ap Gwrgan, Iestyn 1a 2a

Birth Name ap Gwrgan, Iestyn
Gender male
Age at Death 49 years

Narrative

Iestyn ap Gwrgan ruled Glamorgan (Morgannwg) 1081-1091 when it was taken over by the Normans and put under the control of Robert Fitzhamon. Iestyn was deposed and died in a priory.
------------------------
Iestin ab Gwrgant (fl 1093), prince of Gwent and Morganwg, is a shadowy hero of the legend of the conquest of Glamorgan, whose biography, as told in the 'Gwentian Brut y Tywysogion,' is fabulous and absurd. Married in 994, he failed to obtain the succession of Morganwg on his father's death in 1030, because the people preferred his great-uncle, Howel ab Morgan; but he became ruler on Howel's death in 1043. Nearly fifty years later he is said to have taken a prominent share in the history of the conquest of Glamorgan by the Normans. He was an enemy of Rhys ab Tewdwr, the king of Brecheiniog. Hard pressed by his enemy, he promised to marry his daughter to Einion ab Collwyn if the latter could procure him help from England against their common foe Rhys. Eineon obtained the help of Robert Fitzhamon, who speedily defeated and slew Rhys, king of Brecheiniog. We know from authentic history that Rhys died in 1093. Iestin paid the Normans liberally and they went their way. He now refused his daughter to Einion, saying that he would never give either land or daughter to a traitor. Einion in revenge persmacded Fitzhamon to return. The Normans soon became masters of Iestin's territory and drove Iestin away. Iestin fled to Glastonbury over the Channel; thence he went to Bath and finally back to Bwent, where he died at the monastery of Llangenys at an extraordinary old age. His sons, Caradog, Madog, and Howel, abandoned their father to his fate and were rewarded with a share of the conquered land, Caradog, the eldest, obtaining the lordship of Aberavon.

The details of the story of the conquest of Glamorgan are mythical; the outline is not in itself unlikely. Iestin's historical existence is proved by the existance of his descendants. His grandsons, Morgan, Maredudd, Owain, and Cadwaladr, the four sons of Caradog were joint lords of Aberavon when Archbishop Baldwin and Giraldus Cambrensis made their crusading tour in Wales. Rhys, another son of Iestin, is also mentioned in a document of the reign of John. Some Glamorganshire families claim descent from Iestin. [Dictionary of National Biography I:412-413]
----------------------
Iestyn ap Gwrgant (fl c. 1081-1093), last independent ruler of Glamorgan and son of Gwrgant ab Ithel. Little is known with certainty about him. Cardiff seems to have been his seat of government, but the extent of his territory is unknown. He cannot have become supreme in Glamorgan until 1081, when Caradog ap Gruffydd, who ruled Glamorgan from c 1075, was slain. In 1080, Iestyn was sufficiently insignificant to appear as a minor witness attesting a grant of land made of Llandaff by 'Caratocus rex morcannuc.' Yet before his death, he was important enought to violate the sanctity of Llandaff, an act for which Iestyn had to atone by a grant of land. He founded the fifth royal tribe of Wales, and most of the noble families of Glamorgan claimed descent from him.

A famous story of Glamorgan, at least as old as the 15th cent., associated the Norman conquest of Glamorgan with Iestyn's name. It describes how Iestyn, through his kinsman Einion ap Collwyn, a fugitive in England, secured Robert Fitzhamon's assistance against Rhys ap Tewdwr, whom he slew at Penrhys. Iestyn paid the Normans but refused Einion's promised reward - his daughter in marriage. Einion recalled the departing Normans, who overthrew Iestyn, divided the lowlands amongst themselves, leaving only the hill country to the Welsh. Iestyn fled - to Keynsham Abbey, according to one version - where he d. Where this story touches known facts it is demonstrably wrong, e.g. Keynsham Abbey was not founded till 1169, while Rhys was slain near Brecon in Easter week 1093.

