The Lords of Afan ruled over an area between the rivers
Afan and
Neath
Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...
in
Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
between c. 1100 and the
latter half of the 14th century.
In 1091 the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
took control of Glamorgan from its former ruler
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 ...
. His son
Caradog ab Iestyn retained control over part of the lands in the area of the Afan valley. He built a castle at
Aberavon
Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distri ...
and he and his descendants became known as the 'Lords of Afan'. There were 10 lords overall. Over time they became more Norman than Welsh. When the 6th lord, Morgan Fychan, died in 1288 he was known as the Lord of Avene. However, his son Leisan became the first be known by the Norman-style surname "D'Avene" and he named his sons John and Thomas. By 1373 the lords had gone and the land was now under the control of
Edward le Despencer, Lord of Glamorgan.
Today one of the pubs of Port Talbot is named "The Lord Caradoc" in memory of the first of the Lords of Afan.
References
History of Glamorgan
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