Afan

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From Blas Baglan, the residence of the Lords of Afan, only heavily overgrown remains of the earthworks have survived

Afan was a medieval commote in South Wales. It stretched around the valley of the River Afan in the Glamorgan Mountains . It was the last region in Wales to remain under the rule of a Welsh dynasty until the 14th century.

history

The Southeast Welsh Kingdom of Morganwg was conquered by the Normans at the end of the 11th century . Nevertheless, Caradog ap Iestyn , the son of the last Welsh king Iestyn ap Gwrgan , was the first Lord of Afan under loose Norman suzerainty to retain dominion over the hill country of Glamorgan between the River Taff in the west and the River Neath in the east, while the fertile coastal plain below direct Norman rule fell. After Caradog ap Iestyn's death, his three sons divided the area among themselves. The eldest son Morgan ap Caradog received the westernmost part, which was now called Afan. Two of his brothers received the dominions Glynrhondda and Meisgyn , with Morgan ap Caradog as the eldest son claiming dominance over the three dominions. Morgan ap Caradog and his eldest son Lleision were loyal supporters of the English King John Ohneland , who was also Lord of Glamorgan and had given them Newcastle . Its main seat was probably the heavily fortified Plas Baglan near Baglan. After Lleision's death in 1213, his brother Morgan Gam became Lord of Afan, who lost control of Newcastle. Morgan Gam tried to get the castle back all his life and therefore led several armed conflicts with the Lords of Glamorgan. His heir became his son Lleision in 1241 , who was followed by his brother Morgan Fychan . Morgan Fychan fought like his father against the English and was temporarily expelled from his rule because of his support for the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd . In 1288 his son Lleision was his successor, he cooperated again with the English, married a daughter of the English nobleman Walter de Sully and took the name de Avene . As the only Welsh lords, the Lords of Afan were able to retain their rule even after the English conquest of Wales , but they merged with the English upper class. Lleision's successors were his son John and grandson Thomas de Avene. His daughter Jane inherited his property, she married the English nobleman William Blount, who before 1373 exchanged his rights in Afan with Edward le Despenser , the Lord of Glamorgan, for lands in England, probably in Warwickshire .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares . The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 57
  2. ^ Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan. Volume III - Part I: The early castles. RCAHMW, 1991, ISBN 0-11-300035-9 , p. 151
  3. ^ David Walker: Medieval Wales. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990, ISBN 0-521-32317-7 , p. 32
  4. ^ Michael Altschul: A baronial family in medieval England. The Clares . The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1965, p. 134
  5. ^ Dictionary of Welsh Biography: MORGAN FYCHAN (d. 1288). Retrieved August 31, 2015 .