Ifor Bach

Ifor Bach

Ifor Bach (meaning Ivor the Short) (fl. 1158) also known as Ifor ap Meurig and in anglicised form Ivor Bach, lord of Senghenydd, was a twelfth century resident in and a leader of the Welsh in south Wales.

Welsh Lord of Senghenydd

At this period the Normans had conquered England, but large areas of Wales were still under the control of the native Welsh Princes and Lords. Whilst parts of the old Welsh Kingdom of Morgannwg (which was to become Glamorgan) had fallen to the Normans, Ifor ap Meurig held land in Senghenydd, a region of Morgannwg which had not yet fallen completely. Broadly Senghennydd was the upland area bounded by Brecknock to the north, between the River Taff and the River Rhymney and abutting Cefn Onn in the south.

The Norman Lord of the region was William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester. ref|JGfoot

In 1158 he attacked and killed Morgan ab Owain, Welsh Lord of Caerleon and Gwynllwg (anglicised as Wentloog).

Kidnapped the Earl of Gloucester

According to Giraldus Cambrensis in the "Itinerarium Cambriae", in 1158 Ifor Bach was a tenant of William, Earl of Gloucester, who held Cardiff Castle. Gloucester was trying to take land which under Welsh law belonged to Ifor.

Ifor scaled the walls of Cardiff Castle using ladders, seized the Earl, his Countess Hawise, a daughter of the Earl of Leicester, and their young son Robert, and kidnapped all of them to the woods of Senghenydd. He refused to release them until he had recovered the land he had lost "and a little more". ref|GCfoot

Descendants

He married Nest, sister of Rhys ap Gruffudd (also known as The Lord Rhys).

Descendants of Ifor ap Meurig continued to hold sway in the area and to harry the Normans for at least another century. He was succeeded by his son Gruffudd before 1170. ref|GGATfoot These descendants included his grandson Morgan Gam and his great-grandson Llywelyn Bren.

Ifor ap Meurig is reputed to have built a medieval castle on the site now occupied by Castell Coch.

Modern times

Clwb Ifor Bach, a Welsh Language nightclub in Cardiff city centre is named after him, as is Ysgol Ifor Bach, a Welsh medium primary school in Abertridwr.

References

# "Itinerarium Cambriae", Giraldus Cambrensis: book 1, chapter 6. Published by Penguin, ISBN 0-14-044339-8 pp122-123 in that edition.
# cite web | title=The Norman Conquest | work=Caerphilly Castle | url=http://web.ukonline.co.uk/jj.griffiths/1024/wc/caerphilly/norman.htm | accessdate=13 November | accessyear=2005
# cite web | title=The natural landscape and geological background | work=Merthyr Tydfil Historic Landscape Characterisation | url=http://www.ggat.org.uk/Cadw/historic%20landscapes/Merthyr%20Tydfil/English/Merthyr_Features.htm#mildeflan | accessdate=13 November | accessyear=2005


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Clwb Ifor Bach — on Womanby Street Clwb Ifor Bach (English: Little Ivor s club) is a Cardiff nightclub, music venue, Welsh language club and community centre. It is known to the Cardiff Welsh speaking community as Clwb (Welsh: (The) Club) and is often known …   Wikipedia

  • William Ifor Jones — (January 23, 1900 ndash; November 11, 1988), was a Welsh conductor and organist. Born into a large coal mining family and raised in Merthyr Tydfil, Jones studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1920 to 1925. He studied the organ with …   Wikipedia

  • Cardiff — For other uses, see Cardiff (disambiguation). City and County of Cardiff Dinas a Sir Caerdydd Clockwise from top: Cardiff Bay, the Senedd, Cardiff University and the Millennium Stadium …   Wikipedia

  • William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester — Infobox succession combo subject name = Sir William Fitz Robert image caption = date of birth = birth date|1116|11|23|df=y place of birth = date of death = death date and age|1183|11|23|1116|11|23|df=y place of death = office = 2nd Earl of… …   Wikipedia

  • Cardiff music scene — The Cardiff music scene is a thriving one. As Cardiff is the capital city of Wales it draws in musicians and acts from around the principality. The geographical separation of south Wales from England by the River Severn and the toll bridge has… …   Wikipedia

  • Iwan Griffiths — Infobox musical artist Name = Iwan Griffiths Img capt = Vans Warped Tour Background = solo singer Birth name = Iwan Griffiths Born = 4th December 1985 Died = Instrument = drums Genre = Rock, Electro, Pop punk Years active = Label = Associated… …   Wikipedia

  • Timeline of Cardiff history — The Timeline of Cardiff history shows the significant events in the history of Cardiff which transformed it from a small Roman fort into the modern capital city of Wales. Many believe that Cardiff actually takes its name, Caer Didi meaning ‘Fort… …   Wikipedia

  • History of Cardiff — The history of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, began with a Roman fort on the site, built in 54 AD.cite web |url= http://www.angelfire.com/ga/BobSanders/CDFF1.html |publisher=Bob Sanders |title=A Cardiff Vale of Glamorgan Chronology up to 1699… …   Wikipedia

  • Music of Cardiff — The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal, post hardcore and emo music. A number of rock music performers have… …   Wikipedia

  • Shirley Bassey — Dame Shirley Bassey Shirley Bassey at Wembley Arena, 2006 Background information Birth name Shirley Veronica Bassey …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”