Rhodri ap Merfyn was the son of Merfyn Frych, who was the King of Gwynedd until his death in 844 and his wife, Queen of Powys. Probably born around 820, not much can be said about his childhood and even if he had siblings it is unknown.
What most sources agree is that when he was twenty four years old, if considering correct he was born in 820, Rhodri succeded his father as King of Gwynedd. Years later, with the death of his mother's brother, he'd also inherit the kingdom of Powys and, from his wife's brother, Seisyllwg as well.
Sometimes considered as King of Wales, despite the concept of nationalism and a whole unified kingdom be more modern, truth is that 80% of Wales Rhodri managed to keep under his rule, considering that ever since Roman invasion Wales was nothing but divided regions whose chiefs claimed ascendancy of Celtic tribes.
However, just as his descendants afterwards, Rhodri would too be a figure of resistance before the English. Yet, naturally, with some differences. England was not unified as we know after the Norman invasions and, like Wales, was filled with regions that had different rulers (Mercia, Northumbria and Wessex, for example), though the Anglo-Saxons from Wessex, under the command of Alfred the Great, desired to unite Wessex and Mercia. Considering these pieces of a future whole kingdom, one must take in consideration how social actors were build these days: if every man is the product of a society, how Rhodri was his?
A man of wars, he was not a knight errant, neither was the son to have a life in Church. Defending his realm against the Vikings, in a battle where he killed their leader, Rhodri's deeds were sang in songs and written in poetries, constituting what in Middle Ages the ideals of knighthood.
"Rhodri's fame sprang from his success as a warrior. That success was noted by The Ulster Chronicle and by Sedulius Scottus, an Irish scholar at the court of the Emperor Charles the Bald at Liege. It was his victory over the Vikings in 856 which brought him international acclaim. Wales was less richly provided with fertile land and with the navigable rivers that attracted the Vikings, and the Welsh kings had considerable success in resisting them. Anglesey bore the brunt of the attacks, and it was there in 856 that Rhodri won his great victory over Horn, the leader of the Danes, much to the delight of the Irish and the Franks."
Best remembered for his victories in battlefield, else there is nothing further about this interesting character. Certainly, it is curious to notice that some sources claim Rhodri to be the first Prince of Wales, whilst others call him 'the first King of all Wales'. Regardless of this, the impression he left on contemporaries and his counterparts are timeless, since Rhodri became the one king to be looked upon.
His death is described as both tragic and somewhat "legendary". This latter is explained by the fact Rhodri the Great faced Alfred the Great in battle field, a "clash of titans" indeed. This fight occurred because of the ambitions of Alfred in expanding his dominions and that included to subdue Wales, something we see in other periods of Wales's History. Here's how this battle is described:
"In 877 the two "Greats", Rhodri and Alfred clashed, and the Welsh leader and his son Gwriad were killed. In the vaccum following Rhodri's death, Welsh kings, perhaps fearing the might of the Danes more than the threat of Alfred, and fearful of the power of Rhodri's sons, submitted to the overlordship of Wessex."
With the death of Rhodri, Wales was divided among Rhodri's son and it would not be united until further centuries. Likewise other Welsh leaders previous discussed, social imagination turned Rhodri as the hero people would always look up to when, through the whole Middle Ages, Welsh attempted to resist England's tyrannies.
Sources:
http://homepages.rpi.edu/~holmes/Hobbies/Genealogy2/ps06/ps06_185.htm
http://www.snowdoniaheritage.info/en/person/116/rhodri-mawr/
http://www.robertsewell.ca/deheubarth.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/royalty_rhodrithegreat.shtml
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=monkeys&id=I14780
http://www.castlewales.com/rhodri.html
http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/WelshMonarchsandPrinces/RhodriMawr.aspx
http://www.britainexpress.com/wales/history/rhodri.htm
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