<<The>> first Prince of Wales? Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, 1063-75

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn was a Welsh king who ruled over Gwynedd and Powys in the eleventh century. He was at the heart of the events that forged Britain before, during, and after the Norman Conquest of 1066, one of its most significant historical periods. The First Prince of Wales? offers important new context for those events through which Bleddyn strove to recreate the kingdom of Wales—though outside pressures and internal intrigues meant his successors would compete, ultimately, to rule only a principality. By exploring Bleddyn’s ambitions, Sean Davies gives a new, wider perspective on one of the most tumultuous and formative periods in English history. This is the first book written about one of Wale's greatest leaders, Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, who can arguably be described as "the first prince of Wales." Bleddyn was at the heart of the tumultuous events that forged Britain in the cauldron of Norman aggression, and this study of his reign offers an important new perspective on the events of 1066 and beyond. he was a leader who used alliances on the wider British scale as he strove to recreate the fledgling kingdom of Wales that had been built and ruled by his brother, though outside pressures and internal intrigues meant his successors would compete ultimately for a principality From the publisher: This is the first book on one of Wales's greatest leaders, arguably 'first prince of Wales,' Bleddyn ap Cynfyn. Bleddyn was at the heart of the tumultuous events that forged Britain in the cauldron of Norman aggression, and his reign offers an important new perspective on the events of 1066 and beyond. He was a leader who used alliances on the wider British scale as he strove to recreate the fledgling kingdom of Wales that had been built and ruled by his brother, though outside pressures and internal intrigues meant his successors would compete ultimately for a principality. Front Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 8 List of Illustrations 10 List of Abbreviations 12 Introduction 14 1 The Kingdoms Unite 20 2 Bleddyn’s rise to power 28 3 The new kings 46 4 Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans 70 5 Opportunity and disaster 92 6 The principalities divide 110 Notes 134 Bibliography 146 Index 160 Back Cover 168 This is the first book to explain how Wales was transformed from a kingdom to a principality as the Norman Conquest forged modern Britain.