G. T. Clark, Land of Morgan, 6, 30, 38, 77, 131, and Limbus Patrum, 23, 24, 124, 129; D.N.B.; Dwnn, ii, 20, 56-7; Hist. W., 402, 440; Leland, Itinerary in Wales, 38; Liber Landavensis, 271-3; Merrick, Morganiae Archaiographia, 3, 6-8, 12-23, 43, 50-1; L. D. Nichoil, The Normans in Glamorgan, xiii, 18, 36, 67, 180; Nicholas, County Families, 239, 488, 490; Trans. Cymm., 1899-1900, 145-8, 162; G. J. Williams, Traddadiad Llenyddol Morgannwg, 26, 34, 184-91, 203, 204, 209.
[Dictionary of Welsh Biography 408]

Events

Event Date Place Description Sources
Birth 1044 Morgannwg, Cymru   1b
Death 1093 Llangenyw, Dynbich, Cymru, Wales   3

Age: 49y

Parents

Relation to main person Name Birth date Death date Relation within this family (if not by birth)
Father ap Ithel, Gwrgant of Glamorgan9781070
Mother ferch Cynfyn
    Sister     verch Gwrgan, Eva 990
    Sister     ferch Gwrgan, Efa 1002
         ap Gwrgan, Iestyn 1044 1093
    Brother     ap Gwrgan, Llewelyn 1045
    Brother     ap Gwrgan, Meurig 1045
    Sister     ferch Gwrgan, Myfanwy 1055
    Sister     ferch Gwrgan, Nest

Source References

  1. Arthur E Turner-Thomas: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=aet-t&id=I53007 @ RootsWeb Celtic Royal Genealogy
      • Source text:

        # ID: I53007
        # Name: Gwrgan ab Ithel Arglwydd Morgannwg
        # Surname: ab Ithel
        # Given Name: Gwrgan
        # Suffix: Arglwydd Morgannwg
        # Sex: M
        # Birth: ABT 0978 in Morgannwg, Cymru
        # _UID: 69B2A1B00EA4B9489284C6C5C367B87B1D07 1 2 3 4 5
        # Change Date: 4 Mar 2009 at 00:00:00

         

         

        Father: Ithel ap Idwallon b: ABT 0960 in , Morgannwg, Cymru

        Marriage 1 ferch Cynfyn

        Children

        1. Has Children Efa ferch Gwrgan b: ABT 1002 in , Morgannwg, Cymru
        2. Has Children Iestyn ap Gwrgan b: ABT 1044 in Morgannwg, Cymru
        3. Has No Children Llewelyn ap Gwrgan b: ABT 1045 in , Morgannwg, Cymru
        4. Has Children Meurig ap Gwrgan b: ABT 1045 in Coity, Morgannwg, Cymru
        5. Has Children Myfanwy ferch Gwrgan b: ABT 1055 in , Morgannwg, Cymru
        6. Has Children Nest ferch Gwrgan

         

        Sources:

        1. Repository:

        Title: Mathew Genealogical Research Foundation;
        Note:
        Cites resources for lineage as:

        "Welsh Genealogies AD 300- 1500" by Peter C. Bartrum
        "Genealogy of the Earls of Llandaff" by Thomas Mathew
        "Land Of My Father's" by Gwynfor Evans
        "A History Of Wales" by John Davies,
        "Flame Bearers of Welsh History" by Owen Rhoscomyl
        "Glamorganshire Pedigrees", edited by Sir Thomas Phillipps

        Source Media Type: Book
        2. Repository:

        Title: A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland
        Author: John Burke
        Publication: 1834-1838
        Page: IV:653, 107
        3. Title: Welsh Genealogies AD 300-1400
        Author: Peter Clement Bartrum
        Publication: 8 Vols. Cardiff, 1974, microfiche edition, 1980
        Page: Iestyn 1, p.542; Charts 43, 47
        4. Title: Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales
        Author: Thomas Nicholas
        Publication: London: Longmans, Green, Reeder, 1875.
        Page: II:942
        5. Title: A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen
        Author: Robert Williams M.A.
        Publication: Llandovery: William Rees, MDCCCLII

         

         

      • Citation:

        e-mail: arthur.turnerthomas@live.com

      • Source text:

        # ID: I53007
        # Name: Gwrgan ab Ithel Arglwydd Morgannwg
        # Surname: ab Ithel
        # Given Name: Gwrgan
        # Suffix: Arglwydd Morgannwg
        # Sex: M
        # Birth: ABT 0978 in Morgannwg, Cymru
        # _UID: 69B2A1B00EA4B9489284C6C5C367B87B1D07 1 2 3 4 5
        # Change Date: 4 Mar 2009 at 00:00:00

         

         

