Morgan Hen
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Morgan Hen ab Owain or Morgan Hen (the Old) (died 974), first known as Morgan ab Owain of Gwent and also known as Moragn Hen Fawr, was the
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
of
Morgannwg Morgannwg may refer to: * 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 Wal ...
. He ruled Gwent from c. 930 and Morgannwg from AD 942 to 974. In 931, Morgan was one of the Welsh rulers who submitted to Athelstan's overlordship, and attended him at court in Hereford, following
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 approach of friendship rather than conflict with the Saxon rulers in England. Morgan was the son of
Owain ap Hywel (Glywysing) Owain ap Hywel (died Ford, David. ''Early British Kingdoms'':. Accessed 20 Feb 2013.) was a king of Glywysing and Gwent in southeastern Wales. Owain's father Hywel was king of Glywysing until his death around AD 886. Although the unified kingd ...
and grandson of
Hywel ap Rhys (Glywysing) Hywel ap Rhys ('Hywel son of Rhys') (ruled 886) was a king of Glywysing (either in part or in its entirety) in South Wales. His sons Arthfael and Owain were probably responsible for the reünification of the realm of Morgannwg.Charles-Edwards, T. ...
, who united and ruled the Kingdom of Glywysing in south east Wales at the end of the 9th century. His brothers were
Gruffydd ab Owain Gruffydd ab Owain (died ) was a joint King of Glywysing, king of Kingdom of Glywysing, Glywysing in Wales in the High Middle Ages, Wales along with his brother Cadwgan ab Owain, Cadwgan in the early tenth century.Charles-Edwards, T. ''Wales and t ...
(died c. 935 at the hands of troops from Ceredigion) and Cadwgan ab Owain (died c. 949 0r 951, "murdered by the Saxons") who ruled as joint
kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...
of Glywysing. Morgan succeeded his father, Owain c. 930 as king in Gwent, with his brothers also starting their rule at the same time. Following his brothers' deaths, Morgan absorbed their kingdom into his and united the former kingdoms of
Gwent Gwent may refer to: Places *Kingdom of Gwent, a post-Roman Welsh kingdom or principality which existed in various forms between about the 5th and 11th centuries, although the name continued in use later *Gwent (preserved county), a preserved count ...
and
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 ...
in 942 under the name of Morgannwg. Morgan paid homage to the English kings as a form of protection and is recorded as witnessing royal charters for Kings
Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ; ; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern histori ...
,
Eadred Eadred (also Edred, – 23 November 955) was King of the English from 26 May 946 until his death in 955. He was the younger son of Edward the Elder and his third wife Eadgifu of Kent, Eadgifu, and a grandson of Alfred the Great. His elder b ...
and
Eadwig Eadwig (also Edwy or Eadwig All-Fair, 1 October 959) was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were you ...
. Morgan lived a long life, which brought him the name Morgan Hen, meaning old, and Morgan Mawr, meaning great, both used as a terms of respect. Morgan is thought to have married Lleucu ferch Enflew. His son Idwallon died in 975 and may have briefly inherited his throne before another son Owain took over. Two other sons were called Cadell and Cynfyn. The
Kingdom of Morgannwg Morgannwg (now Glamorgan) was a kingdom in south-east Wales. It was a name for the Kingdom of Glywysing which came into use at the end of the tenth century and ended with conquest by the Normans around 1091. History of Morgannwg In the early ni ...
was held by his descendants until his great-great grandson, Meurig was usurped from Morgannwg by
Gruffudd 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 ...
.


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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan Hen ab Owain 974 deaths Year of birth unknown Monarchs of Morgannwg Monarchs of Glywysing