Hywel ap Cadell, commonly known as Hywel Dda, which translates to Howel the Good in English, was a Welsh king who ruled the southern Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth and eventually came to rule most of Wal
Statue of Hywel Dda at City Hall, Cardiff
A Welsh text of the Laws of Hywel Dda from the 14th century
Imaginary portrait of Hywel Dda by Hugh Williams, 1909
Cyfraith Hywel, also known as Welsh law, was the system of law practised in medieval Wales before its final conquest by England. Subsequently, the Welsh law's criminal codes were superseded by the Sta
Hywel Dda
…among other medieval Welsh rulers. His name is particularly linked with the codification of traditional Welsh law, which were thenceforth known as the Laws of Hywel Dda. The latter part of his name (Dda, lit. "good") refers to the fact that his laws were just and good. The historian Dafydd Jenkins sees in them compassion…
Modern depiction of Hywel Dda proclaiming the laws
Medieval Kingdoms of Wales
A page from a 13th Century Latin version of the laws of Hywel Dda. NLW, Pen.28
An illumination of a Welsh judge (MS. Peniarth 28)