        Father: Ithel ap Idwallon b: ABT 0960 in , Morgannwg, Cymru

        Marriage 1 ferch Cynfyn

        Children

        1. Has Children Efa ferch Gwrgan b: ABT 1002 in , Morgannwg, Cymru
        2. Has Children Iestyn ap Gwrgan b: ABT 1044 in Morgannwg, Cymru
        3. Has No Children Llewelyn ap Gwrgan b: ABT 1045 in , Morgannwg, Cymru
        4. Has Children Meurig ap Gwrgan b: ABT 1045 in Coity, Morgannwg, Cymru
        5. Has Children Myfanwy ferch Gwrgan b: ABT 1055 in , Morgannwg, Cymru
        6. Has Children Nest ferch Gwrgan

         

        Sources:

        1. Repository:

        Title: Mathew Genealogical Research Foundation;
        Note:
        Cites resources for lineage as:

        "Welsh Genealogies AD 300- 1500" by Peter C. Bartrum
        "Genealogy of the Earls of Llandaff" by Thomas Mathew
        "Land Of My Father's" by Gwynfor Evans
        "A History Of Wales" by John Davies,
        "Flame Bearers of Welsh History" by Owen Rhoscomyl
        "Glamorganshire Pedigrees", edited by Sir Thomas Phillipps

        Source Media Type: Book
        2. Repository:

        Title: A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland
        Author: John Burke
        Publication: 1834-1838
        Page: IV:653, 107
        3. Title: Welsh Genealogies AD 300-1400
        Author: Peter Clement Bartrum
        Publication: 8 Vols. Cardiff, 1974, microfiche edition, 1980
        Page: Iestyn 1, p.542; Charts 43, 47
        4. Title: Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales
        Author: Thomas Nicholas
        Publication: London: Longmans, Green, Reeder, 1875.
        Page: II:942
        5. Title: A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen
        Author: Robert Williams M.A.
        Publication: Llandovery: William Rees, MDCCCLII

         

         

      • Citation:

        e-mail: arthur.turnerthomas@live.com

  2. Michael Neuman: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=clcaldwell&id=I046189 @ RootsWeb Caldwell and related families
      • Source text:

        # D: I046189
        # Name: Iestyn ap Gwrgan , Prince of Glamorgan
        # Sex: M
        # Birth: ABT 1044 in Coity, Morgannwg, Glamorganshire, Wales
        # Death: 1093 in Llangenyw, Dynbich, Cymru, Wales
        # Note:

        Iestyn ap Gwrgan ruled Glamorgan (Morgannwg) 1081-1091 when it was taken over by the Normans and put under the control of Robert Fitzhamon. Iestyn was deposed and died in a priory.
        ------------------------
        Iestin ab Gwrgant (fl 1093), prince of Gwent and Morganwg, is a shadowy hero of the legend of the conquest of Glamorgan, whose biography, as told in the 'Gwentian Brut y Tywysogion,' is fabulous and absurd. Married in 994, he failed to obtain the succession of Morganwg on his father's death in 1030, because the people preferred his great-uncle, Howel ab Morgan; but he became ruler on Howel's death in 1043. Nearly fifty years later he is said to have taken a prominent share in the history of the conquest of Glamorgan by the Normans. He was an enemy of Rhys ab Tewdwr, the king of Brecheiniog. Hard pressed by his enemy, he promised to marry his daughter to Einion ab Collwyn if the latter could procure him help from England against their common foe Rhys. Eineon obtained the help of Robert Fitzhamon, who speedily defeated and slew Rhys, king of Brecheiniog. We know from authentic history that Rhys died in 1093. Iestin paid the Normans liberally and they went their way. He now refused his daughter to Einion, saying that he would never give either land or daughter to a traitor. Einion in revenge persmacded Fitzhamon to return. The Normans soon became masters of Iestin's territory and drove Iestin away. Iestin fled to Glastonbury over the Channel; thence he went to Bath and finally back to Bwent, where he died at the monastery of Llangenys at an extraordinary old age. His sons, Caradog, Madog, and Howel, abandoned their father to his fate and were rewarded with a share of the conquered land, Caradog, the eldest, obtaining the lordship of Aberavon.

