Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the realms of

south Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

, particularly as opposed to

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

(Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House of Dinefwr, but that Deheubarth itself was not considered a proper kingdom on the model of Gwynedd,

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

, or

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ...

is shown by its rendering in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

as ''dextralis pars'' or as ''Britonnes dexterales'' ("the Southern Britons") and not as a named land. In the oldest British writers, ''Deheubarth'' was used for ''all'' of modern Wales to distinguish it from ''

Hen Ogledd Hen Ogledd (), meaning the Old North, is the historical region that was inhabited by the Celtic Britons, Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands, alongside the fello ...

'' ('' Y Gogledd''), the northern lands whence

Cunedda Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' (reigned – c. 460), was an important early Welsh people, Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the royal dynasty of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of Western Europe. Nam ...

originated.

History

Deheubarth was united around 920 by

Hywel Dda Hywel ap Cadell, commonly known as Hywel Dda, which translates to Howel the Good in English, was a Welsh king who ruled the southern Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth and eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllw ...

out of the territories of Seisyllwg and

, which had come into his possession. Later on, the Kingdom of Brycheiniog was also added.

Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...

was previously the principal court of the area, but Hywel's dynasty fortified and built up a new base at Dinefwr, near

Llandeilo Llandeilo () is a town and Community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated where the River Towy is crossed by the A483 road, A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had ...

, giving them their name. After the high-water mark set by Hywel, Dinefwr was repeatedly overrun. First, by the Welsh of the north and east: by Llywelyn ap Seisyll of Gwynedd in 1018; by Rhydderch ab Iestyn of Morgannwg in 1023; by

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ( – 5 August 1063) was the first and only Welsh king to unite all of Wales under his rule from 1055 to 1063. He had also previously been King of Gwynedd and Powys from 1039 to 1055. Gruffudd was the son of Llywelyn ap ...

of Gwynedd in 1041 and 1043. In 1075, Rhys ab Owain and the noblemen of

Ystrad Tywi Ystrad Tywi (, ''Valley of the river Towy'') is a region of southwest Wales situated on both banks of the River Towy (), it contained places such as Cedweli, Carnwyllion, Loughor, Llandeilo, and Gwyr (although this is disputed). Although ...

succeeded in killing their lord Bleddyn ap Cynfyn. Although Rhys was quickly overrun by Gwynedd and Gwent, his cousin Rhys ap Tewdwr through his marriage into Bleddyn's family and through battle reestablished his dynasty's hegemony over south Wales just in time for the second wave of conquest: a prolonged Norman invasion under the

Marcher Lords A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in France ...

. In 1093, Rhys was killed in unknown circumstances while resisting their expansion into

Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans ...

and his son Gruffydd was briefly thrown into exile. Following the death of Henry I, in 1136 Gruffydd formed an alliance with

for the purpose of a revolt against Norman incursions. He took part in

Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( – 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great () and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales" and th ...

and

Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd Cadwaladr ap Gruffudd (c. 1100 – 1172) was the third son of Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, and brother of Owain Gwynedd. Appearance in history Cadwaladr first appears in the historical record in 1136, when following the killing of the ...

's victory over the Normans at Crug Mawr. The newly liberated region of

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

, though, was not returned to his family but annexed by Owain. The long and capable rule of Gruffydd's son the Lord Rhys and the civil wars that followed Owain's death in Gwynedd briefly permitted the South to reassert the hegemony Hywel Dda had enjoyed two centuries before. On his death in 1197, though, Rhys redivided his kingdom among his several sons and none of them ever again rivalled his power. By the time

Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (, – 11 April 1240), also known as Llywelyn the Great (, ; ), was a medieval Welsh ruler. He succeeded his uncle, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, as King of Gwynedd in 1195. By a combination of war and diplomacy, he dominate ...

won the wars in Gwynedd, in the first half of the 13th century, lords in Deheubarth merely appear among his clients. Following the

conquest of Wales by Edward I The conquest of Wales by Edward I took place between 1277 and 1283. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian conquest of Wales,Examples of historians using the term include Professor J. E. Lloyd, regarded as the founder of the modern academ ...

