likely candidate seems to be Caradog ap Meirion, a distant cousin, and not his son, who would ascend to the throne only after the death of Caradog.

sequence
prev=Idwal Iwrch
next=Caradog ap Meirion
list=Kings of Gwynedd