Edling ( cy, etifedd) was a title given to the agreed successor or

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

of a reigning

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 peopl ...

monarch. The title comes from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

word '' Æþeling'' "noble child" (for example, see

Edgar the Ætheling Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, r ...

), which was used in

Anglo-Saxon England Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom of ...

before the Norman Conquest to denote one of "royal blood". The corruption in Welsh use had a more precise meaning and denoted the acknowledged heir to the throne, usually the ruler's eldest son, even though any son, legitimate or illegitimate, could be chosen as edling.Medieval Wales
welshicons.org.uk

References

Noble titles Welsh monarchs Welsh royalty Medieval Wales {{Wales-hist-stub

See also

References