, the lords in Deheubarth became vassals of the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

under the

Treaty of Aberconwy The Treaty of Aberconwy was signed on the 10th of November 1277, and was made between King Edward I of England and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales. It followed Edward's invasion of Llywelyn's territories earlier that year. The treaty re-e ...

, but after joining Dafydd ap Gruffudd's unsuccessful rebellion in 1282 they lost control of Deheubarth and the South was divided into the historic counties of

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

and

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

by the

Statute of Rhuddlan The Statute of Rhuddlan (), also known as the Statutes of Wales ( or ''Valliae'') or as the Statute of Wales ( or ''Valliae''), was a royal ordinance by Edward I of England, which gave the constitutional basis for the government of the Principal ...

Religion

In the arena of the church, Sulien was the leader of the monastic community at Llanbadarn Fawr in Ceredigion. Born ca. 1030, he became Bishop of St David's in 1073 and again in 1079/80. Both of his sons followed him into the service of the church. At this time the prohibition against the marriage of clerics was not yet established. His sons produced a number of manuscripts and original Latin and vernacular poems. They were very active in the ecclesiastical and political life of Deheubarth. One son, Rhygyfarch (Latin: ''Ricemarchus'') of Llanbadarn Fawr, wrote the ''Life of

Saint David David (; ; ) was a Welsh Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Mynyw during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail about his life. ...

'' and another, Ieuan, was a skilful scribe and illuminator. He copied some of the works of

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

and may have written the ''Life of St. Padarn''.

List of rulers

The kingdom of Deheubarth was formed by the union of the kingdoms of Ceredigion, Seisyllwg and Dyfed. Ceredigion was absorbed into Seisyllwg and Dyfed was merged with Seisyllwg to form Deheubarth in 909.

Ceredigion

* Ceredig ap Cunedda (424–453)A history of WalesEncyclopaedia of Wales * Usai (453–490) * Serwyl (490–525) * Boddw (525–560) * Arthfoddw (560–595) * Arthlwys (595–630) * Clydog I (630–665)

Dyfed

* Ednyfed - realm also included the Caer-Went part of Gwent (his brother received the remainder) * Clotri * Triffyn Farfog * Aergol Lawhir (?-c. 515) *

Vortiporius Vortiporius or Vortipor (, or ''Gwerthefyr'') was a king of Dyfed in the early to mid-6th century. He ruled over an area approximately corresponding to modern Pembrokeshire, and Carmarthenshire, Wales. Records from this era are scant, and virtu ...

(c. 540) * Arthur ap Pedr * Cloten (c. 630) married Ceindrech of Brycheiniog, uniting the two kingdoms of Dyfed and Brycheiniog *

Rhain ap Cadwgan Rhain ap Cadwgan (; died ) was an 8th-century kings of Dyfed, king of Kingdom of Dyfed, Dyfed and Brycheiniog in Wales of the Early Middle Ages. He succeeded his father Cadwgan, who succeeded his father Caten ap Cloten of Dyfed and Brycheiniog, ...

(c. 690-740) - also king of Brycheiniog. On his death, his kingdoms were divided again by his sons. * Tewdwr ap Rhain * Maredudd ap Tewdws (c. 740–797) * Rhain ap Maredudd (c. 797–808) * Owain ap Maredudd (c. 808–810) * Triffyn ap Rhain (?-c. 814) * Hyfaidd *

Llywarch ap Hyfaidd Llywarch ap Hyfaidd (died ) was a king of Dyfed, an independent kingdom in southwest Wales. He was the son of Hyfaidd ap Bleddri and is thought to have inherited the kingdom of Dyfed after his father's death in c. 892. Sometime soon after Llywar ...

(c. 893-904) * Rhodri ap Hyfaidd (c. 904-905) *

("Hywel the Good") (c. 905-909), an invader from Seisllywg who conquered Dyfed (but later chronicles claim he acquired it by marrying Llywarch's daughter)

Seisyllwg

* Seisyll ap Clydog, prince of

(eponym and possibly founder of Seisyllwg) * Arthen (?-807) * DyfnwallonHeritage Consulting. Millennium File atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. * Meurig of Seisyllwg * Gwgon of Seisyllwg (?-c. 870/871) ''House Manaw'' * Angharad ferch Meurig (?-872) and

Rhodri the Great Rhodri ap Merfyn, commonly known as , was a Welsh king whose legacy has impacted the history of Wales. Rhodri rose to power during a tumultuous era, where the fate of Welsh kingdoms was often determined by the power of their leaders. Early life ...

