#hywel dda

[gawrkin]

The French Arthurian Narratives really, really, really don't gel with Welsh Law.

So basically:

Morgan would have just divorce Urien using any bullshit excuse, backed up by magic.

Lancelot would've just paid blood-money for damages done to Arthur and Gawain's kin. (Not that it would stop Gawain if Gareth - and specifically Gareth - is killed, but still)

Guinevere would have just been divorced, beaten and/or humiliated like Rhiannon, but death penalty would have been unnecessary and excessive, especially if Arthur's sympathetic to his wife.

Arthur and Guinevere could've initiated divorce anytime for any reason. Especially, when there's a seven-year time period of cohabitation that determines whether or not Gwen is entitled to half of Arthur's property. Childless!Guinevere really makes it even questionable that Guinevere could've kept her queenship past three years, much less seven.

So, all in all, the Arthurian story we know and love only works if its culturally the French High Middle Ages (12-13th Century)

[bunger-royale]

Thinking about The Laws of Hywel Dda again, specifically the "if a hungry person passes through 3 towns without being fed, he cannot be charged with a crime if he steals food" part. This implies there is a societal obligation to feed the hungry that has to start at the most basic communal level.

For a modern Welsh state this is tantamount to suggesting that if the state has an obligation to uphold the law, it has an obligation to feed those in food poverty. From a legal standpoint it is unlawful and culturally offensive/insensitive for there to NOT be welfare systems in place that do this.

PLUS, it raises the question of waiving sentencing for shoplifting upon those who can prove they live in absolute poverty. A business or chain that attempts to prosecute or punish a shoplifter who specifically steals food to satisfy an immediate hunger need, is arguably practicing a culturally offensive/insensitive act.

If a company commits to punishing shoplifters like this, should they even be allowed to do business in the country, as it would be repeatedly failing to commit to both the law and the culture of the country?

[coloursofunison]

My new book, Clash of Kings, has a number of main characters. Meet Lady Eadgifu.

My new book, Clash of Kings, has a number of main characters. Meet Lady Eadgifu. #histfic #NewRelease #ClashOfKings

Clash of Kings has a number of characters, and some might be surprised to find Lady Eadgifu amongst them, but she was an incredibly important historical character, and I couldn’t leave her out of the narrative set at the English court. Lady Eadgifu was the third wife of Edward the Elder (r.899-924), king of the Anglo-Saxons. Edward the Elder was the father of King Athelstan, and a whole host of…

[gingersnaptaff]

I absolutely do find it hilarious that under Welsh law Gwenhwyfar has numerous reasons she could divorce Arthur, but instead, she just has numerous affairs. A problematic queen.

(It's easier to list who she doesn't have an affair with but, off the top of my head, Cai, Gwalchmai, surprisingly NOT Bedwyr although I know authors use him as a stand-in for when Lancelot doesn't fit in with their work, Melwas (as previously discussed, who was almost certainly a fae lord in the earliest tradition), Edern ap Nudd (Gwyn ap Nudd's brother), and Medrawd, when he isn't married to her sister, I assume.) And Enid if you are like me and believe that their sleepover in Geraint ac Enid was sapphic. She really was living her best life.

Tbf Arthur has like three (maybe four?) mistresses according to Welsh tradition so y'know, it wasn't like he was slacking either.

Not that I condone cheating. I just find it very v very funny that there was a legitimate way out and she utterly refused to take it. I recommend this paper if u wanna learn more about Welsh divorces:

[anragaire]

Watching Uhtred enable Aethelstan's conquest of Gaelic and Brittonic kingdoms:

[kylobith]

My essay is due in three hours and I am NOT ready

[scotianostra]

On 12 July 927 King Constantín mac Áeda, King Hywel Dda , Ealdred of Bamburgh, and King Owain ap Dyfnwal gathered at Eamont, near Penrith, to accept Æthelstan as their overlord.

Æthelstan was king of the Anglo Saxons and later England, regarded by many as their first King, Constantín mac Áeda, giving him his old Gaelic name, was King of Alba, mostly covering lands around the Tay down to the Forth, King Hywel Dda, it won't surprise you was ruler of Wales, Ealdred of Bamburgh, King of Northumberland and Owain ap Dyfnwal ruled Strathclyde, which included parts of modern day Cumbria.

