Rhys Meurug (Anglicised: Rice Merrick) (died 1586), was a Welsh genealogist, historian and landed gentleman.

Personal life

Rhys lived in

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

parish in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol C ...

. He is descended from the line of

Caradog Freichfras Caradoc Vreichvras (; Modern cy, Caradog Freichfras, ) was a semi-legendary ancestor to the kings of Gwent. He may have lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is remembered in the Matter of Britain as a Knight of the Round Table, under the na ...

, a supposed knight of the

Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...

. Meurug served as

Clerk of the Peace A clerk of the peace held an office in England and Wales whose responsibility was the records of the quarter sessions and the framing of presentments and indictments. They had legal training, so that they could advise justices of the peace. Histo ...

in Glamorgan, having been appointed by the

earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

. He is buried in Cowbridge church.

Literary works

Meurug wrote a book on the history of Glamorgan, entitled ''A Booke of Glamorganshire Antiquities'', completed in 1578. Though the original volume was lost in the Hafod library fire in 1807, a copy made in the late 17th century can be found in the

Queen's college, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

library, and a second copy is in the Cardiff public library. The book is written in English and concerns three areas: Glamorgan region's characteristics, division of the country by Norman knights and the original Welsh families, and Meurug's modern-day Glamorgan. However, a final missing manuscript is insinuated from citations within the two extant manuscripts, and only a portion of the description of Meurug's Glamorgan is available. This third part may be more substantially preserved in

Edward Llwyd Edward Lhuyd FRS (; occasionally written Llwyd in line with modern Welsh orthography, 1660 – 30 June 1709) was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also named in a Latinate form as Eduardus Luidius. Li ...

's manuscripts, written by Meurug c. 1584, though this is not certain. This section discusses rivers, houses of the landed gentry, parishes and the lands.

Notable connections

Meurug collaborated with the historian Sir Edward Stradling while writing his book. He is also known to

Dafydd Benwyn Dafydd Benwyn was a 16th-century poet, from Glamorganshire, Wales. He is thought to have been possibly the most prolific of the bards of Glamorganshire, and two quite large collections of his ''awdlau'' and ''cywyddau'' are known to survive. They i ...

and Sils ap Sion, who both sang elegies to Rhys Meurug.Cardiff MS. 2, 277, 344-6, Manuscript

References

External links

''A Booke of Glamorganshires Antiquities''
by Rhys Meurug, 1578; published London, 1825 {{DEFAULTSORT:Meurug, Rhys 16th-century Welsh historians 1586 deaths