Cymro a’i Geiniog / A Welsh King and his Coin

Doedd brenhinoedd y Cymry ddim yn rhai i roi eu henwau ar geiniogau – fel arfer. Mae un eithriad: ceiniog sy’n dwyn yr enw Hoƿæl Rex. Hywel ap Cadell (Hywel Dda) oedd hwn, brenin mwyaf pwerus Cymru’r Oesoedd Canol cynnar. Doedd Cymru ddim yn uned wleidyddol unedig yng nghyfnod Hywel. Yn hytrach, roedd y tir rydyn ni’n ei adnabod heddiw fel Cymru wedi ei rannu’n gyfres o deyrnasoedd ac iddynt enwau, maint a bodolaeth newidiol. Erbyn ei farwolaeth yn 950, roedd gan Hywel y rhan fwyaf o Gymru yn ei feddiant. Dechreuodd ei yrfa fel brenin Dyfed yn y de-orllewin ond wedi marwolaeth ei gefnder Idwal, brenin Gwynedd, yn 942 llwyddodd i ymestyn ei bŵer dros Wynedd. Roedd uno’r de a’r gogledd o dan un brenin yn gamp eithriadol. Prin iawn oedd y brenhinoedd a lwyddodd i gyflawni hyn.

O ystyried y cyd-destun hwn, efallai na fyddai’n peri syndod bod ceiniog wedi ei bathu yn enw Hywel. Roedd i geiniogau rôl bwysig fel mynegiant gweledol o bŵer yn yr Oesoedd Canol, ac wrth gyfleu negeseuon gwleidyddol. Cawsai brenhinoedd cynnar y Saeson eu portreadu ar geiniogau fel ymerawdwyr Rhufeinig neu frenhinoedd yr Hen Destament, ac yn yr unfed ganrif ar ddeg rhyddhawyd cyfres arbennig o geiniogau gyda delw Oen Duw mewn ymateb i ymosodiadau’r Llychlynwyr. Wedi dweud hynny, beth bynnag oedd arfer brenhinoedd y Saeson, pwysig cofio nad oedd y Cymry yn defnyddio ceiniogau yn yr un ffordd. Doedd arian ddim mor bwysig i economi Cymru, a llond llaw yn unig o geiniogau sydd wedi eu darganfod yn y tir. Lle mae ceiniogau wedi eu darganfod, mae’r rhain fel arfer yn adlewyrchu cysylltiadau rhwng Cymru a’r byd ehangach. Enghraifft dda yw casgliad Bangor (c. 925) sy’n cynnwys cymysgedd o dirhamau a cheiniogau Seisnig a Llychlynaidd.

Yr hyn sy’n gwneud stori ceiniog Hywel Dda yn fwy ddiddorol byth yw tarddiad a math y gwrthrych ei hun. Nid yng Nghymru y bathwyd y geiniog, ond ar draws y ffin yng Nghaer gan fathwr arian o’r enw Gillys. Bu Gillys hefyd yn bathu arian ar gyfer dau o frenhinoedd y Saeson, Eadred (m. 955) ac Edgar (m. 975). Mae’r geiniog a fathodd i Hywel o’r un fath â cheiniogau a fathwyd i Eadred, ac mae’r geiriau Hoƿæl Rex yn cynrychioli sillafiad Saesneg o’i enw. Ceiniog Seisnig yw hon i bob bwrpas, felly. Digwydd bod mai ceiniog Seisnig yw hi sy’n dwyn enw un o frenhinoedd y Cymry.

Sut y daeth enw Hywel i fod ar geiniog o’r fath? Does dim amheuaeth iddo fwynhau perthynas agos gyda chyfres o frenhinoedd Saesneg ar hyd ei deyrnasiad hir. Yn rhestri tystion siarteri cawn dystiolaeth iddo fynychu nifer o gynulliadau brenhinoedd Lloegr. Yn y dogfennau hyn gosodir enw Hywel yn gyson ar frig y rhestr o frenhinoedd y Cymry yn bresennol – arwydd o’i statws, mae’n debyg, a’r farn uchel ohono yn llys brenhinol y Saeson. Ymostyngodd i uwcharglwyddiaeth y Saeson ar sawl achlysur, ac mae’n debygol iddo ymuno â’r Brenin Æthelstan (m. 939) ar ei ymgyrch i’r Alban yn 934. Rhoddodd enw Saesneg i un o’i feibion, sef Edwin.