After defeating the Norsemen at York Æthelstan started to stamp his authority in the North and according to the ‘Annals of Ulster’ in 927 AD Constantine and Owain had met with Æthelstan, on what was probably the Northumbria/Strathclyde border, where:

“... they surrendered themselves and their kingdoms to the sovereign of England. Out of regard to this treaty, the king himself stood as sponsor for the son of Constantine, who was ordered to be baptized at the sacred font.”

The ‘Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’ also records the meeting its list of attendees differed and it's a wee bit more dramatic, so I'll classify it as the tabloid of the day!! “In this year [927] fiery beams of light appeared in the north part of the sky. And Sihtric died; and King Athelstan succeeded to the kingdom of the Northumbrians, and he subjugated all the kings that were in this island: first, Hywel king of the West Welsh, and Constantine king of the Scots, and Owain king of Gwent, and Ealdred son of Eadwulf from Bamburgh:+ and with pledge and with oaths they confirmed peace, in the place called Eamont, on the 4th of the Ides of July [12th July], and renounced every kind of idolatry; and after that departed in peace.”

It led to six years of peace between the Northern Kings and the new King of England, by 934 things had taken a turn as “In this year King Athelstan went into Scotland, with both a land-force and a ship-force, and ravaged a great part of it.”

Other sources tell that Constantine's son was taken to England as a hostage to keep the peace.

There is loads more info on how things developed in the tenth century and beyond here http://www.dot-domesday.me.uk/athelstan.htm

The map shows you how the countries were laid out back in the 10th century.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

What did hywel dda's kids do? (Sorry if this sent twice tumblr keeps thinking im a robot)

Yeah we've all been there

Okay so the issue is Old to Medieval Welsh inheritance laws. Post-Romans, Wales was split into a handful of kingdoms, Saxons having a go in the east (and failing lol, get mountained idiots), and all the engineers who remembered how to make hypocaust central heating were gone. And then along comes Hywel Dda, with a dream and also an army.

He's already king in his own kingdom, right, but his brother dies and leaves him Seisyllwg which he joins with Dyfed to create Deheubarth; he also Gwynedd and Powys from his nephews, this giving him the north. As a final flourish, he forges an alliance with a Saxon king, and thus gets Gwent and Glywysing; meaning, in short, that for the first time in history, the actual country of Wales is formed and united under one ruler. He was, very literally, the first King of Wales.

And what he does with that power is amazing. Proper golden era shit. He enacts the Laws of Hywel Dda, a legal system based on compensation and rehabilitation, to tackle crime in place of the "Just hang them" system - it's a justice system that's notable for its incredibly progressive protections and rights for women, in fact, because the rest of Europe was LACKING in that regard. He makes it illegal for someone to be charged for stealing bread, as long as they were 'starving' i.e. had passed through two towns without eating before the theft. He commences progressive healthcare systems. He starts projects to educate the masses. He does many fabulous and wonderful things, and probably gives great head.

And then he dies and, in accordance with Welsh inheritance laws, splits Wales back into three kingdoms to give a piece each to his three sons, and Gwynedd is reclaimed by the nephews, and that's that.

Well. It was nice while it lasted.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.12 (before 1920)

