Rhun ap Maelgwn Gwynedd (died ), also known as Rhun Hir ('Rhun the Tall'), sometimes spelt as "Rhûn", was King of Gwynedd from to . He came to the throne on the death of his father, Maelgwn Gwynedd. There are no historical records of his reign at this early age. A story preserved in both the Venedotian Code and an elegy by Taliesin says that he waged a war against Rhydderch Hael of Alt Clut and the kings of Gododdin or Manaw Gododdin. The small scattered settlement of Caerhun in the Conwy valley is said to be named for him, though without strong authority. Rhun also appears in several medieval literary stories, as well as in the Welsh Triads. His wife was Perwyr ferch Rhûn "Ryfeddfawr" and their son was Beli ap Rhun "Hîr".
Rhun ap Maelgwn appears in the royal genealogies of the Harleian genealogies, – the pedigree is given as: ... map Rotri map mermin map etthil merch cinnan map rotri map Intguaul map Catgualart map Catgollaun map Catman map Iacob map Beli map Run map Mailcun map Catgolaun Iauhir map Eniaun girt map Cuneda map AEtern .... Jesus College MS. 20, – the pedigree is given as ... Cynan tintaeth6y. M. Rodri mol6yna6c. M. Idwal I6rch. M. Kadwaladyr vendigeit. M. Katwalla6n. M. Kad6ga6n. M. Iago. M. Beli. M. Run hir. M. Maelg6n g6yned M. Kadwalla6n lla6hir. M. Einya6n yrth. M. Kuneda wledic. and Hengwrt MS. 202. – katwaladyr vendigeit ap katwalla6n ap katwan ap iago ap beli ap run ap maelg6n g6yned ap einion wwr ap pabo post prydein. Bonedd y Saint ('The Descent of the Saints') says that he is the ancestor of Saint Edeyrn (Bonedd y Saint says that Edeyrn was the great-grandson of Rhun, – Edeyrn, the son of Nudd, or Lludd, ab Beli ab Rhun ab Maelgwn Gwynedd ab Caswallon Law Hir ab Einion Yrth ab Cunedda. while Hengwrt MS. 202 says that he was the grandson of Rhun – Edern ap beli ap run ap maelg6n g6yned ap katwalla6n lla6ir ap einion yrth ap kuneda wledic.).
War with the North The Venedotian Code of the Welsh laws compiled by Iorwerth ap Madog in the early 13th century, A History of Wales, Vol. I. contains a list of the privileges of the men of Arfon. Among the privileges is the right to march in the van of Gwynedd's army, and this is stated to originate from their spirited actions in a war between Rhun of Gwynedd and the Cymric Men of the North () from the kingdoms of Alt Clut and Gododdin or Manaw Gododdin.
Taliesin's Marwnad Rhun ('Elegy of Rhun') also tells of the war and Rhun's death in it. In his comprehensive discussion of the works by and attributed to Taliesin, John Morris-Jones notes that the particulars of the marwnad are everywhere consistent with the historical record and nowhere inconsistent, and are likely to be a product of the 6th century, a view shared by notable sceptics such as Thomas Stephens., Taliesin's Marwnad Rhun (Elegy of Rhun)
The Venedotian Code says that the northern prince Elidyr Mwynfawr ap Gorwst Priodawr ('Elidyr the Courteous, son of Gorwst Priodawr') had been slain at Aber Mewydus (now called "Cadnant", or "Battle Brook") in Arfon, not far from Rhun's llys (royal court) at Llanbeblig. Elidyr's powerful relatives in the North invaded Gwynedd in retaliation, burning Arfon in the process. The Northern host was led by Clydno Eiddin; Nudd Hael, son of Senyllt; Mordaf Hael, son of Serfan; and Rhydderch Hael, son of Tudwal Tudelyd.
These are all notable men of the era who are listed in the royal genealogies of Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd, as is Elidyr Mwynfawr. According to one of the Triads of the Horses, Elidyr was also the husband of Rhun's sister Eurgain.; Eurgain is said to be the daughter of Maelgwn Gwynedd and the wife of Elidyr Mwynfawr in one of the Trioedd y Meirch () of the Welsh Triads.