(?–873/877/878) - stewards *

Cadell ap Rhodri Cadell ap Rhodri (854–909) was King of Seisyllwg, a minor kingdom in southwestern Wales, from about 872 until his death. The son of Rhodri Mawr, King of Gwynedd, Cadell was in turn the father of Hywel Dda, who eventually came to rule most o ...

, second son of Anghared and Rhodri (872–909) *

(Hywel the Good) (909-920) - he ruled Seisyllwg in 920 and shortly thereafter merged it with Dyfed into Deheubarth

Deheubarth

(Hywel the Good) (920–950) * His son, Owain ap Hywel (950–986) **

Rhodri ap Hywel Rhodri ap Hywel (died 953 or 954) was a King of Deheubarth in South Wales, and a son of Hywel Dda, King of Deheubarth and Gwynedd, known for his codification of Welsh laws. John Davies (2007) ''A History of Wales'' (Penguin) accessed 30 April ...

(950–953) ''and'' ** Edwin ap Hywel (950–954) * Owain ap Hywel's son, Maredudd ab Owain (986–999) * Cynan ap Hywel, prince of Gwynedd (999–1005) * the sons of Einion ab Owain (brother of Maredudd ab Owain), who ruled jointly: ** Edwin ab Einion (1005–1018) ** Cadell ab Einion (1005–1018) * Llywelyn ap Seisyll, prince of Gwynedd (1018–1023) * Rhydderch ap Iestyn, prince of Glywysing (1023–1033) * Edwin ab Einion's son, Hywel ab Edwin (1033–1044) * Rhydderch ap Iestyn's son,

Gruffydd ap Rhydderch Gruffudd ap Rhydderch (d. AD 1055) was a king of Gwent and part of the kingdom of Morgannwg in south Wales, and later king of Deheubarth. Gruffudd was the son of Rhydderch ab Iestyn, who had been able to take over the kingdom of Deheubarth fr ...

(1047–1055) *

, invader and prince of Gwynedd (1055–1063) * Edwin ab Einion's grandson, Maredudd ab Owain ab Edwin (1063–1072) * his brother, Rhys ab Owain (1072–1078) * his second cousin, Rhys ap Tewdwr (1078–1093) ''Deheubarth was in the possession of the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

from 1093 to 1155'' *

Gruffydd ap Rhys Gruffydd ap Rhys (c. 1090 – 1137) was Prince of Deheubarth, in Wales. His sister was the Princess Nest ferch Rhys. He was the father of Rhys ap Gruffydd, known as 'The Lord Rhys', who was one of the most successful rulers of Deheubarth during ...

(1116–1137) ''ruled a portion of Deheubarth with Norman permission'' * his son, Anarawd ap Gruffydd (1136–1143) * his brother, Cadell ap Gruffydd (1143–1151) * his brother, Maredudd ap Gruffydd (1151–1155) * his brother, The Lord Rhys (Rhys ap Gruffydd) (1155–1197) * his son,

(1197–1201) ''who for a time ruled jointly with his brother,'' * Maelgwn ap Rhys (1199–1230) ''who disputed the territory with his brother,'' * Rhys the Hoarse ( Rhys Gryg) (1216–1234) ''From 1234 to 1283, Deheubarth was subject to the princes of Gwynedd'' * Rhys the Hoarse's son, Rhys Mechyll (1234–1244) ''ruled a portion of Deheubarth'' * his brother, Maredudd ap Rhys (1244–1271) ''ruled a portion of Deheubarth'' * his son, Rhys ap Maredudd (1271–1283) ''ruled a portion of Deheubarth''

References

* ''The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2008

External links

{{coord, 51.8768, N, 4.0184, W, source:wikidata, display=title 1197 disestablishments in Europe Kingdoms of Wales States and territories established in the 10th century 920 establishments 10th-century establishments in Wales