70 – The armies of Titus attack the walls of Jerusalem after a six-month siege. Three days later they breach the walls, which enables the army to destroy the Second Temple. 927 – King Constantine II of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred of Bamburgh and King Owain of the Cumbrians accepted the overlordship of King Æthelstan of England, leading to seven years of peace in the north. 1191 – Third Crusade: Saladin's garrison surrenders to Philip Augustus, ending the two-year siege of Acre. 1335 – Pope Benedict XII issues the papal bull Fulgens sicut stella matutina to reform the Cistercian Order. 1470 – The Ottomans capture Euboea. 1488 – Joseon Dynasty official Choe Bu returned to Korea after months of shipwrecked travel in China. 1493 – Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle, one of the best-documented early printed books, is published. 1527 – Lê Cung Hoàng ceded the throne to Mạc Đăng Dung, ending the Lê dynasty and starting the Mạc dynasty. 1543 – King Henry VIII of England marries his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace. 1562 – Fray Diego de Landa, acting Bishop of Yucatán, burns the sacred idols and books of the Maya. 1576 – Mughal Empire annexes Bengal after defeating the Bengal Sultanate at the Battle of Rajmahal. 1580 – The Ostrog Bible, one of the early printed Bibles in a Slavic language, is published. 1691 – Battle of Aughrim (Julian calendar): The decisive victory of William III of England's forces in Ireland. 1776 – Captain James Cook begins his third voyage. 1789 – In response to the dismissal of the French finance minister Jacques Necker, the radical journalist Camille Desmoulins gives a speech which results in the storming of the Bastille two days later. 1790 – The Civil Constitution of the Clergy is passed in France by the National Constituent Assembly. 1799 – Ranjit Singh conquers Lahore and becomes Maharaja of the Punjab (Sikh Empire). 1801 – British ships inflict heavy damage on Spanish and French ships in the Second Battle of Algeciras. 1806 – At the insistence of Napoleon, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg and thirteen minor principalities leave the Holy Roman Empire and form the Confederation of the Rhine. 1812 – The American Army of the Northwest briefly occupies the Upper Canadian settlement at what is now at Windsor, Ontario. 1862 – The Medal of Honor is authorized by the United States Congress. 1913 – Serbian forces begin their siege of the Bulgarian city of Vidin; the siege is later called off when the war ends. 1913 – The Second Revolution breaks out against the Beiyang government, as Li Liejun proclaims Jiangxi independent from the Republic of China. 1917 – The Bisbee Deportation occurs as vigilantes kidnap and deport nearly 1,300 striking miners and others from Bisbee, Arizona. 1918 – The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Kawachi blows up at Shunan, western Honshu, Japan, killing at least 621.

[tunglo]

Prompt anakin is still a virgin. Obikin wedding-night

I combined this one with - I see that we've been torturing poor little meow meow recently, so how about Anakin struggling with his depression. maybe Obi-Wan has to comfort him or even just drag him out of bed because it's the middle of the afternoon. what can I say, I like projecting onto blorbo from my show and teen anakin is kidnapped. - to come up with some sad fic about Anakin realising he hasn't been following the Code properly...

(Because, I know, this doesn't answer your prompt at all but it's like 100% the result of it. I got this while doing some work on Hywel Dda (medieval welsh law) - virginity is a legal construct/property that can be stolen but also restored via payment of fines/castration of the thief - and kept thinking how tragic it would be if Anakin's understanding of virginity / being chaste was completely out of line with the Jedi's because of his upbringing...)

1300 words | rated M

[gawrkin]

Oof, Vulgate!Arthur...

BTW, the Cyfraith Hywel was codified by King Hywel Dda in the 10th Century from Oral traditions preserved by Bards and Jurists of the time.

If Camelot/Logres' culture was anything like this...

[bunger-royale]

In my opinion Hywel Dda law is correct in saying that insult should be subject to fines and compensation from the aggressor to the victim. Insult is extremely common and a constant source of social disharmony, and people should make amends for it, even if it's not via a fine.

In politics and on big issues the hatemongers and Tories rely on this unlawful and abusive state of constant insults, sites like Twitter are a platform where insult is a normal form of communication. Imagine a society where this is intolerable and amends must be made for all insults.

[coloursofunison]

My new book, Clash of Kings, has a number of main characters. Meet Hywel, the king of the Welsh.

My new book, Clash of Kings, has a number of main characters. Meet Hywel, the king of the Welsh. #histfic #newrelease #ClashOfKings #Brunanburh

My new book, Clash of Kings, is a multi-viewpoint novel telling the story of events in Britain from 937-942. I thought it would be good to share details of the historical people my main characters are based on. My portrayal of Hywel, better known as Hywel Dda (which autocorrect is determined should say Dad), and which means ‘good’ (a unique epithet in Wales), is of course, fictional, but who was…

[gingersnaptaff]

(Okay, so I know I said I was gonna do marriage laws and queenship stuff in regards to welsh laws - and I will! - but here is a nice, quick round-up about BARDS

*SHREDS ON A HARP*

Okay, so this is inspired by @gawrkin 's recent posts on bards because the laws surrounding them are SUPER FUN. And Wales LOVES LOVES LOVES their bards. (Myself included.)

Right, so, without further ado, ONWARDS.

*shreds harp aggressively again*

So the 'spurious triads' the author is referring to are presumably to do with IOLO MORGANNWG *ominous thunderclap*.

