Iorwerth ab Owain (also known as Iorwerth of Gwynllŵg) (d. before 1184) 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 ...

prince 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 ...

and 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 ...

Life

He was a son of

Owain ap Caradog Owain ap Caradog ( fl. 1081–1140), known as Owain ‘Wan’ (or ‘weak’)Jenkins, Robert Thomas (1959),MORGAN ap HYWEL, Dictionary of Welsh Biography, Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, retrieved 2016-04-12 was the son and heir of King Caradog ...

and thus a grandson of King

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 ...

of Gwent. In 1136 together with his older brother

Morgan ab Owain 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. After Caradog ap Gruffydd was killed in 1081 in the Battle of Mynydd Carn aga ...

he attacked and murdered

Richard FitzGilbert de Clare Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare (died 15 April 1136) 3rd feudal baron of Clare in Suffolk, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. A marcher lord in Wales, he was also the founder of Tonbridge Priory in Kent. Life Richard was the eldest son of Gilbert Fitz ...

in an ambush between

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

and

Talgarth Talgarth is a market town, community and electoral ward in southern Powys, Mid Wales, about north of Crickhowell, north-east of Brecon and south-east of Builth Wells. Notable buildings in the town include the 14th-century parish church and a ...

. Iorwerth also supported his brother during the subsequent reconquest of Upper Gwent and Llenfennydd. As a result of this close alliance, he became his heir and successor after Morgan's murder in 1158, although Morgan left at least two sons. In contrast to his brother, however, he did not claim the title of king.

Richard de Clare Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, the 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 ...

, retook

Usk Castle Usk Castle ( cy, Castell Brynbuga) is a castle site in the town of Usk in central Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom. It was listed Grade I on 16 February 1953. Within the castle, and incorporating parts of its gatehouse, stands Cast ...

before 1169. In 1171 the

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 ...

together with the English king Henry II, who was on his way to Ireland, drove Iorwerth from Caerleon Castle. Iorwerth had to retire to Machen Castle in Gwynllŵg. After Henry II had traveled on to Pembroke, Iorwerth, his sons and his nephew Morgan ap Seisyll tried in vain to recapture Caerleon Castle. After the siege failed, they sacked and ravaged the Llefennydd region. In 1172 Iorwerth's eldest son Owain and Iorwerth's brother-in-law Seisyll ap Dyfnwal, Lord of Upper Gwent, were attacked by soldiers of the

Earl of Gloucester The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.'' Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121) *Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (1100� ...

on their way to Usk Castle, where they were going to negotiate with Henry II. While Seisyll was captured, Owain was murdered. To exact revenge, Iorwerth and his son

Hywel Hywel (), sometimes anglicised as Howel or Howell, is a Welsh masculine given name. It may refer to: * Saint Hywel, a sixth-century disciple of Saint Teilo and the king of Brittany in the Arthurian legend. *Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog, 9th-century ki ...

plundered large areas of

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

and

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. When the king's power was weakened by the rebellion of his sons the next year, Iorwerth and Hywel took advantage of this with further attacks and conquests. After a three-day siege, they were able to recapture Caerleon Castle on 21 July 1173, and subsequently also occupy the Lower Gwent. At the beginning of 1175, however, violent clashes broke out within the family. Iorwerth's son Hywel blinded and castrated his uncle Owain Pen-Carn, his father's younger brother. From then on, Iorwerth's nephew Morgan, a son of Morgan ab Owain, supported the English who recaptured Caerleon Castle and Lower Gwent. At the end of June 1175, however, Iorwerth concluded an alliance with Lord Rhys, and under his leadership he was one of the princes of southeastern Wales who paid homage to Henry II in

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 ...

. This gave him back Caerleon. Presumably this was helped by the fact that Iorwerth's daughter

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 ...

became a lover of Henry II at that time and bore him a son. Nest then married Ralph Bloet, an Anglo-Norman lord from the neighboring lordship of

Striguil Striguil or Strigoil is the name that was used from the 11th century until the late 14th century for the port and Norman castle of Chepstow, on the Welsh side of the River Wye which forms the boundary with England. The name was also applied to t ...

Family and issue

Probably before 1148 Iorwerth married Angharad, a daughter of Bishop

Uhtred Uhtred is a masculine given name of Anglo-Saxon origin, prevalent during the Medieval period. It may refer to: People * Uhtred of Hwicce (died c. 779), King of Hwicce * Uhtred (Derbyshire ealdorman) (early to mid 10th century), ealdorman (earl) in ...

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...

. He had several children with her, including * Owain *

* Gruffudd * Cadwallon * Morgan *

Iorwerth died between 1175 and 1184, his successor was his son Hywel ab Iorwerth. Either he or his son Hywel founded 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 ...

between 1175 and 1179.

Sources

{{Cite ODNB, id=101048555, title=Iorwerth ab Owain (d. 1175x84)

References

Welsh princes 12th-century Welsh monarchs