Iestyn ap Gwrgant
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Iestyn ap Gwrgant or Jestyn ap Gwrgant (Welsh: Justin, son of Gwrgant) (abt. 1045-1093) was the last ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Morgannwg, which encompassed the counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire [1].
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[edit] Lineage
Iestyn ap Gwrgant was the last ruler of the royal house of Morgannwg, which had a lineage stretching back over five centuries to Tewdrig (c. 550-584). The members of this royal house had links to the other royal houses of Wales through marriage, and were descendants of the celebrated Rhodri Mawr. Iestyn ap Gwrgant's base is believed to have been at Dinas Powis, south of Cardiff.
Iestyn probably ruled Morgannwg for a little less than a decade (c. 1081-1090). The popular version of historical events is that Iestyn, following a dispute with his rival Einion ap Collwyn, invited Robert Fitzhamon and his twelve knights into the region to settle the matter. Naturally, once invited in, they refused to leave.
[edit] Norman invasion
He was deposed c. 1090 by Norman ruler Robert Fitzhamon, lord of Gloucester, who established a lordship based in Cardiff and subsequently conquered the lowlands of Glamorgan (the Vale of Glamorgan) which was parcelled out to his followers. The mountainous parts of Glamorgan were left in Welsh control.
[edit] Succession
Caradog ap Iestyn, the eldest son of Iestyn ap Gwrgant, was the only Welsh lord to retain lands in the Glamorgan lowlands after Fitzhamon had conquered them. He retained the land between the River Neath and the River Afan, and he and his descendants were known as the "lords of Afan."
[edit] Sources
- Nelson, Lynn H. The Normans in South Wales, 1070–1171. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1966.
