{"id":104,"date":"2023-11-02T14:10:24","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T14:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/?p=104"},"modified":"2023-11-08T15:50:29","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T15:50:29","slug":"cymro-ai-geiniog-a-welsh-king-and-his-coin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/cymro-ai-geiniog-a-welsh-king-and-his-coin\/","title":{"rendered":"Cymro a\u2019i Geiniog \/ A Welsh King and his Coin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Doedd brenhinoedd y Cymry ddim yn rhai i roi eu henwau ar geiniogau \u2013 fel arfer. Mae un eithriad: ceiniog sy\u2019n dwyn yr enw Ho<\/em>\u01bf<\/em>\u00e6<\/em>l Rex<\/em>. Hywel ap Cadell (Hywel Dda) oedd hwn, brenin mwyaf pwerus Cymru\u2019r Oesoedd Canol cynnar. Doedd Cymru ddim yn uned wleidyddol unedig yng nghyfnod Hywel. Yn hytrach, roedd y tir rydyn ni\u2019n ei adnabod heddiw fel Cymru wedi ei rannu\u2019n 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 b\u0175er dros Wynedd. Roedd uno\u2019r de a\u2019r gogledd o dan un brenin yn gamp eithriadol. Prin iawn oedd y brenhinoedd a lwyddodd i gyflawni hyn.<\/p>\n

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from the plates published in: P. W. P. Carlyon-Britton, ‘The Saxon, Norman and Plantagenet Coinage of Wales’, Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion 1905-6, pp. 1-30<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

O ystyried y cyd-destun hwn, efallai na fyddai\u2019n peri syndod bod ceiniog wedi ei bathu yn enw Hywel. Roedd i geiniogau r\u00f4l bwysig fel mynegiant gweledol o b\u0175er 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\u2019r 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\u2019r rhain fel arfer yn adlewyrchu cysylltiadau rhwng Cymru a\u2019r byd ehangach. Enghraifft dda yw casgliad Bangor (c. <\/em>925) sy\u2019n cynnwys cymysgedd o dirhamau a cheiniogau Seisnig a Llychlynaidd.<\/p>\n

Yr hyn sy\u2019n 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\u2019r enw Gillys. Bu Gillys hefyd yn bathu arian ar gyfer dau o frenhinoedd y Saeson, Eadred (m. 955) ac Edgar (m. 975). Mae\u2019r geiniog a fathodd i Hywel o\u2019r un fath \u00e2 cheiniogau a fathwyd i Eadred, ac mae\u2019r geiriau Ho<\/em>\u01bf<\/em>\u00e6<\/em>l Rex<\/em> yn cynrychioli sillafiad Saesneg o\u2019i enw. Ceiniog Seisnig yw hon i bob bwrpas, felly. Digwydd bod mai ceiniog Seisnig yw hi sy\u2019n dwyn enw un o frenhinoedd y Cymry.<\/p>\n

Sut y daeth enw Hywel i fod ar geiniog o\u2019r 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 \u2013 arwydd o\u2019i statws, mae\u2019n debyg, a\u2019r farn uchel ohono yn llys brenhinol y Saeson. Ymostyngodd i uwcharglwyddiaeth y Saeson ar sawl achlysur, ac mae\u2019n debygol iddo ymuno \u00e2\u2019r Brenin \u00c6thelstan (m. 939) ar ei ymgyrch i\u2019r Alban yn 934. Rhoddodd enw Saesneg i un o\u2019i feibion, sef Edwin.<\/p>\n

Caiff y geiniog ei dehongli gan ysgolheigion fel datganiad o\u2019r 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\u2019r cyfnod wedi i Hywel ymestyn ei b\u0175er dros Wynedd. Nid damwain oedd y cynnydd hwn yn ei awdurdod. Lladdwyd ei gefnder, Idwal, gan y Saeson yn 942. Dydy\u2019r croniclau ddim yn datgelu pam y cafodd Idwal ei ladd, ond mae\u2019n bosib i Wynedd benderfynu cynghreirio \u00e2 Llychlynwyr Iwerddon, yr Albanwyr, a\u2019r Cymbriaid yn erbyn y Saeson. Beth bynnag y rheswm dros y gwrthdaro, gwnaeth Hywel yn dda o\u2019r sefyllfa. Byddai modd deall y geiniog Saesneg wedi ei bathu yn ei enw fel rhan o strategaeth i gadarnhau ei b\u0175er yng ngogledd Cymru. Datganai\u2019r geiniog mai fe oedd y brenin, a bod ganddo gefnogaeth y Saeson.<\/p>\n

