Like Alfred of
Wessex, who lived at the same time and faced the same task, he
stemmed the torrent of Danish invasion and beat the sea-rovers on
their own element. Like Alfred, he left warlike children and
grandchildren. One of the grandsons was Howel the Good, who put the
laws of Wales down in a book.
Wales and England were now, both of them in their own way, trying to
become one country. It was seen by many that strength and peace were
better than division and war. In England, the Earls of Mercia and
Wessex tried to rise into supreme power. In Wales Llywelyn ab
Seisyll, victorious in many battles and wishing for peace, made the
country rich and happy. Still, when he died in 1022, the princes
said they would not obey another over-king.
But the long ships full of Danes came again; the Angles crossed the
Severn: war and misery took the place of peace and plenty.
Griffith, the son of Llywelyn, came to renew his father's work. In
the battle of Rhyd y Groes on the Severn, in 1039, he drove the
Mercians back; in the battle of Pencader, in 1041, he crushed the
opponents of Welsh unity; in 1044 he defeated the sea-rovers at Aber
Towy. At the same time Harold, Earl of Wessex, was making himself
king of England.
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