Report of Colonel Morgan Morgan

Associated Reading to the Report of Colonel Morgan ap Morgan

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Hywel “Dda” ap Cadell, “King of Wales” - b. abt. 880, d. abt. 950; Inherited part of Seisyllwg on the death of his father, Cadell ap Hywel in 909, and obtained full control with the death of his brother Clydog ap Hywel in 920. Hywel was also given control over Dyfed from his father, as Cadell had conquered the principality in 905. Hywel further strengthened his position of Dyfed by marriage to the daughter of Llywarch, the last prince of the kingdom, and following the death of his brother, Seisyllwg and Dyfed were united, becoming the Kingdom of Deheubarth. After the death of his cousin, Idwal “Foel” ab Anarawd in 942, Hywel seized his kingdom of Gwynedd from Idwal’s sons and forced them into exile. He now ruled about three-fourths of Wales, and was the first to earn the title, “King of Wales.” After Hywel’s death, Deheubarth was divided among his three sons, Owain, Rhodri, and Edwin, and after a period of conflict, Gwynedd was eventually restored to the sons of Idwal. “The Good.”                                                  

Owain ap Hywel, “King of Deheubarth” - b. abt. 913, d. abt. 987; After the death of Owain’s father, Hywel ap Cadell, he inherited a portion of Deheubarth, as he shared the kingdom with his two brothers Rhodri and Edwin. Around this time, the son’s of Idwal “Foel” ab Anarawd, Iago, Ieuaf, Idwal, and Meurig, made war on Owain and his brothers in an attempt to regain the Kingdom of Gwynedd, in which Hywel had conquered from their father. The two sides met in battle at Nant Carno on the border, and the battle went to Idwal's sons; they reclaimed Gwynedd. The two sides fought fro the next three to four years, but in 954, after a battle at Llanrwst in Gwynedd, and raids into Ceredigion, it appears that the two sides reached some sort of accommodation - neither side fought the other for the remainder of their lifetimes, and rule of Gwynedd was returned to the sons of Idwal. After the death of Rhodri in 953 and Edwin in 954, Owain acquired full control of Deheubarth. He would live until 988, in which during the later years of his life, Owain’s sons Einion and Maredudd assumed the responsibilities of the state. The amicable relations within the family member (in start contrast to the hostility within the family of their cousins to the north) led to a strong and apparently prosperous reign - allowing them to defend the kingdom against both Vikings and Saxons, and to expand their influence into Morgannwg to the east, although they never apparently took full control of these lands while Owain was alive. Einion was killed on one of these expansionist raids into Gower in 984; Maredudd seems then to have had full authority within the kingdom, although Owain remained king in name until his death.

Einion ab Owain, “Prince of Deheubarth” - b. abt. 933, d. 984; Upon the death of his grandfather, Hywel ap Cadell, the son’s of Idwal rose up and revolted in revenge of their losses inflicted upon them by Hywel, who seized control of their kingdom after Idwal’s death. Owain and his sons fought to keep the Kingdom of Gwynedd, but it was restored to Idwal’s sons. In the later years of his father’s life, Einion and his brother, Maredudd, assumed the control of Deheubarth as Owain was unable to rule. Einion and Maredudd sought to expand their control into Morgannwg to the east, though they would never take full control of the territory while their father was still alive, and Einion was eventually killed in a raid to Gower in 984, leaving Maredudd as the sole ruler of Deheubarth.

Cadell ab Einion, “King of Deheubarth” - b. abt. 953; Maredudd ap Owain, the previous king of Deheubarth died abt. 999, though his only son died before him, leaving no male heirs. The control of Deheubarth was then first passed to a distant cousin, Cynan ap Hywel, which he ruled until his own death around 1005. The control of Deheubarth was then passed to Cadell, Maredudd’s nephew, and he ruled until about 1018, until Maredudd’s daughter and sole heir, Angharad, was married to Llywelyn ap Seisyll, and by the right of marriage, he assumed control.

Tewdwr “Mawr” ap Cadell - b. abt. 977; “The Great”

Rhys ap Tewdwr

Gruffudd ap Rhys

Rhys ap Gruffudd

Maredudd ap Rhys

Gruffudd ap Maredudd

Maredudd ap Gruffudd

Morgan ap Maredudd

Angharad ferch Maredudd