Brycheiniog
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Brycheiniog was a small independent kingdom of South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the powerful south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans between 1088 and 1095, though it remained Welsh in character. It was transformed into the Lordship of Brecon and was roughly coterminous the historic county of Brecknockshire. To its south was the Kingdom of Morgannwg.
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[edit] Origins
The kingdom was founded by (and named after) a Hiberno-Welsh prince named Brychan out of the old Welsh kingdom of Garth Madrun (believed to have been centred on Talgarth) in the mid 5th century, though this event is shrouded in legend. Brychan was a son of Anlach, an Irish settler who had peacefully taken control of the area by marrying Marchel, the heiress of Garth Madrun. Tradition says that Brychan had an extremely large number of children, many becoming saints in Wales and Cornwall[1].
[edit] Independent kingdom
Brychan's eldest son, Rhain Dremrudd, founded a dynasty which ruled the kingdom uninterrupted until the mid 7th century, when the inheritance of a woman, Ceindrych, brought the kingdom into the hands of Cloten of Dyfed[2].
[edit] Union with Dyfed
The union with Dyfed — which may have been known as the kingdom of Rheinwg[3] — lasted for about a century[4], though parts of Brycheiniog were probably granted out as lordships for younger sons. The invasion of Seisyll of Ceredigion in the mid 8th century separated the kingdoms.
[edit] External influences
In the 880s, King Elisedd of Brycheiniog was forced by the depredations of Anarawd of Gwynedd and the sons of Rhodri the Great to pledge homage to Alfred the Great and make his kingdom a dependency of Wessex[5]. Brycheiniog appears to have been under the influence of both Hywel Dda of Deheubarth and Athelstan of England in the early tenth century[6].
[edit] Folklore
Brycheiniog was divided between the three sons of King Gryffydd in the mid-eleventh century[7], but one king, Bleddyn ap Maenarch, first recorded in the fifteenth century, was alleged to be ruling at the time of the Norman conquest in the last decade of the century. With that the kingdom was subsumed within the lordship of Brecon, ruled by the descendants of the conqueror Bernard of Neufmarché[8].
[edit] History
The kingdom of Brycheiniog was probably founded by Irish raiders in the late fifth century. During the year 848 the men of Brycheiniog, probably led by their king or kings, slew King Iudhail of Gwent. By the 880's the only remaining king of Brycheiniog, Elisedd, had paid homage to King Alfred (849-99) and it is to be presumed that he felt it expedient to ask for English help in the running of his realm. Such an alliance may well have been due to Viking pressure, for in the spring of 896 Brycheiniog, Gwent and Gwynllwg were devastated by the Norsemen who had wintered at Quatford near Bridgnorth that year. According to Asser, another reason for Elisedd seeking the protection of King Alfred was that his realm was being brought under pressure from an expansionist Gwynedd.
In the early summer of 916 Æthelflaed (bef.871-918), the daughter of King Alfred and widow of Earl Æthelred of Mercia (bef.865-911), invaded Brycheiniog and on 19 June stormed the royal llys in Brecenan Mere Llangorse lake. There she captured the queen of the land and 34 others. Who was king of Brycheiniog at this time is uncertain, but Tewdwr ab Elise was certainly ruling between 927 and 929. It was therefore probably either his wife or mother who was captured. Tewdwr was later firmly linked to England as he is found witnessing a charter at the English royal court in 934. After Tewdwr no more kings of Brycheiniog are recorded and all that can be said of King Bleddyn of Brycheiniog, who was said to have been defeated by Bernard Neufmarché in 1093, is that he appears to exist in no historical source before the fifteenth century.
The land of Brycheiniog was conquered between 1070 and 1093. In 1070 William Fitz Osbern, earl of Hereford invaded the kingdom and defeated three kings of South Wales, but no king of Brycheiniog. By 1088 Bernard de Neufmarché mentioned 'all the tithes of his lordship which he had in Brycheiniog in the woods and plains' as well as Glasbury. This suggests that he already thought himself lord of Brycheiniog. In April 1093 he defeated and killed the king of Deheubarth, Rhys ap Gruffydd while he was building a castle at Brecon. The Welsh Annales clearly state that Rhys was killed 'by the French who were inhabiting Brycheiniog'. In other words the Normans were already living there and the kingdom had already been destroyed.
The main legacy of the kingdom of Brycheiniog is etymological. It has lent its name to Brecknockshire (Welsh: Sir Frycheiniog, the shire of Brycheiniog) and Brecon (known as Aberhonddu in Welsh).
[edit] Sources
- ^ Ford, David Nash (2001). Brychan Brycheiniog, King of Brycheiniog. Early British Kingdoms. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
- ^ Ford, David Nash (2003). Princess Ceindrych of Brycheiniog. Early British Kingdoms. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
- ^ Ford, David Nash (2001). Rhein, Kings of Dyfed & Brycheioniog. Early British Kingdoms. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
- ^ Ford, David Nash (2001). Cloten, King of Dyfed & Brycheiniog. Early British Kingdoms. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
- ^ Ford, David Nash (2001). Elisedd, King of Brycheiniog. Early British Kingdoms. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
- ^ Ford, David Nash (2001). Tewdr Brycheiniog, Kings of Brycheiniog. Early British Kingdoms. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
- ^ Ford, David Nash (2001). Gryffydd, King of Brycheiniog. Early British Kingdoms. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
- ^ Nelson, Lynn H. (1966). The Normans in South Wales. Carrie: A Full-Text Electronic Library. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
[edit] Historical References
- Remfry, P.M., Castell Bwlch y Dinas and the Families of Fitz Osbern, Neufmarché, Gloucester, Hereford, Braose, Fitz Herbert (ISBN 1-899376-79-8)
- Remfry, P.M., Annales Cambriae. A Translation of Harleian 3859; PRO E.164/1; Cottonian Domitian, A 1; Exeter Cathedral Library MS. 3514 and MS Exchequer DB Neath, PRO E (ISBN 1-899376-81-X)
