Owain ap Caradog ( fl. 1081–1140), known as Owain ‘Wan’ (or ‘weak’)Jenkins, Robert Thomas (1959),
MORGAN ap HYWEL
,

Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...

, Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, retrieved 2016-04-12 was the son and heir 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 ...

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 ...

, who contested the Kingdom of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House of ...

and was killed 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 ...

in 1081. Owain contented himself by ruling the former sub-kingdom and later Lordship of

Gwynllwg Gwynllŵg was a kingdom of mediaeval Wales and later a Norman lordship and then a cantref. Location It was named after Gwynllyw, its 5th century or 6th century ruler and consisted of the coastal plain stretching between the Rhymney and Usk rive ...

, while the title of King of

went to his relative

Iestyn ap Gwrgant Iestyn ap Gwrgant (or Jestyn ap Gwrgant) ( eng, Iestyn, son of Gwrgant) (1014 – 1093) was the last ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Morgannwg, which encompassed the counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. Lineage Iestyn ap Gwrgant was the las ...

, who was subsequently deposed c. 1090 as part of the

Norman conquest of Wales The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror, who believed England to be his birthright. Initially (1067–1081), the invasion of Wales was not undertaken with the fervour and purpose ...

. In spite of this Owain continued to hold onto territories between the

Rhymney Rhymney (; cy, Rhymni ) is a town and a community in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. With the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney is ...

and

Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

, and may, probably with some struggle, have held onto some or all 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 ...

,Jermyn, Anthony.
4: Caerleon Through the Centuries to the Year 2000
". 2010 Accessed 13 Feb 2013. where in 1086 the

Domesday book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

records that a small colony of eight

carucates The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...

of land (about 1.5 square miles) was held by

Turstin FitzRolf Turstin fitz Rolf, also known as Turstin le Blanc and Tustein fitz Rou (Old Norse: ''Þorsteinn Hrólfsson'') played a prominent role in the Norman conquest of England and is regarded as one of the few proven companions of William the Conqueror ...

, standard bearer to

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, under the overlordship of

William d'Ecouis William d'Ecouis (sometimes referred to as William de Schoies) was an early Anglo-Norman baron, who is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'' of 1086 as a substantial holder of land and manors. William d'Ecouis founded Middleton castle, a motte-and- ...

, a magnate with lands in

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 ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and other counties. Also listed on the manor were three Welshmen with as many ploughs and carucates, who continued their Welsh customs (''leges Walensi viventes'').

Succession

After Owain's death his son and heir

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 ...

was recognized as Lord of

by King Henry II, before being killed 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 ...

, whereupon the Lordship passed to Morgan's brother,

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 ...

. Caerleon remained in this hands of his descendants, subject to occasional struggles, until

William Marshal William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...

retook the castle in 1217 from Morgan ap Hywel.

References

John Edward Lloyd Sir John Edward Lloyd (5 May 1861 – 20 June 1947) was a Welsh historian, He was the author of the first serious history of the country's formative years, ''A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest'' (1911). Ano ...

(1911) ''A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest'' (Longmans, Green & Co.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Caradog, Owain ap Welsh princes 1140 deaths