Caiff y geiniog ei dehongli gan ysgolheigion fel datganiad o’r berthynas agos hon, a Hywel fel yr un a fuddiodd ohoni. Gan fod y geiniog wedi ei bathu yng Nghaer, gallwn fod yn weddol sicr ei bod yn deillio o’r cyfnod wedi i Hywel ymestyn ei bŵer dros Wynedd. Nid damwain oedd y cynnydd hwn yn ei awdurdod. Lladdwyd ei gefnder, Idwal, gan y Saeson yn 942. Dydy’r croniclau ddim yn datgelu pam y cafodd Idwal ei ladd, ond mae’n bosib i Wynedd benderfynu cynghreirio â Llychlynwyr Iwerddon, yr Albanwyr, a’r Cymbriaid yn erbyn y Saeson. Beth bynnag y rheswm dros y gwrthdaro, gwnaeth Hywel yn dda o’r sefyllfa. Byddai modd deall y geiniog Saesneg wedi ei bathu yn ei enw fel rhan o strategaeth i gadarnhau ei bŵer yng ngogledd Cymru. Datganai’r geiniog mai fe oedd y brenin, a bod ganddo gefnogaeth y Saeson.

Ond mae’n annhebygol bod ceiniog Seisnig yn dwyn enw Saesneg wedi ei bwriadu ar gyfer cynulleidfa yng ngogledd Cymru, cymdeithas a oedd prin yn gwneud defnydd o geiniogau. Byddai eraill wedi buddio o’i neges. Pan ymestynnodd Hywel ei bŵer i Wynedd yn 942, roedd y sefyllfa yng ngogledd Prydain yn danllyd. Fel yr ydym wedi gweld eisoes, mae’n bosib i Idwal, brenin Gwynedd cyn Hywel, gynghreirio gyda Llychlynwyr Iwerddon, yr Albanwyr a’r Cymbriaid – a thalu’n ddrud am y gynghrair honno. Maes y gad oedd Northumbria’r 940au wrth i’r Saeson a brenhinoedd Llychlynwyr Dulyn frwydro am oruchafiaeth. Roedd teyrnas Gwynedd wedi ei lleoli’n ddaearyddol yng nghanol y frwydr hon, hanner ffordd rhwng Dulyn ac Efrog. Debyg y byddai’n fuddiol iawn i’r Saeson weld cynghreiriad dibynadwy mewn sefyllfa o bŵer yn yr ardal hon. Efallai y gwnaeth Hywel fuddio o farwolaeth Idwal, ond buddiodd brenhinoedd y Saeson hefyd.

Roedd ceiniog Hywel Dda yn datgan trefn wleidyddol newydd yng ngogledd Cymru. Ond fe ymestyn ei harwyddocâd tu hwnt i wleidyddiaeth Cymru. Roedd cydbwysedd grym yng ngogledd Prydain wedi newid, ac roedd y geiniog hon yn atgoffa pawb bod gan frenin y Saeson gynghreiriad yn yr ardal. Fel sillafiad enw Hywel, roedd neges wleidyddol y geiniog yn un Saesneg.

Ysgrifennwyd y blogpost hwn gan Rebecca Thomas ac yn selliedig ar ymchwil diweddar i geiniog Hywel Dda: Rebecca Thomas, ‘The Context of the Hywel Dda penny’, yn Martin Allen, Rory Naismith a Hugh Pagan (goln), Interpreting Early Medieval Coinage: Essays in Memory of Stewart Lyon (London, 2022), tt. 87-98. Y berthynas rhwng arweinwyr y Cymry a’r Saeson yn y ddegfed ganrif yw pwnc ei nofel gyntaf, Dan Gysgod y Frenhines (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2022).

A Welsh King and his Coin

Medieval Welsh kings did not put their names on coins. Or rather, medieval Welsh rulers did not normally put their names on coins – with one exception. A single penny survives inscribed with the name Hoƿæl Rex. This King Hywel was arguably the most powerful ruler of early medieval Wales: Hywel ap Cadell, otherwise known as Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good). The Wales of Hywel’s time was not a single political unit. Instead, the territory that we now think of as Wales was divided into a series of kingdoms – the names, size, and very existence of which fluctuated. By his death in 950, Hywel held most of Wales within his grasp. He had started out as king of Dyfed in south-west Wales but had taken advantage of the death of his cousin Idwal, king of Gwynedd, in 942 to extend his power northwards. This was a rare achievement, very infrequently repeated across the entirety of the Middle Ages.

