Кадваладр ап Кадвалон: Тарих және аңыз

Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (also spelled Cadwalader or Cadwallader in English) was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around 655 to 682 AD. Two devastating plagues happened during his reign, one in 664 and the other in 682; he himself was a victim of the second. Little else is known of his reign. The red dragon (y Ddraig Goch), long known as a Welsh symbol, appearing in the Mabinogion, the Historia Brittonum, and the stories of Geoffrey of Monmouth, has, since the accession of Henry VII to the English throne, often been referred to as "The Red Dragon of Cadwaladr". The association with Cadwaladr is a traditional one without any historical basis. Though little is known about the historical Cadwaladr, he became a mythical redeemer figure in Welsh culture. He is a prominent character in the romantic stories of Geoffrey of Monmouth, where he is portrayed as the last in an ancient line to hold the title King of Britain. In Geoffrey's account, he does not die of plague. He renounces his throne in 688 to become a pilgrim, in response to a prophecy that his sacrifice of personal power will bring about a future victory of the Britons over the Anglo Saxons. Geoffrey's story of Cadwaladr's prophecy and trip to Rome is believed to be an embellishment of the events in the life of Cædwalla of Wessex, whom Geoffrey mistakenly conflated with Cadwaladr. For later Welsh commentators, the myth "provided a messianic hope for the future deliverance of Britain from the dominion of the Saxons". (as "Kadwaladyr vendigeit", or "Cadwaladr the Blessed"). Cadwaladr appears to have suffered a major military defeat at the hands of the West Saxons at Pinhoe near Exeter in 658. He is said to have been of a "peaceful and pious" temperament and to have patronised many churches. The St Cadwaladr's Church, Llangadwaladr in Anglesey identifies him as its founder. Cadwaladr's name appears as 'Catgualart' in a section of the Historia Brittonum, where it says he died of a dreadful mortality while he was king. The great plague of 664 is not noted in the Annales Cambriae, but Bede's description makes clear its impact in both Britain and Ireland, where its occurrence is also noted in the Irish Annals. The plague of 682 is not noted by Bede, but the Annales Cambriae note its occurrence in Britain and that Cadwaladr was one of its victims. Both the Annales Cambriae and the Irish Annals note the plague's impact in Ireland in 683, as do other sources. The genealogies in Jesus College MS. 20 and the Harleian genealogies give Cadwaladr as the son of Cadwallon and the father of Idwal Iwrch. Idwal, who fathered the later king Rhodri Molwynog, may have been his successor.

Cadwaladr's name is invoked in a number of literary works such as in the Armes Prydein, an early 10th century prophetic poem from the Book of Taliesin. While the poem's "Cadwaladr" is an emblematic figure, scholars have taken the view that the Cadwaladr of Armes Prydein refers to the historical son of Cadwallon, and that already at this stage he "played a messianic role" of some sort, but "its precise nature remains uncertain". He is typically paired with Conan Meriadoc, the founder of British settlements in Brittany. Conan and Cadwaladr are identified as warriors who will return to restore British power. Armes Prydein says, "Splendour of Cadwaladr, shining and bright, defence of armies in desolate places. Truly he [Conan] will come across the waves, the promise of prophecy in the beginning."

Geoffrey's account of the pilgrimage of Cadwaladr is believed to derive from a confusion between Cadwaladr and his near contemporary Cædwalla of Wessex (reigned 685 – 688). He also conflates Cadwaladr's son Ivor with Cædwalla's successor Ine. According to Bede Cædwalla, king of Wessex, renounced his throne and went to Rome in 688 to be baptised by the pope, dying soon afterwards. Ine took the throne in 689. The argument that Geoffrey confused Cadwaladr with Cædwalla acquired significance in the late 1570s. At that time, when St. Peter's in Rome was being rebuilt, the tombstone of Caedwalla was found, confirming Bede's story that he had died in Rome. Welshmen in Rome, seeking to validate Geoffrey, claimed that the tomb was that of Cadwaladr. This raised the prospect that his sacred bones could be returned to Britain in fulfilment of the prophecy. The English critics stated that Geoffrey had simply mixed up the two kings, and that Cadwaladr's pilgrimage was thus pure fiction. Also traced to Geoffrey's fertile imagination are stories of Ivor ap Alan and Ynyr travelling from Brittany to Britain. The choice of names for Ivor and Ynyr in the stories may be a consequence of spurious additions to the Laws of Edward the Confessor, which inaccurately speak of good relations between Wessex and the Welsh in the reign of King Ine of Wessex (reigned 688 – 726).