The Viking Invasions of England

SWEYN I, in Danish, Svend I, was called Sweyn Forkbeard (960?-1014), king of Denmark (985?-1014). He made an expedition against England in 994 and extorted a large amount of tribute money. Following a massacre of Danes in England in 1002, he conducted a further series of raids and in 1013 led an invasion to effect a permanent conquest. The fall of London and the flight of the English king Ethelred II to Normandy early in 1014 made Sweyn master of the country. After his death the throne of England eventually passed (1016) to his son Canute II. The Danes ruled England until 1042.

OLAF I, full name Olaf Tryggvason (968-1000), was king of Norway from 995 until 1000. A great-grandson of King Harold I, he was brought up in Russia and later participated in numerous Viking raids along the Baltic and North Sea coasts and in the British Isles. During his last campaign, in England (994) with Sweyn I Forkbeard of Denmark, he was converted to Christianity, and the following year he returned to Norway, where a rebellion had erupted against the pagan Earl Hakon (937?-95). The victorious Olaf founded the city of Nidaros (now Trondheim) as his capital and set out to Christianize the country. Olaf's forces were defeated by a coalition consisting of Sweyn Forkbeard, Olaf Skoetkonung (r. 994-1022) of Sweden, and the two sons of Earl Hakon in the naval Battle of Svold (1000), during which Olaf lost his life.

Acknowledgement to Australian Infopedia

The Kings of Wales

In 825, Merfyn Frych became ruler of Gwynedd. He was a firm ruler, who secured his hold over Wales by marrying the daughter of the king of Powys. In 843, he was succeeded by his son Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great). Rhodri was the first Welshman to unite a large part of Wales.
After Rhodri's death in 878, the Welsh kingdoms gradually came under the overlordship of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England. In 918, several Welsh ruling princes paid homage to Edward the Elder. One of these princes was Hywel Dda (Howel the Good), a grandson of Rhodri Mawr and the ruler of Deheubarth. Hywel sought close links with the court of Wessex. In 942, following an unsuccessful rebellion by other Welsh princes against the English, Hywel became master of a united Wales. Hywel Dda is most famous for the codification (writing down) of Welsh laws that took place during his reign. He died in about 950.
Wales again fell into disunity. In 986, after a period of war between the Welsh princes, Hywel Dda's grandson, Maredudd ab Owain, ruler of Deheubarth, conquered Gwynedd and temporarily united Wales once more.
The greatest Welsh ruler to link together the kingdoms of Wales was Gruffydd ap Llewelyn ap Seisyll. He was a descendant of Hywel Dda and Rhodri Mawr. Gruffydd succeeded to the throne of Gwynedd in 1039. After many successful Welsh raids on the English borderlands Gruffydd made territorial gains for his country. He was particularly active against the growing Norman influence in what is now Hereford and Worcester. He also made alliances with the enemies of King Edward the Confessor. Within Wales itself, Gruffydd fought a long campaign against rival kings to win overall control. By 1055, he had become master of Deheubarth and had expanded his rule to the lesser kingdoms of Morgannwg (Glamorgan) and Gwent. In 1063, Earl Harold Godwinsson (later Harold II) and his brother Tostig made a joint attack on Gwynedd. At the same time, Deheubarth rebelled against Gruffydd's rule. Gruffydd fled and was murdered by his own men.

Disunity followed the death of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ap Seisyll in 1063. William I's Norman barons took advantage of this disunity to gain territory in Wales. Native Welsh princes still held the ancient kingdoms of Deheubarth, Gwynedd, and Powys. The Welsh princes resisted the foreign barons.
The most effective ruler of the time was Gruffydd ap Cynan. Gruffydd was born in Ireland, where his parents were in exile. He went to Wales and helped Rhys ap Tewdwr overcome his rival princes. By 1081, Gruffydd was master of Gwynedd. After being imprisoned by the Normans for a time, Gruffydd sought to extend his territories. In 1087, he attacked and killed Baron Robert of Rhuddlan. In 1094, he joined the revolt of Cadwgan. He resisted the Normans with help from the King of Norway.
Gruffydd ruled the whole of North Wales as far east as the River Clwyd. Throughout his reign, he showed great statesmanship. In 1114, he recognized Henry I as his overlord. He died in 1137.

The two major Welsh rulers of the 1100's were Rhys ap Gruffydd and Owain Gwynedd. The death of Owain Gwynedd left Rhys ap Gruffydd as Wales's sole ruler. Rhys was one of Henry's strongest supporters. He held most of Wales for the English king and became known as Yr Arglwydd Rhys (the Lord Rhys). But when Henry died, Rhys rebelled against Henry's successor, Richard I. Rhys died in 1197.
In Gwynedd, one of Owain's many sons, Dafydd, seized the kingdom in 1176. But Llywelyn, son of Dafydd's half-brother Iorwerth and grandson of Owain, drove Dafydd out of Gwynedd in 1194.
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth was the greatest of Wales's native princes. Like his grandfather, he proved a fine politician and a useful soldier. His exploits won him the name Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great).
He recognized King John as his overlord and, in 1206, married John's illegitimate daughter, Joan. With John's help, Llywelyn extended his power to South Wales. By 1215, Llywelyn ruled the whole of Wales outside Norman control. After John's death, Llywelyn paid homage to the young Henry III, and lived in peace with England for most of the rest of his reign.
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth died in 1240 and was succeeded by his son, Dafydd II. Dafydd died in 1246 and the throne passed to his nephew, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Last).
Originally, Llywelyn shared the throne with his brother, Owain Goch (Owain the Red). In 1247, Llywelyn did homage to Henry III and gave him all the land Wales had won east of the River Conwy. In the dispute between Henry and his barons, Llywelyn saw a chance to regain full independence for Wales. He sided with Simon de Montfort, but the barons' cause collapsed after de Montfort's death in 1265. Two years later, Llywelyn was forced to sign a peace treaty that allowed him to hold Wales as a principality, not a kingdom, provided he did homage to the king of England. After Henry III's death in 1272, Llywelyn neglected to do homage to the new king, Edward I. He rose in rebellion against English rule in 1282 and was killed in a skirmish at Cilmeri, near Builth, now in the modern county of Powys.
Independent rule in Wales died with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. Edward is said to have promised to give the Welsh people a prince "who spoke no word of English," and so he gave them his infant son, the future Edward II. Since then, reigning English monarchs have usually given their eldest sons the title Prince of Wales.

Acknowledgement to World Book Encyclopedia