Rhodri Molwynog

Who was Rhodri Molwynog?

Rhodri Molwynog, also known as Rhodri ab Idwal was an 8th-century king of Gwynedd. He was listed as a King of the Britons by the Annals of Wales.

This era in the history of Gwynedd is very obscure and, given the lack of reliable information available, several serious histories of medieval Wales—including John Davies's—do not mention Rhodri at all, while others—including John Lloyd's—mention him only in passing, quoting the undated entry of the Annals of Wales recording his death. Phillimore's reconstruction places the entry in the year 754. The Annals do not mention the death of an earlier king within a reasonable time frame, so the date that he became king is not known, nor is the name of his predecessor.

Rhodri's name also appears in genealogies such as those in Jesus College MS. 20 and the Harleian genealogies. It remains, however, unclear to what extent the genealogies at that point were recording the lineage of the Cuneddion dynasty regardless of their rule or recording the rulers regardless of their connection to the main branch of the dynasty.