The history of Gwynedd in the High Middle Ages is a period in the History of Wales spanning the 11th through the 13th centuries. Gwynedd, located in the north of Wales, eventually became the most dominant of Welsh principalities during this period. Distinctive achievements in Gwynedd include further development of Medieval Welsh literature, particularly poets known as the Beirdd y Tywysogion (Welsh for Poets of the Princes) associated with the court of Gwynedd; the reformation of bardic schools; and the continued development of Cyfraith Hywel (The Law of Hywel, or Welsh law). All three of these further contributed to the development of a Welsh national identity in the face of Anglo-Norman encroachment of Wales.
Gwynedd's traditional territory included Anglesey (Ynys Môn) and all of north Wales between the River Dyfi in the south and River Dee (Welsh Dyfrdwy) in the northeast. The Irish Sea (Môr Iwerddon) lies to the north and west, and lands formerly part of the Powys border the south-east. Gwynedd's strength was due in part to the region's mountainous geography which made it difficult for foreign invaders to campaign in the country and impose their will effectively.
Gwynedd emerged from the Early Middle Ages having suffered from increasing Viking raids and various occupations by rival Welsh princes, causing political and social upheaval. With the historic Aberffraw family displaced, by the mid 11th century Gwynedd was united with the rest of Wales by the conquest of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, followed by the Norman invasions between 1067 and 1100.
After the restoration of the Aberffraw family in Gwynedd, a series of successful rulers such as Gruffydd ap Cynan, Owain Gwynedd, Llywelyn the Great and his grandson Llywelyn II led to the emergence of the Principality of Wales, based in Gwynedd. The emergence of the principality in the 13th century was proof that all the elements necessary for the growth of Welsh statehood independent of England were in place. As part of the Principality of Wales, Gwynedd would retain Welsh laws and customs and home rule until the Edwardian Conquest of Wales of 1282.
| Part of a series on the |
| History of Wales |
|---|
| Chronology |
| Prehistoric Wales |
| In the Roman Era |
| In the Early Middle Ages |
| Norman Invasion |
| In the Late Middle Ages |
| In the Early Modern Era |
| Settlement in the Americas |
| Kingdoms |
| Modern History |
| Brycheiniog |
| Ceredigion |
| Deheubarth |
| Dyfed |
| Ergyng |
| Gwent |
| Gwynedd |
| Morgannwg |
| Powys |
| Seisyllwg |
| Welsh cultural history |
| History of the Welsh language |
| Music |
| Welsh-language literature |
| Literature in English |
| Wales portal |
Famous quotes containing the words history of, history, high, middle and/or ages:
“American time has stretched around the world. It has become the dominant tempo of modern history, especially of the history of Europe.”
—Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978)
“Considered in its entirety, psychoanalysis won’t do. It’s an end product, moreover, like a dinosaur or a zeppelin; no better theory can ever be erected on its ruins, which will remain for ever one of the saddest and strangest of all landmarks in the history of twentieth-century thought.”
—Peter B. Medawar (1915–1987)
“A novel is a mirror carried along a high road. At one moment it reflects to your vision the azure skies at another the mire of the puddles at your feet. And the man who carries this mirror in his pack will be accused by you of being immoral! His mirror shews [sic] the mire, and you blame the mirror! Rather blame that high road upon which the puddle lies, still more the inspector of roads who allows the water to gather and the puddle to form.”
—Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle] (1783–1842)
“Radicalism is the opium of the middle class.”
—Christina Stead (1902–1983)
“So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say. But to sacrifice a hair of the head of your vision, a shade of its colour, in deference to some Headmaster with a silver pot in his hand or to some professor with a measuring-rod up his sleeve, is the most abject treachery, and the sacrifice or wealth and chastity, which used to be said to be the greatest of human disasters, a mere flea-bite in comparison.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)