        The details of the story of the conquest of Glamorgan are mythical; the outline is not in itself unlikely. Iestin's historical existence is proved by the existance of his descendants. His grandsons, Morgan, Maredudd, Owain, and Cadwaladr, the four sons of Caradog were joint lords of Aberavon when Archbishop Baldwin and Giraldus Cambrensis made their crusading tour in Wales. Rhys, another son of Iestin, is also mentioned in a document of the reign of John. Some Glamorganshire families claim descent from Iestin. [Dictionary of National Biography I:412-413]
        ----------------------
        Iestyn ap Gwrgant (fl c. 1081-1093), last independent ruler of Glamorgan and son of Gwrgant ab Ithel. Little is known with certainty about him. Cardiff seems to have been his seat of government, but the extent of his territory is unknown. He cannot have become supreme in Glamorgan until 1081, when Caradog ap Gruffydd, who ruled Glamorgan from c 1075, was slain. In 1080, Iestyn was sufficiently insignificant to appear as a minor witness attesting a grant of land made of Llandaff by 'Caratocus rex morcannuc.' Yet before his death, he was important enought to violate the sanctity of Llandaff, an act for which Iestyn had to atone by a grant of land. He founded the fifth royal tribe of Wales, and most of the noble families of Glamorgan claimed descent from him.

        A famous story of Glamorgan, at least as old as the 15th cent., associated the Norman conquest of Glamorgan with Iestyn's name. It describes how Iestyn, through his kinsman Einion ap Collwyn, a fugitive in England, secured Robert Fitzhamon's assistance against Rhys ap Tewdwr, whom he slew at Penrhys. Iestyn paid the Normans but refused Einion's promised reward - his daughter in marriage. Einion recalled the departing Normans, who overthrew Iestyn, divided the lowlands amongst themselves, leaving only the hill country to the Welsh. Iestyn fled - to Keynsham Abbey, according to one version - where he d. Where this story touches known facts it is demonstrably wrong, e.g. Keynsham Abbey was not founded till 1169, while Rhys was slain near Brecon in Easter week 1093.

        G. T. Clark, Land of Morgan, 6, 30, 38, 77, 131, and Limbus Patrum, 23, 24, 124, 129; D.N.B.; Dwnn, ii, 20, 56-7; Hist. W., 402, 440; Leland, Itinerary in Wales, 38; Liber Landavensis, 271-3; Merrick, Morganiae Archaiographia, 3, 6-8, 12-23, 43, 50-1; L. D. Nichoil, The Normans in Glamorgan, xiii, 18, 36, 67, 180; Nicholas, County Families, 239, 488, 490; Trans. Cymm., 1899-1900, 145-8, 162; G. J. Williams, Traddadiad Llenyddol Morgannwg, 26, 34, 184-91, 203, 204, 209.
        [Dictionary of Welsh Biography 408]

         

         

         

         

        Father: Gwrgan ab Ithel b: ABT 1015 in Coity, Morgannwg, Glamorganshire, Wales
        Mother: Iwerydd verch Cynfyn b: ABT 1023 in Powys, Montgomeryshire, Wales

        Marriage 1 Constance Wen verch Cadwallon b: ABT 1045 in Melinydd, Maesyfed, Cymru, Wales

        Children

        1. Has No Children Catrin verch Iestyn b: ABT 1065 in Coity, Morgannwg, Glamorganshire, Wales
        2. Has No Children Nest verch Iestyn b: ABT 1067 in Coity, Morgannwg, Glamorganshire, Wales
        3. Has No Children Gwenllian verch Iestyn b: ABT 1069 in Coity, Morgannwg, Glamorganshire, Wales
        4. Has No Children Madog ap Iestyn b: ABT 1073 in Coity, Morgannwg, Glamorganshire, Wales
        5. Has Children Caradog ap Iestyn b: ABT 1076 in Coity, Morgannwg, Glamorganshire, Wales

         

        Marriage 2 Gwenfyn verch Cynfyn b: ABT 1045 in Powys, Cymru, Wales

        Children

        1. Has No Children Lleucu verch Iestyn b: ABT 1065 in Coity, Morgannwg, Glamorganshire, Wales
        2. Has No Children Gruffudd ap Iestyn b: ABT 1070 in Coity, Morgannwg, Glamorganshire, Wales

      • Citation:

        e-mail: michaelneuman@earthlink.net

  3. Michael Neuman: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=clcaldwell&id=I046214&style=TABLE @ RootsWeb Caldwell and related families