Hywel ab Iorwerth (also known as Hywel of Caerleon) (d. around 1216) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

lord of

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

. He was the eldest surviving son of

Iorwerth ab Owain Iorwerth ab Owain (also known as Iorwerth of Gwynllŵg) (d. before 1184) was a Welsh prince of Gwynllŵg and Lord of Caerleon. Life He was a son of Owain ap Caradog and thus a grandson of King Caradog ap Gruffydd of Gwent. In 1136 together wit ...

, a grandson of

Caradog ap Gruffydd Caradog ap Gruffydd (died 1081) was a Prince of Gwent in south-east Wales in the time of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and the Norman conquest, who reunified his family's inheritance of Morgannwg and made repeated attempts to reunite southern Wales by c ...

and Lord of Caerleon. In 1173 he captured Caerleon Castle and the plains of Gwent from

Richard Strongbow Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (of the first creation), Lord of Leinster, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Justiciar of Ireland (113020 April 1176), also known as Richard FitzGilbert, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman notable for his leading ro ...

, Lord of

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western ...

. In 1175 he blinded and castrated his uncle Owain Pen-Carn, his father's younger brother, to secure his inheritance. In 1184 at the latest he became heir to his father and lord of Llefennydd, Caerleon and the wooded mountainous region of

Gwynllŵg Gwynllŵg was a monarchy, kingdom of mediaeval Wales and later a Normans, Norman Marcher Lords, lordship and then a Wentloog (hundred), cantref. Location It was named after Gwynllyw, its 5th century or 6th century ruler and consisted of the coa ...

. He is considered to be the founder of the Cistercian

Llantarnam Abbey Llantarnam Abbey is a Grade II*-listed abbey of the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy and a former Cistercian monastery located in Llantarnam, Cwmbran in the county borough of Torfaen in southeast Wales. History It was founded as a daughter house o ...

, although it may have been founded by his father. In 1182 in retaliation for the Abergavenny massacre in which his uncle Seisyll ap Dyfnwal had been slain, he burned down

Abergavenny Castle Abergavenny Castle ( cy, Castell y Fenni) is a ruined castle in the market town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, established by the Norman lord Hamelin de Balun . It was the site of a massacre of Welsh noblemen in 1175, and was attacked d ...

of the

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

baron William de Braose. However, he was the only Welsh lord in south-east Wales who supported the English during the 1184-85 uprising after the death of

William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (23 November 1116 – 23 November 1183) was the son and heir of Sir Robert de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and Mabel FitzRobert of Gloucester, daughter of Robert Fitzhamon, and nephew of Empress M ...

. He led a force to defend

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

against Welsh attacks and served as

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

near

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

. In the following years he continued to be on the side of the English and signed documents as ''Hywel, Lord of Caerleon''. After 1199 he lost a lawsuit against his sister

Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...

, who was awarded an estate at Newport from him after her husband's death. He was succeeded by his son Morgan ap Hywel. His daughter Gwenllian married Maredudd Gethin, a son of

Lord Rhys Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197 and native Prince of Wales. It was believed that he ...

Sources

* {{Cite ODNB, first=David, last=Crouch, id=62213, title=Hywel ab Iorwerth ywel of Caerleon(d. in or before 1216)

References

People from Caerleon 1216 deaths History of Monmouthshire