Rhodri The Great - Defeat and Death

Defeat and Death

On his return the following year, he and his son Gwriad were said to have been killed by the English, most likely under Ceolwulf II of Mercia, given that West Saxon forces under Alfred the Great were pre-occupied fighting the Vikings in East Anglia. The precise manner of his death is unknown and some versions of the Annales Cambriae claim his brother rather than his son was killed, although it is likely he was killed in battle given that when his son, Anarawd ap Rhodri won a victory over the Mercians a few years later, it was hailed in the annals as "God's vengeance for Rhodri".