Cynfarch Oer ('Cynfarch the Dismal', also known as Cunomarcus or Cynfarch ap Meirchion) was probably a 6th-century king of the

Sub-Roman Sub-Roman Britain is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the Anglo-Saxon settlement. The term was originally used to describe archaeological remains found in 5th- and 6th-century AD sites that hint ...

realm of

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and ...

, believed to be located in north-west

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and south-west

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. Next to nothing is known about Cynfarch. He appears in the

Old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic a ...

pedigrees of the

Brython The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', la, Britanni), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were people of Celtic language and culture who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age and into the Middle Ages, at which point the ...

ic ' Men of the North' as the son of the equally obscure Meirchion Gul (Marcianus ''the Lean'') and father of the better documented

Urien Rheged Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd (today's northern England and southern Scotland) of the House of Rheged. His power and his victories, ...

. The

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

"Oer" is literally translated as 'cold', but may be understood in unflattering terms as 'Cynfarch the unwelcoming'. Cynfach was however, well remembered by his own descendents who were referred to as the 'Cynferchyn' in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cynfarch Oer Monarchs of Rheged 6th-century English monarchs 6th-century Scottish monarchs 6th-century English people 6th-century Scottish people