Ffernfael ab Idwal or Ithel (died ) was a late 8th-century

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of Gwent in southeast

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. His name seems to mean "strong ankles".Todd, James H. & al. (trans.)
''Leabhar breathnach annso sis'': the Irish version of the ''Historia Britonum'' of Nennius
'. Irish Archaeological Society (Dublin), 1848. Accessed 12 Feb 2013. His father was Idwal or

Ithel ap Morgan Ithel or Idwal ap Morgan was a king of Gwent and Glywysing (i.e., Morgannwg) in southeastern Wales. His father was Morgan the Generous, the probable namesake of the later realm of Morgannwg (whence modern Glamorgan).Lloyd, John E. ''A History ...

Glywyssing Glywysing was, from the sub-Roman period to the Early Middle Ages, a petty kingdom in south-east Wales. Its people were descended from the Iron Age tribe of the Silures, and frequently in union with Gwent, merging to form Morgannwg. Name a ...

, Gwent, and

Ergyng Ergyng (or Erging) was a Welsh kingdom of the sub-Roman and early medieval period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English as ''Archenfield''. Location The kingdom lay mostly in what is now western Herefordshir ...

. His father may have divided the kingdom among his sons, with

Rhys Rhys or Rhŷs is a popular Welsh given name (usually male) that is famous in Welsh history and is also used as a surname. It originates from Deheubarth, an old region of South West Wales, with famous kings such as Rhys ap Tewdwr. It is pronounced ...

receiving Glywyssing and Ffernfael, much of Gwent. (Ergyng was apparently lost to Saxon

Hwicce Hwicce () was a tribal kingdom in Anglo-Saxon England. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the kingdom was established in 577, after the Battle of Deorham. After 628, the kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia as a result of the ...

around this time.) Alternatively, Ffernfael's brothers

Rhodri Rhodri is a male first name of Welsh origin. It is derived from the elements ''rhod'' "wheel" and ''rhi'' "king". It may refer to the following people: *Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal (690–754), Welsh king of Gwynedd (720—754) * Rhodri Mawr ap ...

and Rhys and his nephew Brochfael may have inherited in turn, but lost Gwent to Ffernfael for a time. His queen was Ceingaer.Charles-Edwards, T.
Wales and the Britons, 350-1064
', Vol. 1. Oxford Univ. Press, 2012. Accessed 12 Feb 2013. Ffernfael's death is recorded by the undated ''

Annals of Wales The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later ed ...

''. Phillimore's reconstruction places the entry in the year 775. Harley MS 3859. Op. cit. Phillimore, Egerton. ''Y Cymmrodor'' 9 (1888), pp. 141–83.

Children

* Athrwys, king of Gwent

References

Year of birth unknown 775 deaths 8th-century Welsh monarchs Monarchs of Gwent {{wales-hist-stub

Children

See also

References