Ergyng
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ergyng (or Erging) was a Brittonic kingdom of the sub-Roman and
early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...
period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English as ''
Archenfield Archenfield (Old English: ''Ircingafeld'', Middle English: "Irchenfield") is the historic English name for an area of southern and western Herefordshire in England. Since the Anglo-Saxons took over the region in the 8th century, it has stretched ...
''.


Location

The kingdom lay mostly in what is now western
Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
(now in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
), its heartland between the
River Monnow The River Monnow () marks the England–Wales border for much of its length. After flowing through southwest Herefordshire, England, and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales, its confluence with the River Wye is approximately south of Monmouth. The ...
and
River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...
. However, it also spread into modern
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
and east of the Wye, where sits the old Roman town of '' Ariconium'' (Welsh: ''Ergyng'') at Weston under Penyard from which its name may derive; it may have been the first capital. Some maps show Ergyng extending across what is now the
Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...
to the
River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
.


Monarchy

After the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain in 410 AD, new smaller political entities took the place of the centralised structure. The area was originally part of the Kingdom of
Glywysing Glywysing was, from the sub-Roman period to the Early Middle Ages, a petty kingdom in south-east Wales. Its people were descended from the Iron Age tribe of the Silures, and frequently in union with Gwent, merging to form Morgannwg. Name ...
(modern
Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
) and the
Kingdom of Gwent Gwent () was a medieval Welsh kingdom, lying between the Rivers Wye and Usk. It existed from the end of Roman rule in Britain in about the 5th century until the Norman invasion of Wales in the 11th century. Along with its neighbour Glywysin ...
, but seems to have become independent for a period under Peibio Clafrog in the 5th or 6th century and again under Gwrfoddw Hen in the early 7th century. Peibio was the grandfather of Saint Dubricius (or Dyfrig), the first Bishop of Ergyng and an important figure in the establishment of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
in
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 ( ...
. He founded large teaching monasteries at Llanfrother near Hoarwithy and at Moccas, and a bishopric seems to have been based at St Constantine's Church at Goodrich.Hereford.uk.com – Herefordshire History
Dubricius' cousin,
Gwrgan Fawr Gwrgan Fawr (meaning ''Gwrgan the Great''; also, in Latin language, Latin, Gurgantius; English language, English Fergus; died c. 645) was a king of Ergyng, a South Wales, south-east Welsh kingdom of the Early Middle Ages. He was the son of Cynf ...
(the Great) was one of its most important monarchs and may have obtained sway over Glamorgan as far as the
River Neath River Neath () is a river in south Wales running south west from the point at which its headwaters arising in the Brecon Beacons National Park converge to its mouth at Baglan Bay below Briton Ferry on the east side of Swansea Bay. Course U ...
. In the middle of the 7th century, Onbraust of Ergyng married Meurig of Gwent, and their son Athrwys became king of both kingdoms. Ergyng eventually became a mere
cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divid ...
, the Welsh equivalent of a
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
.


Later history

By the 8th century, the expanding power of
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
led to conflict with the native British, and by the 9th century the Mercians had gained control over the area and nearby
Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
. The sites of old British churches fell to Mercia, and the British became foreigners – or, in the English language, " Welsh" – in what had been their own land. Compared to other areas 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 ( ...
rather few early place names in the area have survived, for which the early arrival of the
English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
may be partly responsible. The rump of Ergyng then became known to the English as Arcenefelde or
Archenfield Archenfield (Old English: ''Ircingafeld'', Middle English: "Irchenfield") is the historic English name for an area of southern and western Herefordshire in England. Since the Anglo-Saxons took over the region in the 8th century, it has stretched ...
. Although its Welsh-speaking inhabitants retained special rights, the area was unequivocally incorporated into the English county of Hereford in the Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth for the bishop of Hereford to be made responsible together with the four Welsh bishops for the translation of the Bible and the
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...
into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken here in the first half of the nineteenth century, and we are told that churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860.Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, 1887, page 173


See also

*
Wales in the Early Middle Ages Wales in the early Middle Ages covers the time between the Roman departure from Wales c. 383 until the middle of the 11th century. In that time there was a gradual consolidation of power into increasingly hierarchical kingdoms. The end of the ea ...


References


Further reading

* Wendy Davies. (1979). ''The Llandaff Charters''. *Wendy Davies (1982). ''Wales in the Early Middle Ages''. * G. H. Doble. (1971). ''Lives of the Welsh Saints''. * John Morris. (1973). ''The Age of Arthur''. *Raymond Perry. (2002). ''Anglo-Saxon Herefordshire''. * A. L. F. Rivet & Colin Smith (1979). ''The Place-Names of Roman Britain''. {{Welsh kingdoms Former monarchies of Europe History of Herefordshire Kingdoms of Wales States and territories established in the 5th century 7th-century disestablishments in Wales 5th-century establishments in Wales