Name Suffix:<NSFX> King
Also Known As:<_AKA> Rhodri /Mawr/
REFN: IND5467
The first leader of importance to emerge among the Welsh was the warriorking Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great). In 855 he became king, not only ofPowys, but through skillful alliances and marriages, of a great deal ofthe rest of Wales as well. Successful in warding off attacks, killing inbattle the Viking leader Gorm, Rhodri gave his country a remarkableperiod of unity and stability. Unfortunately for the future of anindependent Wales, his death was followed by a period of internal strife,and the alliance of his sons with the English monarch, Alfred, led toWales's dependence upon the English monarch for protection. This wasperhaps the first sign that the future of Wales was forever more to bedependent upon its stronger neighbor to the East.