Ifor Bach

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Ifor Bach (Ifor the Short) also known as Ifor ap Meurig and in anglicised form Ivor Bach, was a twelfth century resident of south Wales.

At this period the Normans had conquered England, but large areas of Wales were still under the control of the native princes and lords. Whilst parts of the old Welsh kingdom of Morgannwg (which was to become Glamorgan) had fallen to the Normans, Ifor ap Meurig held land in Senghennydd, a region of Morgannwg which had not yet fallen completely. The Norman lord of the region was William, Earl of Gloucester. ^[1]

According to Giraldus Cambrensis in Itinerarium Cambriae, in 1158 Ifor Bach was a tenant of William, Earl of Gloucester, who held Cardiff Castle. Gloucester was trying to take land which under Welsh law belonged to Ifor. Ifor scaled the walls of Cardiff Castle using ladders, seized the earl, the countess and their young son, and kidnapped all of them to the woods. He refused to release them until he had recovered the land he had lost "and a little more". ^[2]

Descendants of Ifor ap Meurig continued to hold sway in the area and to harry the Normans for at least another century. ^[3] These descendants included his grandson Morgan Gam and his great-grandson Llywelyn Bren. Ifor ap Meurig is reputed to have built a medieval castle on the site now occupied by Castell Coch.

The Clwb Ifor Bach nightclub in Cardiff is named after him.

[edit] References

1. ↑  Itinerarium Cambriae, Giraldus Cambrensis: book 1, chapter 6. Published by Penguin, ISBN 0-14-044339-8 pp122-123 in that edition.
2. ↑  The Norman Conquest. Caerphilly Castle. Retrieved on 13 November 2005.
3. ↑  The natural landscape and geological background. Merthyr Tydfil Historic Landscape Characterisation. Retrieved on 13 November 2005.