Latin, Catamanus/English, Gideon

It was Cadfan who, as heir to the throne, took the little Edwin of Deira under his wing and brought him up as his own son. Cadfan fought bravely at the Battle of Caer-Legion (Chester) in 613 when Edwin's sworn enemy, King Æthelfrith of Bernicia, invaded Gwynedd. When it was over, he found himself to be King. The Battle of Bangor-is-Coed followed in quick succession, and the young monarch showed such leadership that he was, afterwards, declared High-King of the Britons. Edwin, meanwhile, thought it prudent to leave Wales for Mercia, thus protecting his foster-father from further attack.

Cadfan was the "wisest and most splendid of all kings" according to his memorial stone which can still be seen today in the church of Llangadwaladr on Ynys Mon (Anglesey). He died there around 625 (though some say 616). He had been a patron of St.Beuno.


"King Cadfan ruled quietly, while his people recovered from the disaster of Chester" where the British of Gwynedd were
defeated in or after 614, severing Wales from the Pennines. "He fought no wars, and his tombstone styles him the `wisest of
kings'. He was a realist, accepting defeat, and turned his wisdom to the consolidation of his kingdom." {-"The Age of
Arthur," John Morris (Scribner's, 1973, pp.238-40)}



Events in the life of Cadfan ap Iago

birth 1 .
ABT 0580.
† death 1 , 2 .
ABT 0625, in Ynys Mon (Anglesey).
event 1 .
0613.
·fought bravely at the Battle of Caer-Legion (Chester) where his father fell
event 1 .
0620.
burial 1 .
·His tombstone survives at Llangadwaladr and reads "Catamanus rex sapientisimus opinatisimus omnium regum."
event 1 .
BEF 0616.
·succeeded to the kingship of all the Britons by engaging in battle Ethelfrith, the Saxon king of Northumbria, and Ethelbert, King of Kent,