Maelgwyn ap Cadwallon, ruler of Maelienydd, really existed. But this story is a work of fiction, and takes creative license with some well-established historical facts for the sake of crafting a tale. To honor what really was, I would like to acknowledge the more obvious and egregious ways I have played with history. Almost without exception, every change I have made has been in the interest of simplifying an extraordinarily complicated political scenario, and I’ve done this by removing certain real-life figures, consolidating kingdoms, and telescoping the time line.
The land I call Maelienydd was known in earlier times as both “the land between the Severn and the Wye” and Cynllibiuc. In the 1190s, the region was made up of a few smaller kingdoms; the largest of these was Maelienydd, and I have consolidated them all into one kingdom with one ruler. Maelgwyn ap Cadwallon actually died in 1197. At the time of this story (1198–99), Roger Mortimer had control of Castell Cymaron and Maelienydd; he had taken Cymaron in 1195 and Maelgwyn spent the last two years of his life fighting, with the help of Lord Rhys of Deheubarth, to try to win it back. I have fictionalized nothing about the intensity of the Mortimer feud with the native ruling family, and the assassination of Cadwallon (the prologue) is factual. Isabel and Thomas, however, are both my creations, and by extension so are all political and military activities predicated on their existence.
The historical figure most clearly warped by my alterations is Llewelyn ap Iorwerth of Gwynedd, later known as Llewelyn the Great. His trajectory of power did indeed go from a small part of Gwynedd to an enormous swath of Wales. He did not, however, accomplish this in a year, as I have him doing—it took many years and the consistent mandate of the people; by the time he was a real force to be reckoned with in Maelienydd, Maelgwyn was long gone. Accelerating his rise to power as severely as I have risks presenting him as Machiavellian (particularly considering some of his actions in the story)—but he wasn’t. Gwywynwyn of Powys does not appear by name in my story at all, but was a formidable figure of the time. Maelgwyn had brothers and cousins, some of whom ruled small sections of the area I call Maelienydd. I have either ignored them or diminished their significance, for simplicity’s sake. Maelgwyn actually had sons (and daughters), although none of them ever had the chance to rule. There are many other simplifications. In general, in the era of this story, the land between the Severn and the Wye was not as cohesive, safe, or stable as I’ve depicted it.
Although most Welsh rulers of the time were, in written records, known merely as lords or princes, Cadwallon was referred to as “king” by at least one English chronicler, and I have taken the liberty to pass that honor on to his son—who may have been called “king” by his subjects, regardless of what the English called him. Abbey Cwm-hir really existed, including its enormous church; it was founded by Cadwallon. Gerald of Wales (chapter 4) was real, as was the book of his to which Isabel refers—and so was the encounter Maelgwyn had with him.
Depictions of the court, council, laws, and customs are based upon real medieval Welsh law (with very occasional creative license); obviously, both Isabel and Gwirion constantly fly in the face of established convention and get away with it. All folk rituals and formal ceremonies, with the exception of the Spring Rites, are true to life. What we today call “Celtic Christianity” had died out by 1198, but certain core beliefs and values predating Christianity were still deeply imbedded in the popular mind-set. People would have seen nothing heretical about blending native beliefs and myths with Christian dogma into one fairly seamless belief system, which they would have considered fully Christian.
Gwirion is not only fictional, but historically improbable, as the Welsh court had no known position corresponding to the concept of a European fool or jester. The word “gwirion” means both “innocent” and “foolish,” but beyond that is based on the root word for “truth.”