Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wales is Born
In the wake of the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, various kingdoms
arose across Britain and a new threat surfaced in the form of Germanic tribes such as the
Saxons and the Angles. This era is shrouded in legend but it is quite possible that there was
a figure such as King Arthur who briefly held the Saxon invaders at bay, inspiring romantic
fables in the process.
Eventually the Anglo-Saxons conquered most of present-day England, with native
Brythonic-speakers holding on in remote places such as Wales and Cornwall. To this day,
the Welsh word for the English is
Saeson
(Saxon); the English word for the Welsh derives
from the old Anglo-Saxon word for foreigner. For their part, the Welsh started to refer to
themselves as
Cymry,
a word meaning 'fellow countrymen', and a separate Welsh identity
was born - distinct for the first time from the rest of Britain.
Religion was a point of difference between the Christian Welsh and the pagan Saxons. In
the 6th century, religious communities were founded all over Wales. Many of these
llan
were associated with charismatic leaders, ushering in the so-called 'Age of Saints', and be-
queathing Wales with a fair share of its current place names (Llandudno - St Tudno's com-
munity; Llandeilo - St Teilo's community etc). St David became a key figure, establishing
his eponymous town as a centre of religion and learning.
During the 9th and 10th centuries savage coastal attacks in the south by Danish and
Norse pirates forced the small kingdoms of Wales to cooperate. Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the
Great), a charismatic leader, managed to unite most of the kingdoms, only for them to be
split among his sons.
His grandson, Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good), reunified the country and then went on to
consolidate its laws, decreeing communal agricultural practices and affording women and
children greater rights than other legal systems of the time.
