Morgan ab Owain (died 1158) 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 ...
king 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 ...
. He was a son of
Owain Wan and thus 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 ...
, the last Welsh king of
Gwent.
After Caradog ap Gruffydd was killed in 1081 in the
Battle of Mynydd Carn
The Battle of Mynydd Carn took place in 1081, as part of a dynastic struggle for control of the Welsh kingdoms of Gwynedd and Deheubarth. The result of the battle had a radical effect on the history of Wales.
The battle is recorded in the near ...
against
Rhys ap Tewdwr
Rhys ap Tewdwr (c. 1040 – 1093) was a king of Deheubarth in Wales and member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from Rhodri the Great. He was born in the area which is now Carmarthenshire and died at the battle of Brecon in April 10 ...
, his son Owain Wan ruled only over
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 ...
. Most of Gwent was conquered by 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 ...
lord
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 ...
in the following years.
In 1136 Morgan together with his brother
Iorwerth Iorwerth () is a Welsh name, composed of two elements: ''iôr'' meaning "lord" and ''berth'' meaning "fair", "fine", or "handsome". (Both morphemes are somewhat archaic in Modern Welsh.) The name has historically been associated with the name Edward ...
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 ...
, the Anglo-Norman lord of
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...
, in an ambush during the
Welsh revolt after the death of King Henry I. He then captured
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 ...
and
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 ...
, 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 Lord
A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales.
A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in F ...
s 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
Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147 David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved ...
and, after his death, with
Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford
Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford, (before 1125 – 1155) was an English noble who played an active and influential part in the wars between Empress Matilda and King Stephen (a civil war known as the Anarchy).
Biography
Roger was the so ...
. 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
Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...
, including "as a terrible Welsh mob" together with
Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd
Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd (c. 1100 – 1172) was the third son of Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, and brother of Owain Gwynedd.
Appearance in history
Cadwaladr first appears in the historical record in 1136, when following the killing of the lo ...
of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
and
Madog ap Maredudd
Madog ap Maredudd ( wlm, Madawg mab Maredud, ; died 1160) was the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales and for a time held the Fitzalan Lordship of Oswestry.
Madog was the son of King Maredudd ap Bleddyn and grandson of King Bleddy ...
of
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
in the
Battle of Lincoln. 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
Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley.
It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...
by
Ifor Bach
Ifor Bach (meaning Ivor the Short) ( fl. 1158) also known as Ifor ap Meurig and in anglicised form Ivor Bach, Lord of Senghenydd, was a twelfth-century resident in and a leader of the Welsh in south Wales.
Welsh Lord of Senghenydd
At this perio ...
, the Welsh lord of
Senghenydd
Senghenydd ( cy, Senghennydd, ) is a former mining town in the community of Aber Valley in South Wales, approximately four miles northwest of the town of Caerphilly. Historically within the county of Glamorgan, it is now situated in the count ...
. Although Morgan left at least two sons, Morgan and Hywel, he was succeeded by his brother Iorwerth ab Owain.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan ab Owain
1158 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Welsh princes
12th-century Welsh monarchs