Rhydderch ap Dyfnwal

Rhydderch ap Dyfnwal (fl. 971) was an eminent tenth-century Cumbrian who slew Cuilén mac Illuilb, King of Alba in 971. Rhydderch was possibly a son of Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde, and could have ruled as King of Strathclyde. Rhydderch appears on record in about 971, when he is said to have killed Cuilén mac Illuilb, King of Alba, a man said to have abducted and raped Rhydderch's daughter. Following Cuilén's death, the Cumbrian Kingdom of Strathclyde endured an invasion by Cuilén's successor, Cináed mac Maíl Choluim, King of Alba. This Scottish attack could have been a retaliatory raid for Rhydderch's actions, and may have been undertaken in the context of restoring Scottish authority over the Cumbrian realm. If Rhydderch ever ruled as king it must have been before 973, when Dyfnwal's son, Máel Coluim, is accorded the title king.

Rhydderch's name as it appears on folio 8v of British Library Cotton Faustina B IX (the Chronicle of Melrose): "Radhardus".

Attestation

Locations relating to the life and times of Rhydderch.

Rhydderch flourished during the reign of Cuilén mac Illuilb, King of Alba. The latter's undisputed reign as King of Alba seems to have spanned from 966 to 971, and appears to have been relatively uneventful. Cuilén's death in 971 is noted by several sources. According to the ninth- to twelfth-century Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, he and his brother, Eochaid, were killed by Britons. The fifteenth- to sixteenth-century Annals of Ulster also reports that Cuilén fell in battle against Britons, whilst the twelfth-century Chronicon Scotorum specifies that Britons killed him within a burning house. The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba locates Cuilén's fall to "Ybandonia". Although this might refer to Abington in South Lanarkshire, a more likely location may be preserved by the twelfth- to thirteenth-century Chronicle of Melrose. This source states that Cuilén was killed at "Loinas", a placename which seems to refer to either Lothian or the Lennox, both plausible locations for an outbreak of hostilities between Scots and Britons. In any event, the account of Cuilén's demise preserved by the twelfth-century Prophecy of Berchán is somewhat different. According to this source, Cuilén met his end whilst "seeking a foreign land", which could indicate that he was attempting to lift taxes from the Cumbrians. The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba identifies Cuilén's killer as Rhydderch, describing him as the son of a man named Dyfnwal, and further reports that Rhydderch slew Cuilén for the sake of his own daughter. The thirteenth-century Verse Chronicle, the Chronicle of Melrose, and the fourteenth-century Chronica gentis Scotorum likewise identify Cuilén's killer as Rhydderch, the father of an abducted daughter raped by the king.

Identification and context

Cuilén's name as it appears on folio 29v of Paris Bibliothèque Nationale Latin 4126 (the Poppleton manuscript): "Culen filius Indulf".

There is reason to suspect that Rhydderch was a son of Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde. Although there is no specific evidence that Rhydderch was himself a king, the fact that Cuilén was involved with his daughter, coupled with the fact that his warband was evidently strong enough to overcome that of Cuilén, suggests that Rhydderch must have been a man of eminent standing. At about the time of Cuilén's demise, a granddaughter of Dyfnwal could well have been in her teens or twenties, and it is possible that the recorded events refer to a visit by the King of Alba to the court of the King of Strathclyde. Such a visit may have taken place in the context of Cuilén exercising his lordship over the Britons. His dramatic death suggests that the Scots severely overstepped the bounds of hospitality, and could indicate that Rhydderch was compelled to fire his own hall. Certainly, such killings are not unknown in Icelandic and Irish sources. The Lothian placename of West Linton appears as Lyntun Ruderic in the twelfth century. The fact that the place name seems to refer to a man named Rhydderch could indicate that this was the place where Cuilén and Eochaid met their end. Another possible scenario concerns the record of Cuilén's father's seizure of Edinburgh preserved by the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, a conquest which would have included at least part of Lothian. The records that appear to locate Cuilén's fall to Lothian, therefore, could indicate that he was in the midst of exercising overlordship of this debatable land when Rhydderch seized the chance to exact revenge upon the abductor of his daughter.

The title of Dyfnwal ab Owain as it appears on folio 33v of Oxford Bodleian Library Rawlinson B 489 (the Annals of Ulster). Irish sources accord him the title rí Bretan ('King of the Britons'). It is unknown if Rhydderch was himself a king. Certainly, the Annals of Ulster accords Dyfnwal's son and successor, Máel Coluim, the title rí Bretan Tuaiscirt ('King of the Northern Britons').

