Morgan ab Owain

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Morgan ab Owain (died 1158) was a Welsh king and Lord of Caerleon. He was a son of Owain Wan and thus a grandson of Caradog ap Gruffydd, the last Welsh king of Gwent. [1]

After Caradog ap Gruffydd was killed in 1081 in the Battle of Mynydd Carn against Rhys ap Tewdwr, his son Owain Wan ruled only over Gwynllŵg. Most of Gwent was conquered by the Anglo-Norman lord Robert Fitzhamon in the following years.

In 1136 Morgan together with his brother Iorwerth murdered Richard FitzGilbert de Clare, the Anglo-Norman lord of Ceredigion, in an ambush during the Welsh revolt after the death of King Henry I. He then captured Caerleon and Usk Castle, [2] thus gaining control of Upper Gwent and Llenfennydd. Although he only ruled over a small territory, he called himself king from that point. Since the neighboring Norman Marcher Lords were themselves involved in the English civil war after the death of Henry I, he was able to hold on to his conquests. In addition, he secured himself through agreements with Robert, Earl of Gloucester and, after his death, with Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford. He and his warriors fought several times as mercenaries in the service of Robert of Gloucester and Roger FitzMiles on the side of Empress Matilda, [3] including "as a terrible Welsh mob" together with Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd and Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in the Battle of Lincoln. [4] In 1154 he was finally recognized by Henry II as Lord of Caerleon, but in 1158 he and his court poet Gwrgant ap Rhys were murdered in a raid north of Caerphilly by Ifor Bach, the Welsh lord of Senghenydd. Although Morgan left at least two sons, Morgan and Hywel, he was succeeded by his brother Iorwerth ab Owain. [5] [ dead link ]

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Morgan ap Hywel was Lord of Gwynllwg in Wales from about 1215 until his death in 1245, and for many years laid claim to the lordship of Caerleon, which had been seized by the Earl of Pembroke. For most of his life he was at peace with the English, at a time when there were periodic revolts by Welsh leaders against their rule. He may have participated in a crusade between 1227 and 1231.

Owain ap Caradog, known as Owain ‘Wan’ was the son and heir of King Caradog ap Gruffydd of Morgannwg, who contested the Kingdom of Deheubarth and was killed in the Battle of Mynydd Carn in 1081. Owain contented himself by ruling the former sub-kingdom and later Lordship of Gwynllwg, while the title of King of Morgannwg went to his relative Iestyn ap Gwrgant, who was subsequently deposed c. 1090 as part of the Norman conquest of Wales. In spite of this Owain continued to hold onto territories between the Rhymney and Usk, and may, probably with some struggle, have held onto some or all of Caerleon, where in 1086 the Domesday book records that a small colony of eight carucates of land was held by Turstin FitzRolf, standard bearer to William the Conqueror at Hastings, under the overlordship of William d'Ecouis, a magnate with lands in Herefordshire, Norfolk and other counties. Also listed on the manor were three Welshmen with as many ploughs and carucates, who continued their Welsh customs.

Iorwerth ab Owain was a Welsh prince of Gwynllŵg and Lord of Caerleon.

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Hywel ab Iorwerth was a Welsh lord of Caerleon.

References

  1. "Welsh Gentry 2". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  2. "Robert Trett: A history of Caerleon Castle".
  3. "David Crouch: Roger (Roger fitz Miles), earl of Hereford (Oxford DNB)".
  4. David Crouch: The march and the welsh Kings. In: Edmund King: The Anarchy of King Stephen's Reign. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford 1994, ISBN 978-0-19-820364-3, p. 277
  5. "David Crouch: Iorwerth ab Owain (Oxford DNB)".