Considering this context, it may not seem surprising that a coin was minted in Hywel’s name. Coinage operated as an important visual expression of power in the Middle Ages – and as a means of conveying political messages. Early English rulers were depicted as Roman Emperors or Old Testament Kings, and in the eleventh century a special coinage featuring the Lamb of God was issued as a response to Viking invasions. However, it is worth remembering that, whatever the practice of their neighbours, the Welsh did not normally use coinage in this way. The economy of medieval Wales did not make all that much use of coins and very few have been discovered in the ground. Where coins have been found, they normally point to contact between Wales and the wider world – such as the Bangor hoard (c. 925) which contains a mix of dirhams and West Saxon and Viking coins.

What makes the story of the Hywel Dda penny more interesting still is the origin and style of the object itself. This coin was not minted in Wales, but in neighbouring Chester by a moneyer called Gillys. Gillys also struck coins for two successive English kings, Eadred (d. 955) and Edgar (d. 975). The coin that he struck for Hywel is in the same style as coins struck for Eadred, and the inscription Hoƿæl Rex represents an English spelling of Hywel’s name. To all intends and purposes then, this is an English coin. It just so happens that it is an English coin bearing the name of a Welsh ruler.

How did a Welsh ruler come to have his name on an English coin? Hywel enjoyed amicable relations with a succession of English kings throughout his long reign. His attendance at the assemblies of English kings is well attested in the witness lists of charters. In these documents Hywel’s name always occurs at the top of the Welsh rulers listed – likely a sign of his high status and the regard in which he was held at the English court. He submitted to the overlordship of successive English kings, and likely joined King Æthelstan (d. 939) on campaign in Scotland in 934. He gave one of his sons an English name – Edwin.

The coin has been interpreted by scholars as a statement of this close relationship, and Hywel its beneficiary. As this coin was minted at Chester, we can be fairly certain that it was issued after Hywel had gained power over the neighbouring kingdom of Gwynedd. This expansion of Hywel’s authority was no mere accident. His cousin Idwal had been killed by the English in 942. The chronicles do not reveal why Idwal was targeted, but it is possible that north Wales had chosen to ally with the Hiberno-Scandinavians, Scots and Cumbrians against the English. Whatever the reason for the conflict, it left a vacancy in Gwynedd and Hywel was the one who benefitted. An English coin minted in his name could be viewed as one strategy for cementing his power in north Wales as a king sanctioned and supported by the English.

But it is unlikely that an English coin bearing an English name would have been intended for an audience in north Wales, a society that made little use of coinage. There were others who would have benefitted from its message. When Hywel extended his power to Gwynedd in 942, the situation in northern Britain was volatile. As we have seen, Idwal, his predecessor as king of Gwynedd, may have entered into an alliance with the Hiberno-Scandinavians, Scots and Cumbrians – and paid for that alliance with his life. Northumbria was a battleground in the 940s, as the English and Hiberno-Scandinavian kings of Dublin vied for supremacy. Gwynedd was geographically located at the centre of this struggle, midway between Dublin and York. It would have been hugely beneficial for the English to have a proven ally in a position of power in this region. Thus, Hywel may have benefited from Idwal’s death, but so too did the English kings.

The Hywel Dda penny trumpeted a new political order in north Wales. But this coin is about more than Welsh politics. The balance of power in northern Britain had been disrupted, and this coin served as a reminder to all that the English king had an ally in the region. Like the spelling of Hywel’s name, this coin’s political message was an English one.

This blog post is written by Rebecca Thomas and is based on recent research into the Hywel Dda penny: Rebecca Thomas, ‘The Context of the Hywel Dda penny’, in Martin Allen, Rory Naismith and Hugh Pagan (eds), Interpreting Early Medieval Coinage: Essays in Memory of Stewart Lyon (London, 2022), pp. 87-98. The relationship between Welsh and English rulers of the tenth century is the subject of her first novel, Dan Gysgod y Frenhines (‘In the Queen’s Shadow’) (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2022).