Editing Maelgwn Gwynedd (section)

== "High king" ==
{{anchor|High king}}

The evidence suggests that Maelgwn held a pre-eminent position over the regions ruled by the descendants of [[Cunedda]], perhaps in the sense of a regional [[high king]]. There is nothing to suggest that Maelgwn held sway over any larger area. Gildas says as much in his condemnation, saying he held a pre-eminence over the other four kings similarly condemned, and also describing him as the "dragon of the island",<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Giles|1841|pp=29}}, ''On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain''</ref> where the [[Isle of Anglesey]] is the ancient stronghold of the kings of Gwynedd.

The fact that Maelgwn's donations to religious foundations are not restricted to the Kingdom of Gwynedd but are spread throughout northern and southern Wales in the regions where the descendants of Cunedda held sway implies that Maelgwn had a responsibility to those regions beyond the responsibilities of a king to his own kingdom.

While the context is not definitive, [[Taliesin]] also implies it, in his ''Marwnad Rhun'' ({{langx|en|Elegy of Rhun}}) that laments the death of Maelgwn's son [[Rhun Hir ap Maelgwn|Rhun]], where he says that Rhun's death is "the fall of the court and girdle of Cunedda".<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Morris-Jones|1918|pp=209–209–211}}, Taliesin's ''Marwnad Rhun'' ({{langx|en|Elegy of Rhun}})</ref>