Iorwerth from Owain

Iorwerth ab Owain (also called Iorwerth of Gwynllŵg) († before 1184) was a Welsh prince of Gwynllŵg and Lord of Caerleon .

Life

He was a son of Owain Wan and thus a grandson of King Caradog ap Gruffydd of Gwent . In 1136 he attacked and killed together with his older brother Morgan from Owain Richard FitzGilbert de Clare between Abergavenny and Talgarth. Iorwerth also supported his brother during the subsequent retaking of Upper Gwent and Llenfennydd. As a result of this close alliance, he became his heir and successor after Morgan's murder in 1158, although Morgan left behind at least two sons. In contrast to his brother, however, he renounced the title of king.

Before 1169, Richard de Clare , the Lord of Chepstow , retook Usk Castle . In 1171 Lord Rhys drove Iorwerth from Caerleon Castle together with the English King Henry II , who was on his way to Ireland . Iorwerth had to retire to Mach Castle in Gwynllŵg. After Henry II traveled on to Pembroke , Iorwerth, his sons and nephew Morgan ap Seisyll tried in vain to recapture Caerleon Castle. After the siege failed, they sacked and ravaged the Llefennydd region. In 1172 Iorwerth's eldest son Owain and Iorwerth's brother-in-law Seisyll ap Dyfnwal , Lord of Upper Gwent, were attacked by soldiers of the Earl of Gloucester on their way to Usk Castle, where they were going to negotiate with Henry II . While Seisyll was being captured, Owain was murdered. In revenge, Iorwerth and his son Hywel sacked vast areas of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire . When the king's power was weakened by the rebellion of his sons the next year, Iorwerth and Hywel took advantage of this with further attacks and conquests. After a three-day siege, they were able to retake Caerleon Castle on July 21, 1173 and subsequently also occupy the lower Lower Gwent. In early 1175, however, violent clashes broke out within the family. Iorwerth's son, Hywel, blinded and castrated his uncle Owain Pen-Carn, his father's younger brother. From then on, Iorwerth's nephew Morgan, a son of Morgan from Owain, supported the English who recaptured Caerleon Castle and Lower Gwent. At the end of June 1175, however, Iorwerth concluded an alliance with Lord Rhys, and under his leadership he was one of the southeast Welsh princes who paid homage to Henry II in Gloucester . This gave him back Caerleon. Presumably this was favored by the fact that Iorwerth's daughter Nest became a lover of Henry II at that time and bore him a son. Nest then married Ralph Bloet , an Anglo-Norman lord from the neighboring Striguil estate .

Family and offspring

Probably before 1148 Iorwerth married Angharad , a daughter of Bishop Uthred of Llandaff . He had several children with her, including

Owain
Hwyel
Gruffudd
Cadwallon
Morgan
nest

Iorwerth died between 1175 and 1184, his successor was his son Hwyel ab Iorwerth. Either he or his son Hywel founded the Cistercian Llantarnam Abbey between 1175 and 1179 .

literature

David Crouch: Iorwerth from Owain (d. 1175x84). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

Individual evidence

↑ Christopher Harper-Bill, Nicholas Vincent: Henry II. New interpretations. Boydell, Woodbridge 2007. ISBN 978-1-84383-340-6 , p. 145
^ Robert Thomas Jenkins: Morgan ap Hywel (Welsh Biography Online). Retrieved December 4, 2013 .
^ John Gillingham: The English in the twelfth century. Imperalism, national identity and political values. Boydell, Woodbridge 2000. ISBN 978-0-85115-732-0 , p. 61
↑ David Crouch: Nest Bloet. In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
↑ David Crouch: Iorwerth from Owain (d. 1175x84). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
↑ The Cistercian Way: Llantarnam Abbey. Retrieved February 12, 2016 .

personal data
SURNAME	Iorwerth from Owain
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Iorwerth of Gwynllŵg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Welsh Prince and Lord of Caerleon
DATE OF BIRTH	12th Century
DATE OF DEATH	12th Century

[1] Christopher Harper-Bill, Nicholas Vincent: Henry II. New interpretations. Boydell, Woodbridge 2007. ISBN 978-1-84383-340-6 , p. 145

[2] Robert Thomas Jenkins: Morgan ap Hywel (Welsh Biography Online). Retrieved December 4, 2013 .

[3] John Gillingham: The English in the twelfth century. Imperalism, national identity and political values. Boydell, Woodbridge 2000. ISBN 978-0-85115-732-0 , p. 61

[4] David Crouch: Nest Bloet. In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

[5] David Crouch: Iorwerth from Owain (d. 1175x84). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

[6] The Cistercian Way: Llantarnam Abbey. Retrieved February 12, 2016 .