Rhydderch is only attested in sources outlining Cuilén's demise and is not heard of again. Cuilén was succeeded by Cináed mac Maíl Choluim, a fellow member of the Alpínid dynasty. One of Cináed's first acts as King of Alba was evidently an invasion of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. This campaign could well have been a retaliatory response to Cuilén's killing, carried out in the context of crushing a British affront to Scottish authority. Whatever the case, Cináed's invasion ended in defeat, a fact which coupled with Cuilén's killing reveals that the Cumbrian realm was indeed a power to be reckoned with. According to the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, Cináed constructed some sort of fortification on the River Forth, perhaps at the strategically located Fords of Frew near Stirling. One possibility is that this engineering project was undertaken in the context of limiting Cumbrian incursions.

Whilst it is conceivable that Rhydderch could have succeeded Dyfnwal by the time of Cuilén's fall, another possibility is that Dyfnwal was still the king, and that Cináed's strike into Cumbrian territory was the last conflict of Dyfnwal's reign. In fact, Dyfnwal's son Máel Coluim seems to have taken up the Cumbrian kingship by 973, as evidenced by the latter's act of apparent submission to Edgar, King of the English that year. This could indicate that, if Rhydderch was indeed a son of Dyfnwal, he was either dead or unable to reign as king by 973. Rhydderch's name appears in many variations in surviving sources. Whilst some of these names appear to be forms of Rhydderch, an established British name, others are apparently forms of Amdarch, an otherwise unknown name that may be the result of textual corruptions.

References

Primary sources

• Anderson, AO, ed. (1922). Early Sources of Scottish History, A.D. 500 to 1286. Vol. 1. London: Oliver and Boyd. OL 14712679M.
• Anderson, AO (1930). "The Prophecy of Berchan". Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie. 18: 1–56. doi:10.1515/zcph.1930.18.1.1. eISSN 1865-889X. ISSN 0084-5302. S2CID 162902103.
• "Bodleian Library MS. Rawl. B. 489". Early Manuscripts at Oxford University. Oxford Digital Library. n.d. Retrieved 21 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
• "Cotton MS Faustina B IX". British Library. n.d. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
• "Chronicon Scotorum". Corpus of Electronic Texts (24 March 2010 ed.). University College Cork. 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
• "Chronicon Scotorum". Corpus of Electronic Texts (14 May 2012 ed.). University College Cork. 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
• Howlett, D (2000). Caledonian Craftmanship: The Scottish Latin Tradition. Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN 1-85182-455-3.
• Hudson, BT (1996). Prophecy of Berchán: Irish and Scottish High-Kings of the Early Middle Ages. Contributions to the Study of World History. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29567-0. ISSN 0885-9159.
• Lat. 4126. n.d.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
• Skene, WF, ed. (1867). Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and Other Early Memorials of Scottish History. Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House. OL 23286818M.
• Skene, WF, ed. (1871). Johannis de Fordun Chronica Gentis Scotorum. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas. OL 24871486M.
• Skene, WF, ed. (1872). John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish Nation. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas. OL 24871442M.
• Stevenson, J, ed. (1835). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: The Bannatyne Club. OL 13999983M.
• "The Annals of Ulster". Corpus of Electronic Texts (29 August 2008 ed.). University College Cork. 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
• "The Annals of Ulster". Corpus of Electronic Texts (15 August 2012 ed.). University College Cork. 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2016.