Rhun then assembled an army and proceeded to the banks of the Gweryd (the banks of the River Forth or the Firth of Forth, which William Forbes Skene says was still called the "Weryd" in 1165), The Four Ancient Books of Wales in the North. The final outcome is not given in the Venedotian Code, but Rhun and his army remained in the North for a considerable length of time., The Privileges of Arfon The outcome according to Taliesin's Marwnad Rhun was the death of Rhun ap Maelgwn in battle. He was succeeded by his son Beli ap Rhun as King of Gwynedd.
The reason why Elidyr was in Gwynedd and the circumstances of his death are not known, though it is certain from their actions that his northern relatives blamed someone in Gwynedd. There are later stories that add speculations, for example by asserting that Elidyr was contesting Rhun's succession to Maelgwn Gwynedd's throne, – for one example of many, where the authors skirt accountability by using terms such as "may have". Here, the authors claim that Elidyr may have been asserting a claim over Gwynedd because "... Rhun being, according to some genealogies, illegitimate." but these are nothing more than speculation.
Caerhun Caerhun ('Fort of Rhun') is the site of the 2nd-century minor Roman fort of Canovium, situated along the Roman road between the larger Roman forts of Deva (at modern Chester) and Segontium (near modern Caernarfon). It is supposed to have been one of Rhun's strongholds, and while definitive evidence of this is lacking, it is circumstantially supported by archaeological research and the antiquity of the name Caerhun. Furthermore, it guards an important crossing of the River Conwy at Tal-y-Cafn which leads to the pass at Bwlch-y-Ddeufaen,, A History of Wales, Vol. I. an entrance to Eryri (Snowdonia), the defensive heartland of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Its military significance would certainly have been noticed by both defenders and potential aggressors.
Rhun in literature The story of The Dream of Rhonabwy in the 12th-century Red Book of Hergest is a prose literary tale in which the main character travels to the time of King Arthur in a dream. There he sees the famous men from many historical eras. In a passage where 24 knights arrive to seek a truce with the famous Arthur, Arthur considers the request by assembling his counsellors where "a tall, auburn, curly-headed man" was standing. Rhonabwy asks who he is, and is told that he is Rhun ap Maelgwn Gwynedd, a man who may join in counsel with anyone because there was none in Britain better skilled in counsel than he., The Dream of Rhonabwy
Marwnad Rhun, once believed to be the work of Taliesin but no longer accepted as such, laments Rhun's death in battle during that War with the North.
Rhun appears in two of the medieval Welsh Triads, as one of the "Fair Princes of the Isle of Britain",, Letters on Welsh History and as one of the "Golden-banded Ones of the Isle of Britain"., Letters on Welsh History
Literary missteps The Tale of Taliesin is a legendary story about Taliesin printed in the Mabinogion, and is based in part on the forgeries of the Iolo Manuscripts by Iolo Morganwg.; see especially the "Notices of Taliesin" on pp. 458–459 The story tells of events where Taliesin is placed in difficult or impossible situations but invariably overcomes all obstacles, usually through feats of magic. In one passage, Maelgwn Gwynedd sends his son Rhun on a mission to seduce the wife of Elffin ap Gwyddno. However, Elffin's court bard Taliesin knew of Maelgwn's plan because he was a seer, and arranged for a servant to replace his patron's wife, to the ultimate embarrassment of his patron's opponent Maelgwn., Taliesin
One of the Triads mentions a certain Rhun ap Beli, Letters on Welsh History, The Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the Kymry who was famed for his military exploits. The name is repeated elsewhere in medieval poetry, such as in Hywel Foel's (fl. c. 1240 – 1300) awdl lamenting the capture and imprisonment of Owain ap Gruffudd, in which he likens Owain to Rhun: "Who if free, like Rhun the son of Beli, Would not let Lloegria burn his borders"., Welsh Poetry from AD 1240–1284 There is no confirming evidence that such a person existed, and it is contradicted by records such as the royal genealogies, which have Rhun as the father (not the son) of Beli. Scholars such as Thomas Stephens have concluded that this is a mistake, and that the intended person was someone else.
See also Family tree of Welsh monarchs
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