{{more citations needed, date=September 2018Meirchion Gul was probably a late 5th-century king of

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ('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 bardic sources, ...

, a Brythonic realm in the area of

Sub-Roman Britain Sub-Roman Britain, also called post-Roman Britain or Dark Age Britain, is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the founding of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The term was originally used to describe archae ...

known as the ''

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 ...

'' (in the

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

and Southern Scotland today). Next to nothing is known about Meirchion, although his epithet means ''the Lean''. He appears in the

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh (, ) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh (). Literature and history Middle Welsh is ...

genealogical text ''

Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd ''Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd'' () is a brief Middle Welsh tract which claims to give the pedigrees of twenty 6th century rulers of the Hen Ogledd, the Brittonic languages, Brittonic-speaking parts of southern Scotland and northern England. It is att ...

'' as the son of the equally obscure Gwrwst Lledlwm, a grandson of

Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman Britain, Ro ...

, and grandfather of renowned

Urien Rheged Urien ap Cynfarch Oer () or Urien Rheged (, Old Welsh: or , ) was a powerful sixth-century Common Brittonic, Brittonic-speaking figure who was possibly the ruler of the territory or kingdom known as Rheged. He is one of the best-known and b ...

. He is assumed, like Urien, to have ruled Rheged, including Catterick. His two sons appear at the head of two later dynasties.

Cynfarch Oer Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ('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 bardic sources, ...

was Urien's father. Another son, Elidyr Lydanwyn (''the Stout and Handsome''), was the ruler of Rheged, according to the Gwynedd version of

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 ...

's 'Welsh laws'. He was the father of Llywarch Hen.

References

* Rachel Bromwich (gol.), ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein'' (Cardiff, 1961; republished 1991). Monarchs of Rheged