Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal
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Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal (English: Rhodri the Bald and Grey, son of
Idwal) was King of
Gwynedd (reigned ? – 754). This era in the history of Gwynedd was not notable, and given the lack of reliable information available, serious histories of
Wales, such that as by
Davies, do not mention Rhodri,
while that of
Lloyd mentions his name in passing only to quote the year of his death given in the
Annales Cambriae.
The only mention of him in the historical record is the note of his death, as
King of the Britons, in the Annales Cambriae,
and the appearance of his name in genealogies such as
those in Jesus College MS. 20 (as the son of "Idwal Iwrch son of Cadwaladr Fendigiad")
and the
Harleian genealogies (as the son of "Tutgual son of Cadwaladr").
The Annalesdo not mention the death of an earlier king within a reasonable time frame, so the date that he became king is not known, nor is the name of his predecessor.
In 722 the Annales Cambriae mention a war in
Cornwall without giving the names of the individuals involved.
The Brut y Saeson says that in 721 this was "an extensive war between Rhodri Molwynawg and the Saxons in Cornwall".
This change to the historical record is traced to Brut Aberpergwm, a purported medieval Welsh text which was accepted as such by the editors of the
Myvyrian Archaiology but which is now known to be the work of
Iolo Morganwg.
Thomas Stephens was the first to doubt the text's authenticity
and it is now known to be one of Iolo's many antiquarian forgeries.
Rotri has sometimes been misidentified as a ruler of
Alt Clut (modern
Dumbarton Rock), the
Brythonic kingdom later known as Strathclyde.