I shan't go too much into him as suffice to say, we gotta keep this shit SHORT, but he was a massive forger from Glamorgan (that's what Morgannwg means. It's his bardic name. Iolo is Edward.) who made up a bunch of triads and Celtic / medieval manuscripts including some of the Welsh Triads. Also, he is the reason why the Eisteddfod has the Gorsedd of bards.

So a mixed bag, y'know.

ANYWAY. They're very high-rank on account of being the literally Yellow Pages of Celtic and medieval Welsh societies. If you had a question that needed answering you'd ask a bard. They were like Google. They would know a man's lineage (and Welsh lineages are confusing. There were men named Dafydd ap Dafydd ap Dafydd ap Dafydd. No, I'm not joking.) battles, monarchs, myths, songs, stories. Anything.

And they had to SING. And play an instrument. Namely either a harp or a crwth.

This baby is crwth! It's a little like a violin but much darker in tone. They were extinct for a while but they've undergone a revival and they are FUN!

Also, the court bard had to SING to the queen about Camlann 'in a low voice.' I've heard various reasons suggested as to why and one of them is to remind her that Gwenhwyfar's infidelity was the main reason for King Arthur's downfall, but I think it's probably because of The Slap. Idk though. I'm just guessing, buddies.

Still, it's cool that the queen got a special sing-song.

Also, the bard being 'invested with a chess board' suggests to me that the game of Gwyddbwyll that Arthur and Owain play in the Mabinogion signals that they're bards. Gwyddbwyll being the type of chess the bards would've been familiar with. Plus, we know Arthur is somewhat of an amateur bard (Culhwch and Olwen being the prime example where he sings his terrible englyn about Cai to his face. Arthur, ur a fuckin BASTARD.) so it's in keeping with his character.

Also, I think it's adorable that the harp 'always descended to the youngest son.'

If you want a story that deals with bards and their privileged position in Welsh society and also wants ur heart RIPPED OUT may I suggest 'The Assembly of the Severed Head' by Hugh Lupton. It deals with a bard in a monastery after he's almost perished in a raid and the monks writing out the Mabinogion so they can give it to Llywelyn Fawr. It deals with war, love, loss, and also stonking good historical context. Also lots of poetry!!!!

Final fact: bards in Wales weren't wiped out by Edward the First. That's a fuckin myth. Don't come round here with ur fuckin myths. Old Longshanks has done enough already. May he eat shit.

(Also, Taliesin gets all the good rep but what about my boy Aneirin?)

Okay, BYEEEEE!!!!

P.S.: have an Eisteddfod chair!

[destinyisall-tlk]

https://www.tumblr.com/destinyisall-tlk/718708312302043136/my-theory-when-i-first-watched-skmd-was-that-the-7

I thought the seven kings were

• Owain, the King of Strathclyde

• Anlaf, the Viking King of Dublin

• Hywel Dda, the King of Deheubarth

• Constantin, the King of Alba

• that King of Orkney

• that King of Shetland

and finally • that King of Man (they were all around the table when Uhtred was taken to the Shetland isles

and my theory was that all the heirs of those 7 kings would die but it turns out only 5 heirs died in that battle (Domnal and four other heirs to the Danish kings) |

but it turns out it was those 5 heirs and then King Edwards death made 6 and then if Uhtred died it would make 7

okay, i went back and skimmed through the movie. this is what finan narrated after the battle:

"five kings escaped the field that day, but their sons, orkney, man, shetland, strathclyde, and scotland, did not".

like you said, that makes 5 heirs + edward = 6 kings (five of them were future kings while edward was a king when he died). i might be overthinking this, but which kings are the heirs "man" and "scotland" of? i don't remember constantin having any heirs. anlaf had a daughter, right? oh my gosh, i'm confusing myself so much, ahaha.

then at the very end when uhtred was looking back and forth between valhalla and bebbanburg, finan said:

"did seven kings die? the chronicles do not record if my lord uhtred survived. but those like me, who knew him, recognize him as the greatest warrior of our age, and a man who made a kingdom".

so based off that, i still don't know if uhtred counts. he was never an official king, but his people most likely recognized him as one. so, his death and whether or not you would label him as a king, i feel, is open to interpretation.

i'm also confusing myself on where aelfweard fits in. he's technically an heir to the throne as well. and my understanding is that aethelstan killed him so aelfweard couldn't challenge him for the throne anymore.

[hccentral-jobs]

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