The Welsh Rebellion occurred during the 880s when the Welsh principalities of Gliwissig and Gwent rebelled against their Anglo-Saxon overlord, King Alfred the Great of Wessex. Gliwissig was the first to rise against King Alfred, while Gwent followed shortly after the arrival of Aelfwald's Saxon army. Ultimately, the Welsh rebels failed to coordinate an effective response to the invasion, and they were both forcefully conquered and deprived of their autonomy.
Background[]
The Brythonic kingdoms of Wales had been rivals with the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy for centuries, starting with the Saxon invasions of the British Isles during the late 5th century. By the start of the 9th century AD, the Britons were confined to the corners of Britannia, namely Alt Clud in Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall. The start of the Viking invasions of England in 867 presented the Britons with an opportunity to throw off the Saxon yoke, and, in 879, Mercia's invasion of Wales caused Gwynedd to co-opt the nearby factions and unite them against the Saxon threat in the east. The Mercians - who were forced to battle the Vikings of Djurby to the east and Northymbre to the north, as well as the Welsh - were unable to deal with the pressure, allowing for Welsh and Danish armies to conquer large parts of the kingdom.
Mercia was not the only Saxon kingdom with a stake in Welsh affairs, however. Wessex, ruled by King Alfred the Great, was the overlord of the southern Welsh kingdoms of Gliwissig and Gwent, both of which paid tribute to King Alfred in exchange for a great deal of autonomy. However, Gwynedd's successes against the Mercians and the rising power of Wessex persuaded King Owin of Gliwissig to declare independence from Wessex and break free of Saxon rule. Gwent initially stayed loyal to King Alfred, and its allegiance to Wessex forestalled any attempt by Gliwissig to attack Wessex's possessions.
King Alfred sought to crush the Welsh rebellion after Gliwissig's emissaries refused to consider peace or returning to the fold, and he dispatched his general Aelfwald from Southampton with a sizeable army. Aelfwald brought his army across South West England before sailing across the River Severn and making landfall to the west of Gwent's capital of Cair Gwent (Caerwent, Monmouthshire).
Rebellion[]
Gwentish campaign[]
In the autumn of 883, the West Saxon army disembarked onto friendly Gwentmen territory in South Wales. That winter, however, King Bledri of Gwent decided to take up arms with his Welsh neighbors against foreign hegemony, forcing Aelfwald to lay siege to the Gwentmen capital of Cair Gwent. The West Saxon army was smaller than the defending army and garrison of Caerwent, so Aelfwald decided to instead starve out the defenders. He remained in command of the army until the autumn of 884, when he was ordered back to Winchester and beheaded for holding a treacherous secret council in opposition to King Alfred. The King's nephew Aethelhelm assumed command of the army, continuing the siege until Bledri sortied against the besiegers. The ensuing battle saw King Bledri rashly attack the Saxons without waiting for his reinforcements, and he and his army were slaughtered before the Saxons did the same to the garrison reinforcements. In the winter, the West Saxons took the city by storm, destroying the significantly depleted garrison and putting an end to Gwent's independence.
Crushing Gliwissig[]
The West Saxons then turned their attention to Gliwissig, and, in the spring of 885, Aethelhelm marched his army into southern Glamorgan to attack the city of Dinas Powis. He faced a mere 19 Gliwissig troops under Arthwail in the city, and the West Saxons took the city with just 16 losses, occupying the city. King Owin responded by marching his army from Lann Ildut to attack the West Saxons in the newly-captured town. The ensuing Battle of Dinas Powis was a disaster for Gliwissig, which lost its king early in the battle; the vast majority of the Welsh army was slain, and its remnants under Tewdur bypassed Lann Ildut during its retreat towards Nedd, leaving the town open to attack. In the summer, Aethelhelm took Lann Ildut without resistance and then killed the general Senill on the city outskirts. In the autumn, Tewdur's army returned east to reoccupy Lann Ildut, but, that same month, the Saxons stormed and reconquered Lann Ildut, destroying Tewdur's army.
In the winter of 885 AD, Aethelhelm and his army marched on the last Welsh rebel stronghold, Nedd (Neath), which was defended by King Maic of Gliwissig and the remnants of his army. Aethelhelm's army braved the winter snows (which caused around 50 of his men to die of illness or deesert) and, in the spring of 886 AD, they attacked Nedd itself. In the ensuing battle, King Maic was slain and his men were massacred after a brave last stand, and King Alfred decided to annex Gliwissig rather than create another puppet state. Wessex was now in control of South Wales from the Severn in the east to the Loughor in the west.
Aftermath[]
The Welsh Rebellion had a few major effects on Anglo-Welsh history. Firstly, it led to the start of Wessex's military involvement in Wales at a time when King Alfred wished to focus on conquering the Danelaw; now, Wessex kept a watchful eye on Cambrian political developments and eventually allied with Dewet as a means of controlling the rest of Wales without the need for another bloody war. Secondly, it provoked a Cornish uprising which was crushed by Earl Odda of Devon, a loyal subject of Alfred; Cornwall was subsequently added to the Earldom of Devon's territory. Thirdly, it led to instability in Wales which allowed for the Vikings of Veisafjordr to conquer much of North Wales (including Anglesey), taking over several small, rebel-held settlements. Dyflin later annexed these settlements during the assertion of their control over the other Hiberno-Norse kingdoms, but, by the turn of the 10th century, all of these settlements would be lost to an expansionist Dewet.