Iestyn ap Gwrgant (or Jestyn ap Gwrgant) ( eng, Iestyn, son of Gwrgant) (1014 – 1093) was the last ruler of the

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 ...

kingdom of

Morgannwg Morgannwg was a medieval Welsh kingdom formed via the merger of the kingdoms of the Kingdom of Glywysing and the Kingdom of Gwent. Formation of Morgannwg First under King Morgan the Generous (fl. ) until the end of the reign of his descendant I ...

, which encompassed the

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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

and

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

Lineage

Iestyn ap Gwrgant was the last ruler of the

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

house of

, which had a lineage stretching back over five centuries to

Tewdrig Tewdrig ap Teithfallt (; la, Theodoricus), known simply as Tewdrig, was a king of the post-Roman Kingdom of Glywysing. He abdicated in favour of his son Meurig (Maurice) and retired to live a hermitical life, but was recalled to lead his son ...

(c. 550–584). The members of this royal house had links to the other royal houses of Wales through marriage, and were descendants of the celebrated

Rhodri Mawr Rhodri ap Merfyn ( 820 – 873/877/878), popularly known as Rhodri the Great ( cy, Rhodri Mawr), succeeded his father, Merfyn Frych, as King of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd in 844. Rhodri annexed Kingdom of Powys, Powys c. 856 and Seisyllwg c. 8 ...

. Iestyn ap Gwrgant's base is believed to have been at

Dinas Powys Dinas Powys (; also spelt "Dinas Powis" in English) is a small town and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. Its name means "fort of the provincial place" and refers to the Dinas Powys hillfort, Iron Age hillfort wh ...

, south west of Cardiff.

Norman invasion

Iestyn probably ruled Morgannwg for a little less than a decade (c. 1081–1090) and is believed to have built castles in the regions of Cardiff and Kenfig. The popular version of historical events is that Iestyn, following a dispute with his rival

Einion ap Collwyn Einion ap Collwyn (sometimes "ap Gollwyn") ( fl. 1093), was a Welsh prince and warrior supposed to have existed in the eleventh century. Not mentioned in medieval chronicles, he is the subject of possibly legendary or fictional writings from the si ...

, invited Robert Fitzhamon and his twelve knights into the region to settle the matter. Naturally, once invited in, they refused to leave. He was deposed c. 1090 by

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

ruler

Robert Fitzhamon Robert Fitzhamon (died March 1107), or Robert FitzHamon (literally, 'Robert, son of Hamon'), Seigneur de Creully in the Calvados region and Torigny in the Manche region of Normandy, was the first Norman feudal baron of Gloucester and the Norma ...

, lord of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, who established a lordship based in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and subsequently conquered the lowlands of Glamorgan (the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol C ...

), which was parcelled out to his followers. The mountainous parts of Glamorgan were left in Welsh control.

Caradog ap Iestyn Caradog, Caradoc, Caradawg, or Cradawg, Latinised as Caratacus and anglicised as Craddock, is a given name for men in the Welsh language. It may refer to: People * Caradog ap Bran, son of Bran the Blessed in Welsh mythology * Caratacus, first-cen ...

, the eldest son of Iestyn ap Gwrgant, was the only Welsh lord to retain lands in the Glamorgan lowlands after Fitzhamon had conquered them. He retained the land between the

River Neath River Neath ( cy, Afon Nedd) is a river in south Wales running south west from the point at which its headwaters arising in the Brecon Beacons National Park converge to its mouth at Baglan Bay below Briton Ferry on the east side of Swansea Ba ...

and the

River Afan , name_etymology = , image = The_Afon_Afan,_Cymmer_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1001060.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Afan near Cymmer , map = , map_size = , map_caption ...

, and he and his descendants were known as the " lords of Afan." His descendants are thought to include the Williams family of

Aberpergwm Aberpergwm is the site of a colliery in the Vale of Neath near Glynneath in south Wales. Mine history The site at Aberpergwm had been worked since 1811 as a series of drift mines, but full commercial working began from the 1860s when W. William ...

and the Powell Wilkins family of Carreg Cennen, Carmarthenshire.

Modern interpretation

Iestyn ap Gwrgant's arms can be seen today in a modern context as a banner of the arms forms the

Flag of Glamorgan The Glamorgan flag ( cy, Baner Morgannwg) is the flag of the county of Glamorgan. It was registered with the Flag Institute on 24 September 2013. __TOC__ Design The flag is a banner of the arms of Iestyn ap Gwrgant, the last ruler of the Kingd ...

which itself forms a charge on the flag of Cardiff. Additionally the arms are found within the crest of Pontypridd Rugby Football Club, a Rugby Union team from Pontypridd within the ancient boundaries of Morgannwg. Richard Williams Morgan claimed that a reference to a son of

Caratacus Caratacus ( Brythonic ''*Caratācos'', Middle Welsh ''Caratawc''; Welsh ''Caradog''; Breton ''Karadeg''; Greek ''Καράτακος''; variants Latin ''Caractacus'', Greek ''Καρτάκης'') was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the C ...

called

Saint Cyllin Cyllin was a legendary, and possibly historical British king of the 1st century AD, early Christian saint and the last pendragon of Great Britain. His existence is based on very limited evidence. Richard Williams Morgan claimed that a reference to h ...

was found in the family records of Iestyn ab Gwrgant and used this as evidence of early entry of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

"Cyllin ab Caradog, a wise and just king. In his days many of the Cymry embraced the faith in Christ through the teaching of the saints of Cor-Eurgain, and many godly men from the countries of Greece and Rome were in Cambria. He first of the Cymry gave infants names; for before, names were not given except to adults, and then from something characteristic in their bodies, minds, or manners."

References

External links

*
National Library of Wales Dictionary of Welsh Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwrgant, Iestyn Ap 1040s births 1093 deaths 11th-century Welsh monarchs Monarchs of Gwent Monarchs of Morgannwg Monarchs of Glywysing