Editing Cadwaladr (section)

{{Short description|Kingdom of Gwynedd from c. 655 to 682}}
{{other people||Cadwaladr (name)}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name        = Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon
| succession  = [[List of rulers of Gwynedd|King of Gwynedd]]
| image       = Llandaf, yr eglwys gadeiriol Llandaf Cathedral De Cymru South Wales 165.JPG
| caption     = Stained glass window depicting Cadwaladr in [[Llandaff Cathedral]] (Charles Powell, 1919)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stainedglass.llgc.org.uk/object/1869 |title=King Arthur, King Tewdrig and King Cadwaladr |website=Stained Glass in Wales |publisher=National Library of Wales |access-date=27 November 2023}}</ref>
| reign       = c. 655 – 682
| predecessor = [[Cadafael Cadomedd ap Cynfeddw|Cadafael]]
| successor   = [[Idwal Iwrch]] (uncertain)
| house       = [[Kingdom of Gwynedd|House of Gwynedd]]
| spouse      = 
| issue       = [[Idwal Iwrch]]
| father      = [[Cadwallon ap Cadfan]]
| death_date  = 682
| burial      = 
}}

'''Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon''' (also spelled '''Cadwalader''' or '''Cadwallader''' in English) was [[List of rulers of Gwynedd|king of Gwynedd]] in [[Wales]] from around 655 to 664 or 682. He died in one of two devastating plagues that happened in 664 and in 682. Little else is known of his reign.

The [[Welsh Dragon|red dragon]] ({{langx|cy|y Ddraig Goch}}), long known as a Welsh symbol, appearing in the ''[[Mabinogion]]'', the ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'', and the stories of [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]], has, since the accession of [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] to the [[Kingdom of England|English throne]], often been referred to as "The Red Dragon of Cadwaladr". The association with Cadwaladr is a traditional one without any historical basis.

Though little is known about the historical Cadwaladr, he became a mythical redeemer figure in Welsh culture. He is a prominent character in the [[Romance (heroic literature)|romantic]] stories of [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]], where he is portrayed as the last in an ancient line to hold the title [[List of legendary kings of Britain|King of Britain]]. In Geoffrey's account, he does not die of plague. He renounces his throne in 688 to become a pilgrim, in response to a prophecy that his sacrifice of personal power will bring about a future victory of the Britons over the [[Anglo-Saxons]]. Geoffrey's story of Cadwaladr's prophecy and trip to [[Rome]] is believed to be an embellishment of the events in the life of [[Cædwalla|Cædwalla of Wessex]], whom Geoffrey mistakenly conflated with '''Cadwaladr'''.

For later Welsh commentators, the myth "provided a messianic hope for the future deliverance of Britain from the dominion of the Saxons".<ref name = "nice"/> It was also used by both the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions during the [[Wars of the Roses]] to claim that their candidate would fulfil the prophecy by restoring the authentic lineage stemming from Cadwaladr.