The Laws of Hywel Dda

Yesterday we learned about Hywel Dda ("Howell the Good"), the 10th-century Welsh ruler, and mentioned that the parliament of Wales is housed in a building called "Hywel's House." The reason for this millenia-old tribute is Hywel's legacy in transforming Welsh law.

Wales was originally a number of small kingdoms with their own laws and practices. Hywel brought most of the kingdoms under one rule. For the sake of convenience and fairness, he created a set of laws that would apply to all the territories over which he had influence. Or did he?

Known in Welsh as Cyfraith Hywel, the Laws of Hywel (the earliest copies we have are Latin versions from the early 13th century) have a prologue that explains how Hywel called on priests and lawyers to meet in Dyfed and create a common set of laws. This anecdote might not be true: since we have no earlier Welsh versions, there is a theory that the story of the gathering of lawyers and priests was created specifically to counter the objections of the then-current Archbishop of Canterbury, John Peckham. Peckham, acting on behalf of King Edward I, was very critical of the Welsh, their ruler Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, and the bishop of St. David's in Wales. The gathering of priests might have been a story concocted to suggested that Wales' legal system had Christian influence at the foundation.

Whatever the origin of these laws, cultural memory attributes them to Hywel. One of the features that stands out is recognition of the rights of women. A small sample from a 1915 English translation:

Chap. i. The laws of the women.

1. The first of them is: if a woman be given in marriage, she is to abide by her agweddi (marriage portion) unto the end of the seventh year; and if there be three nights wanting of the seventh current year, and they separate, let them share into two portions everything belonging to them.

54. If a man willeth to separate from his wife, and after he shall have separated, willet another wife; the first, that has been divorced, is free: for no man is to have two wives.

55. Every woman is to go the way she willeth, freely, for she is not to be revenant; and nothing is due from her, except her amobyr (marriage fee), and only one amobyr; for a woman owes no ebedi (a relief payable to the superior lord), only her amobyr; therefore, as a man is to pay only one ebediw, in like manner, a woman is to pay only one amobyr; for there is no ebediw from her, only her amobyr. [link]

Hywel died in 950, but the Law lived on...until 1284 and the Statute of Rhuddlan, that is, which was established by Edward I of England. To do that, however, Edward would have to conquer Wales, but that's a story we'll start tomorrow.

Hywel Dda

Hywel ap Cadell was known as Hywel Dda ("Howel the Good"), a Welsh king who accomplished so much that his name is attached to the government of Wales even now.

His father was Cadell ap Rhodri (854–909), king of Seisyllwg from 872 until his death in 909, when it passed to Hywel. A few years before Cadell's death, he and Hywel had conquered the kingdom of Dyfed, and Hywel ruled a combined Seisyllwg and Dyfed, calling it Deheubarth.

Controlling a large part of Wales made Hywel a force to be reckoned with, but rather than fight the Anglo-Saxons, he made an alliance with them. Edward the Elder (King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 to 924) and Hywel joined forces to fight Vikings. Another first for a Welsh leader was Hywel's pilgrimage to Rome in 928.

He continued an alliance with Edward the Elder's son, Æthelstan. Æthelstan wanted to rule the entire island of Britain, but Hywel's voluntary alliance or "submission" to Æthelstan meant he was not subject to attack or even scrutiny, while Æthelstan focused on conquering the territories to the north. Hywel supported Æthelstan's invasion of Scotland in 934, for instance.

When another of Edward the Elder's sons, Edmund, became king, Hywel's cousin Idwal, King of Gwynedd, took a stand for Welsh independence and raised an army against English forces in 942. Idwal was killed fighting against Edmund, and Hywel was able to prevent (with Edmund's approval) the throne of Gwynedd from going to Idwal's sons. Hywel exiled the sons and made himself ruler of Gwynedd, putting him in control of almost all of Wales.

The modern Welsh parliament, the Senedd Cymru, is housed in a building called Tŷ Hywel, which means "Hywel House." The original assembly chamber (now outgrown) is Siambr Hywel ("Hywel's Chamber"). Why is his name honored this way a thousand years after he ruled? I'll explain his impact on Welsh governance tomorrow.

Fighting the Welsh

When the people of Northern Europe sailed westward and landed in the island of Great Britain, there were already people living there. These Brythonic people were slowly driven westward by the increasingly numerous Anglo-Saxons, until they were pushed into the farthest western part of Britain. The Anglo-Saxons called these natives Wīelisċ, from which comes the modern word "Welsh"; the area in which they settled was called Wales.

One of the first recorded battles between the Anglo-Saxons and those who would later settle in Wales was the Battle of Crayford. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle wrote:

A.D. 456.  This year Hengest and Aesc his son fought with the Britons on the spot that is called Crayford, and there slew 4000 men, and the Britons then left the land of Kent, and in great fear fled to London.

About 10 years later, the Britons had a victory against Hengist and his son at Wippidsfleet, but the Anglo-Saxons regained ground in Kent. They ultimately captured the castle of Anderida on the Saxon Shore (south coast) and the leader Aelle established the kingdom of Sussex ("South Saxon"). This was in 491 according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, but historians think it took place in 471. Another Anglo-Saxon, Cerdic, established the kingdom of Wessex ("West Saxons") after driving Britons away from the Bournemouth area.

It is around this time that the legends of Arthur, King of the Britons, gain popularity. He is a leader who opposes (successfully) the Anglo-Saxon invaders. The Historia Brittonum ("History of the Britons") by Nennius (borrowing from Bede, and Gildas' De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, "On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain") lists several battles, none of which can be historically proven.

Over the centuries, it is no exageration to say that scores of battles—and probably hundreds, counting skirmishes too small to gain the attention of contemporary chroniclers—took place between Britons and the invaders. Until, that is, a kind of peace was managed by a Welsh leader powerful enough to unite the various kingdoms of Wales and form an alliance with the kingdom of Wessex. That was Hywel Dda ("Howel the Good"), and I'll tell you about him tomorrow.