Secondary sources

• Barrow, GWS (1973). The Kingdom of the Scots: Government, Church and Society From the Eleventh to the Fourteenth Century. New York: St. Martin's Press.
• Breeze, A (1992). "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 1072 and the Fords of Frew, Scotland". Notes and Queries. 39 (3): 269–270. doi:10.1093/nq/39.3.269. eISSN 1471-6941. ISSN 0029-3970.
• Breeze, A (2007). "Edgar at Chester in 973: A Breton Link?". Northern History. 44 (1): 153–157. doi:10.1179/174587007X165405. eISSN 1745-8706. ISSN 0078-172X. S2CID 161204995.
• Broun, D (1998). "Gaelic Literacy in Eastern Scotland between 1124 and 1249". In Pryce, H (ed.). Literacy in Medieval Celtic Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 183–201. ISBN 0-521-57039-5.
• Broun, D (1999). The Irish Identity of the Kingdom of the Scots in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Studies in Celtic History. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-375-5. ISSN 0261-9865.
• Broun, D (2004a). "Culen (d. 971)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6870. Retrieved 13 June 2016. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Broun, D (2004b). "Kenneth II (d. 995)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15399. Retrieved 3 December 2015. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Broun, D (2004c). "The Welsh Identity of the Kingdom of Strathclyde c.900–c.1200". The Innes Review. 55 (2): 111–180. doi:10.3366/inr.2004.55.2.111. eISSN 1745-5219. ISSN 0020-157X.
• Broun, D (2005). "Contemporary Perspectives on Alexander II's Succession: The Evidence of King-lists". In Oram, RD (ed.). The Reign of Alexander II, 1214–49. The Northern World: North Europe and the Baltic c. 400–1700 AD. Peoples, Economics and Cultures. Leiden: Brill. pp. 79–98. ISBN 90-04-14206-1. ISSN 1569-1462.
• Broun, D (2007). Scottish Independence and the Idea of Britain: From the Picts to Alexander III. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2360-0.
• Broun, D (2015) [1997]. "Cuilén". In Crowcroft, R; Cannon, J (eds.). The Oxford Companion to British History (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199677832.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-967783-2 – via Oxford Reference.
• Busse, PE (2006a). "Cinaed mac Mael Choluim". In Koch, JT (ed.). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 439. ISBN 1-85109-445-8.
• Busse, PE (2006b). "Cuilén Ring mac Illuilb". In Koch, JT (ed.). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 509. ISBN 1-85109-445-8.
• Busse, PE (2006c). "Dyfnwal ab Owain/Domnall mac Eogain". In Koch, JT (ed.). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 639. ISBN 1-85109-445-8.
• Charles-Edwards, TM (2013). Wales and the Britons, 350–1064. The History of Wales. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-821731-2.
• Clarkson, T (2010). The Men of the North: The Britons and Southern Scotland (EPUB). Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 978-1-907909-02-3.
• Clarkson, T (2012) [2011]. The Makers of Scotland: Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings (EPUB). Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited. ISBN 978-1-907909-01-6.
• Clarkson, T (2014). Strathclyde and the Anglo-Saxons in the Viking Age (EPUB). Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 978-1-907909-25-2.
• Davidson, MR (2002). Submission and Imperium in the Early Medieval Insular World (PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh. hdl:1842/23321.
• Edmonds, F (2014). "The Emergence and Transformation of Medieval Cumbria". Scottish Historical Review. 93 (2): 195–216. doi:10.3366/shr.2014.0216. eISSN 1750-0222. ISSN 0036-9241.
• Fraser, JE (2012). "Warfare in Northern Britain, c. 500–1093". In Spiers, EM; Crang, JA; Strickland, MJ (eds.). A Military History of Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 65–93. ISBN 978-0-7486-3204-6.
• Hicks, DA (2003). Language, History and Onomastics in Medieval Cumbria: An Analysis of the Generative Usage of the Cumbric Habitative Generics Cair and Tref (PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh. hdl:1842/7401.
• Hudson, BT (1994). Kings of Celtic Scotland. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29087-3. ISSN 0885-9159. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
• Hudson, BT (1998). "The Scottish Chronicle". Scottish Historical Review. 77 (2): 129–161. doi:10.3366/shr.1998.77.2.129. eISSN 1750-0222. ISSN 0036-9241. JSTOR 25530832.
• Jackson, K (1975). "Review of MO Anderson, Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland". Medium Ævum. 44 (1): 98–101. doi:10.2307/43628094. eISSN 2398-1423. ISSN 0025-8385. JSTOR 43628094.
• Macquarrie, A (1998) [1993]. "The Kings of Strathclyde, c. 400–1018". In Grant, A; Stringer, KJ (eds.). Medieval Scotland: Crown, Lordship and Community. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 1–19. ISBN 0-7486-1110-X.
• Macquarrie, A (2004). "Donald (d. 975)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49382. Retrieved 19 June 2016. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• McGuigan, N (2015). Neither Scotland nor England: Middle Britain, c.850–1150 (PhD thesis). University of St Andrews. hdl:10023/7829.
• Oram, RD (2011) [2001]. The Kings & Queens of Scotland. Brimscombe Port: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-7099-3.
• Thornton, DE (2001). "Edgar and the Eight Kings, AD 973: Textus et Dramatis Personae". Early Medieval Europe. 10 (1): 49–79. doi:10.1111/1468-0254.00079. eISSN 1468-0254. hdl:11693/24776. S2CID 162915120.
• Walker, IW (2013) [2006]. Lords of Alba: The Making of Scotland (EPUB). Brimscombe Port: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-9519-4.
• Williams, A (2004). "An Outing on the Dee: King Edgar at Chester, AD 973". Mediaeval Scandinavia. 14: 229–243.
• Williams, A (2014). "Edgar (943/4–975)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (January 2014 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8463. Retrieved 29 June 2016. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Williams, A; Smyth, AP; Kirby, DP (1991). A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain: England, Scotland and Wales, c.500–c.1050. London: Seaby. ISBN 1-85264-047-2.
• Woolf, A (2007). From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070. The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-1233-8.
• Woolf, A (2009). "Scotland". In Stafford, P (ed.). A Companion to the Early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland, c.500–c.1100. Blackwell Companions to British History. Chichester: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 251–267. ISBN 978-1-405-10628-3.

Media related to Rhydderch ap Dyfnwal at Wikimedia Commons