Ond mae\u2019n 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\u2019i neges. Pan ymestynnodd Hywel ei b\u0175er i Wynedd yn 942, roedd y sefyllfa yng ngogledd Prydain yn danllyd. Fel yr ydym wedi gweld eisoes, mae\u2019n bosib i Idwal, brenin Gwynedd cyn Hywel, gynghreirio gyda Llychlynwyr Iwerddon, yr Albanwyr a\u2019r Cymbriaid \u2013 a thalu\u2019n ddrud am y gynghrair honno. Maes y gad oedd Northumbria\u2019r 940au wrth i\u2019r Saeson a brenhinoedd Llychlynwyr Dulyn frwydro am oruchafiaeth. Roedd teyrnas Gwynedd wedi ei lleoli\u2019n ddaearyddol yng nghanol y frwydr hon, hanner ffordd rhwng Dulyn ac Efrog. Debyg y byddai\u2019n fuddiol iawn i\u2019r Saeson weld cynghreiriad dibynadwy mewn sefyllfa o b\u0175er yn yr ardal hon. Efallai y gwnaeth Hywel fuddio o farwolaeth Idwal, ond buddiodd brenhinoedd y Saeson hefyd.<\/p>\n

Roedd ceiniog Hywel Dda yn datgan trefn wleidyddol newydd yng ngogledd Cymru. Ond fe ymestyn ei harwyddoc\u00e2d 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.<\/p>\n

Ysgrifennwyd y blogpost hwn gan Rebecca Thomas<\/a> ac yn selliedig ar ymchwil diweddar i geiniog Hywel Dda: Rebecca Thomas, \u2018The Context of the Hywel Dda penny\u2019, yn Martin Allen, Rory Naismith a Hugh Pagan (goln), Interpreting Early Medieval Coinage: Essays in Memory of Stewart Lyon (London, 2022), tt. 87-98.<\/em> Y berthynas rhwng arweinwyr y Cymry a\u2019r Saeson yn y ddegfed ganrif yw pwnc ei nofel gyntaf, Dan Gysgod y Frenhines<\/a> (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2022).<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Welsh King and his Coin<\/h3>\n

Medieval Welsh kings did not put their names on coins. Or rather, medieval Welsh rulers did not normally put their names on coins \u2013 with one exception. A single penny survives inscribed with the name Ho<\/em>\u01bf<\/em>\u00e6<\/em>l Rex<\/em>. 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\u2019s time was not a single political unit. Instead, the territory that we now think of as Wales was divided into a series of kingdoms \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"
from the plates published in: P. W. P. Carlyon-Britton, ‘The Saxon, Norman and Plantagenet Coinage of Wales’, Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion 1905-6, pp. 1-30<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Considering this context, it may not seem surprising that a coin was minted in Hywel\u2019s name. Coinage operated as an important visual expression of power in the Middle Ages \u2013 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 \u2013 such as the Bangor hoard (c. <\/em>925) which contains a mix of dirhams and West Saxon and Viking coins.<\/p>\n

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 Ho<\/em>\u01bf<\/em>\u00e6<\/em>l Rex<\/em> represents an English spelling of Hywel\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s name always occurs at the top of the Welsh rulers listed \u2013 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 \u00c6thelstan (d. 939) on campaign in Scotland in 934. He gave one of his sons an English name \u2013 Edwin.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 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\u2019s death, but so too did the English kings.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s name, this coin\u2019s political message was an English one.<\/p>\n

This blog post is written by Rebecca Thomas<\/a> and is based on recent research into the Hywel Dda penny: Rebecca Thomas, \u2018The Context of the Hywel Dda penny\u2019, in Martin Allen, Rory Naismith and Hugh Pagan (eds), Interpreting Early Medieval Coinage: Essays in Memory of Stewart Lyon (London, 2022), pp. 87-98.<\/em> The relationship between Welsh and English rulers of the tenth century is the subject of her first novel, Dan Gysgod y Frenhines<\/a> (\u2018In the Queen\u2019s Shadow\u2019) (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2022).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doedd brenhinoedd y Cymry ddim yn rhai i roi eu henwau ar geiniogau \u2013 fel arfer. Mae un eithriad: ceiniog sy\u2019n dwyn yr enw Ho\u01bf\u00e6l Rex. Hywel ap Cadell (Hywel […]","protected":false},"author":905,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9,15],"tags":[25,26],"class_list":["post-104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-currentprojects","category-medieval-history","category-welsh-history","tag-medieval-history","tag-welsh-history"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/905"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104\/revisions\/133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/history-at-cardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}