Maelgwn Gwynedd - Literary Record

Literary Record

In the Historia Brittonum, Nennius says that "the great king Mailcun reigned among the Britons, i.e., in Gwynedd". He adds that Maelgwn's ancestor Cunedda arrived in Gwynedd 146 years before Maelgwn's reign, coming from Manaw Gododdin, and expelled the Scots with great slaughter.

Maelgwn is not mentioned in the Welsh Triads, but the pestilence that killed him appears as one of the 'Three Dreadful Pestilences of the Isle of Britain'. It is described as the Yellow Plague of Rhos, originating from the carcasses of the dead.

There is an incidental mention of Maelgwn in the song To Maenwyn found in the Red Book of Hergest and attributed to Llywarch Hen. The steward (Welsh: maer) Maenwyn is encouraged to resist a command to surrender his post and show his fidelity to Maelgwn.

In the Book of Llandaff, compiled c. 1125, Maelgwn Gwynedd is claimed to be one of the benefactors of the Diocese of Llandaff in its early years. One of the specific places mentioned is at Louhai (Tintern parva, some 6 miles north of Chepstow), where Maelgwn is claimed as a secular witness to its donation.

As a famous king of the past, Maelgwn has been associated with unsubstantiated but popular legends and stories throughout history. Modern authors have occasionally used his name as a character in fictional stories. These include the trilogies of Traci Harding, Mary Gilgannon's historical novels, and a fantasy novel by Nikolai Tolstoy.