Trahaearn Rhydderch

Trahaearn Rhydderch (born 11 Ochtyr 1524) is a Verlish lawyer, playwright, journalist, politician, diplomat, and an aristocrat by marriage.

Early Life and Education

Rhydderch was born on 11 Ochtyr 1524 on the town of Dudháit, United Kingdom of Hylis and Talamhle. Both of his parents were Talamhlian, from a relatively wealthy and middle-class family. In 1541, he moved to Lythnne where he studied Law and Political Science. During those years, Rhydderch joined the Liberal Student Organization and he is reported to have met Gwendolen Myf Cadwallader. He established himself in Rasswitt in late 1547 as a post-graduate student. His PhD dissertation was titled "The Aristocratic Roots of Liberalism". In Rasswitt he collaborated with the College Theatre.

Literary career

He published "Hyledd", his first and only novel, in 1548. Set in Hylis, the story is both a romance and a critique of Hylis society at the beginning of the 15th century. The novel had a limited reception. The same year he started to write in the Liberal and Progressive press.

Rhydderch's first literary success came with a play, A Hopeful Crime (1550), which earned him the Crewe Prize for Drama. A year later he wrote Lady Simcoein, the first of a series of three plays that enthralled Hylis theatre audiences. Between 1552 and 1563, he wrote another five plays. They often deal with social and political issues, even historical events, although in a subtle way.

His last work is Two Generations (1565) a non-fiction book about his native town.

Political Career

In the 1550s, Rhydderch was elected to the Lower House of the Parliament as an Independent candidate, becoming the youngest member of both houses of the parliament. He often expressed center-left views, focusing on cultural and education policy, along constitutional reform. He failed, however, to be reelected in the new elections.

He has expressed recently his wish to resume his political career.

Diplomatic Career

In an unexpected turn, Rhydderch joined the Foreign Service and from 1560 to 1561 he served as consul in the Kingdom of Abdania and Mordvania. In Alvan 1562, he was appointed executive assistant in the Hylis embassy in Alstaria, a position he held until early 1565.

Political Views

During his early tenure as MP, Rhydderch was known as an ardent Liberal. However, after his return from Brigidnia he seemed to hold more moderate views. On Dosa 12, 1565, he published an article in the Y Talamhlè, a centrist newspaper, titled "The Demise of the Liberal Order", where he predicted a long crisis for the ideals of Democracy and Liberalism as consequence of the pressure and impact of revolutionary and radical ideologies, both from the far-left and the far-right, along the own incapacity of the constitutional order to solve some of the problems of our age.

More recently, he has defended more conservative positions, calling for a stronger state, although under the limits of a constitutional monarchy, and the need of a more energic but prudent foreign policy. In a recent article, Rhydderch defined himself as a "Critical Conservative", who opposes political ideologies based on abstract and even mythical notions. He has also expressed himself in favour of limiting immigration and enacting law & order policies. Rhydderch, however, rejects fiscal conservatism while expressesing support for social welfare policies and even for a slowly reduction of economic inequality. He claims that defense of traditional family and private property should be based on social rather than on moral or religious grounds, while denouncing Fascism as a form of "criminal and anarchic ideology".

Personal Life

In early 1565, it was announced the wedding between Trahaearn Rhydderch and Gwendolen Cadwallader, the young Marchioness of Denbighnockshire. The announcement surprised many, not only because Rhydderch's plebeian origin, but also for the left-wing views he had held in the past. In any case, Gwendolen and Trahaearn married on Alvan 1566. The first son of the couple is expected to born in late 1568.