With the withdrawl of the Romans from Britain at the end of the 4th century, there was mounting Saxon pressure from the east and the border area became the ground of many battles.
By the mid 7th century the Saxon settlers had driven the Welsh out of the plains and into the foothills of the mountains.
In the latter half of the seventh and early part of the eighth centuries, the Welsh made a number of efforts to reclaim their land, and it was in response to this that Aethelbald, king of Mercia, built Wat’s Dyke, running northward along the border from what is now Ruabon.
After his reign was over it appears that the fortunes of Powys recovered. Eliseg, king of Powys in the mid eighth century, won a crucial victory against the English, saving the inheritance of Powys. Offa succeeded Aethelbald as king of Mercia and also made a number of attacks on the Welsh border. It was during his reign (757 to 796) that the remarkable structure known as Offa’s Dyke was probably constructed.
Eliseg’s great grandson Cyngen, was the last in line of that dynasty of Powys. He erected a cross in memory of his great grandfather sometime between coming to power in 808 and his death in 854. Eliseg’s pillar, near to Valle Crucis Abbey, is what remains of the cross. It is one of the oldest inscribed monuments in Wales, and the valley afterwards became known as Pant y Groes (Valley of the Cross), after which Valle Crucis Abbey was named. The cross was knocked down and broken during the civil war of 1642 to 1646, but fortunately Edward Lhuyd recorded the original inscription, now totally worn away, when he passed the fallen pillar in 1696. In 1779 the remaining pillar was re-erected by Edward Lloyd of Trevor Hall and at that time, the tumulus on which it stands was opened, revealing the skeleton of a tall man with a gilded skull. The remains were re-interred but the men who uncovered the body said that the bones ‘broke like gingerbread’.
Lhuyd’s transcription (part of which is shown above) records a vital piece of history – a contemporary inscription from the Dark Ages containing a genealogical record of the kings of Powys that can be compared with later documents.
Cyngen, having no children, was succeeded by Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the great), son of his sister Nest and Merfyn, Frych (Merfyn the freckled), and thus the second ruling house was founded.
At the end of the 9th century Alfred came to power in England and some of the smaller Welsh rulers asked for his patronage. It would appear that this included Anarawd ap Rhodri, king of Gwynedd and Powys.
In 1039 Gruffud ap Llewelyn killed Iago ab Idwal, great great grandson of Anarawd, and so became ruler of Gwynedd and Powys. He set his sights further afield, and by 1057 ruled all of Wales. He also managed to re-claim some lands beyond Offa’s Dyke, but revenge came in 1063 when Gruffud was killed by Harold in Snowdonia. Elected king of England 3 years later, Harold’s victory was short lived, and everything changed with the coming of the Normans in 1066.
