71. Cadwaladr 'Fendigaid' King of the Britons, 39G Grandfather, M. Born abt 0634 in Wales. Cadwaladr 'Fendigaid' King of the died in 0664, he was 30.
Bartrum's "Welsh Classical Dictionary".
He is first mentioned in the Historia Brittonum: "Osguid son of Eadlfrid
reigned 28 years and 6 months. While he was reigning there came a
pestilence on men, CATGUALART the while reigning among the Britons
after his father, and in it he perished." Oswy was king of Bernicia
642-671. The pestilence is mentioned by Bede as occuring in 664 (Hist.
Eccles, III.27). This pestilence is post-dated in the Annales Cambriae to
682, but the authority is inferior to HB.
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth CADWALADR's mother was a sister of
Penda, king of Mercia, whom CADWALLON married when he made an
alliance with Penda (HRB XII.14, see also ByA 28a). This was probably
about AD 632. If this is correct Cadwaladr could not have been born
before 633, nor later than 635, the year after the death of CADWALLON.
Thus he would be too young to succeed CADWALLON as king of Gwynedd.
This is somewhat confirmed by the fact that a certain Cadafael (d. 655?)
appears as king at this time.
Geoffrey of Monmouth mentions the plague of 664-5 but pretends that
CADWALADR survived it by retiring to Armorica, where he was recieved
by the fictitious king Alan. He finally went to Rome where he died in the
year 689 (HRB XII.15-18). This, however, is due to the mistaken
identification of CADWALADR with Ceadwalla, king of Wessex, who died
in Rome in 689. CADWALADR FENDIGAID is the last of the kings included
in the tract "the Twenty-four Mightiest Kings," where we are told that
he reigned eleven years. Geoffrey says that after the death of
CADWALADR the Britons never recovered the "Monarchy of the Island," by
which he seems to mean a claim to an overlordship over all the kings of
Britain. Thus CADWALADR has often been styled "the last King of the
Britons."
Cadwaladr 'Fendigaid' King of the married Alcfrith, 39G Grandmother, F, daughter of Pybba King of Mercia, M (-abt 0606).
