Pennal, northern Seisyllwg and Carmarthen, Dyfed, A.D. 904-905
Sophistication is the quality of understanding the world and its ways and how people behave. Young Prince Hywel possessed that attribute in rare abundance for his age. Fortunate to have his grandfather, Rhodri the Great, as his family hero and the example to follow, the boy grew up with tales of heroic courage but also of ingenuity and conniving. His father, Cadell ap Rhodri was not the firstborn son and, therefore, did not inherit the throne of Gwynedd when Rhodri fell in battle against the Mercians. That privilege went to Anarawd ap Rhodri, who, at the time, was unmarried. Cadell shrewdly took his new-born son, Anarawd’s first nephew, into his uncle’s embrace. Thenceforth, the soon-to-be King of Gwynedd had a remarkable fond
