father majesty|name predecessor house death_date title birth_date spouse issue image article_title reign
cadell ap rhodri hywel dda idwal foel ap anarawd house of dinefwr 950 king seisyllwg and deheubarth of dyfed , powys and gwynedd prince of c. 880 elen ferch llywarch owain ap hywel rhodri ap hywel edwin ap hywel laws -rrb- king hywel cropped.jpg of hywel dda -lrb- f. 1 . v hywel dda
 942 -- 950
hywel dda

hywel dda -lrb- -rrb- or hywel ap cadell -lrb- c. 880 -- 950 -rrb- was a king of deheubarth who eventually came to rule most of wales .
he became the sole king of seisyllwg in 920 and shortly thereafter established deheubarth , and proceeded to gain control over the entire country from prestatyn to pembroke .
as a descendant of rhodri mawr through his father cadell , hywel was a member of the dinefwr branch of the dynasty .
he was recorded as king of the britons in the `` annales cambriae '' and the `` annals of ulster '' .
hywel is highly esteemed 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 -lrb- `` dda '' , lit .
`` good '' -rrb- refers to the fact that his laws were just and good .
the historian dafydd jenkins sees in them compassion rather than punishment , plenty of common sense and recognition of the rights of women .
hywel dda was a well-educated man even by modern standards , having a good knowledge of welsh , latin , and english .
the office building and original home of the national assembly for wales is named tŷ hywel -lrb- `` hywel house '' or `` hywel 's house '' -rrb- in honour of hywel dda .
the original assembly chamber , now known as siambr hywel -lrb- `` hywel 's chamber '' -rrb- , is used for educational courses and for children and young people 's debates .
the local health board of south-west wales also bears his name .
