Brochfael ap Meurig

The boundaries and names of Welsh kingdoms varied over time in the early medieval period. In the seventh century, south-east Wales was a single kingdom called Gwent, but by the ninth century it had been divided between Glywysing (later Morgannwg and Glamorgan) in the west and Gwent in the east, with the king of Glywysing having the higher status. From the early ninth century, Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom on the eastern Welsh border, claimed hegemony over most of Wales. In 878, King Alfred the Great of Wessex defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington and around the same time King Ceolwulf of Mercia defeated and killed Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great), the powerful king of the north Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd. Rhodri's sons soon recovered their father's power. In 881 they defeated Ceolwulf's successor as ruler of Mercia, Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, at the Battle of the Conwy. This victory was described in Welsh annals as "revenge by God for Rhodri". ==Family==

Brochfael acceded to the throne of Gwent in around 872. He and his brother Ffernfael ap Meurig were sons of Meurig ab Arthfael. Historians of Wales do not agree on Meurig ab Arthfael's death date. Thomas Charles-Edwards thinks that he may be the Meurig whose death is recorded in the under 849, but Wendy Davies argues that 874 is more likely and dates his reign as or . In early medieval Wales, it was common for brothers to share the kingship, and in his Life of King Alfred, written in 893, the Welsh monk Asser describes Brochfael and Ffernfael as kings of Gwent. They are both listed in the twelfth-century Book of Llandaff as witnesses to charters together with their father, but Ffernfael does not have any surviving charters of his own, whereas several show Brochfael as a royal grantor and witness, so Ffernfael may have been subordinate to Brochfael. ==Territory==

Brochfael and Ffernfael were joint kings of Gwent, and their cousin Hywel ap Rhys was king of Glywysing. The kingship of Glywysing had a superior status, and Hywel was probably an over-king allowing his cousins to rule Gwent. He gave more grants in Gwent than Glywysing, whereas Brochfael's grants were confined to Gwent. In the previous generation, Davies (followed by Charles-Edwards) states that Brochfael's father Meurig ab Arthfael gave grants in both territories, and that he ruled them both as king of Glywysing. The historian Patrick Sims-Williams dissents, arguing that the charters placing Meurig in Glywysing were forged, and that he had no power outside Gwent. ==Kingship==

Æthelred's defeat at the Battle of the Conwy in 881 ended Mercian domination of north and west Wales, but he violently tried to maintain his rule over the south-east. Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons, became the competitor of Mercia for the allegiance of the south-eastern Welsh kings, and Æthelred's oppression drove them to voluntarily submit to Alfred and seek his protection. Æthelred himself soon followed in abandoning the attempt to maintain his independence and submitted to the West Saxon king. In his Life of King Alfred, Asser listed Brochfael among Welsh kings who submitted to King Alfred: :At that time [late 880s], and for a considerable time before then, all the districts of right-hand [southern] Wales belonged to King Alfred, and still do. That is to say, Hyfaidd, with all the inhabitants of the kingdom of Dyfed, driven by the might of the six sons of Rhodri [Mawr], had submitted himself to King Alfred's royal overlordship. Likewise, Hywel ap Rhys (the king of Glywysing) and Brochfael and Ffernfael (sons of Meurig and kings of Gwent), driven by the might and tyrannical behaviour of Ealdorman Æthelred and the Mercians, petitioned King Alfred of their own accord, in order to obtain lordship and protection from him in the face of their enemies. ==Charters==

from the Book of Llandaff|alt=Book of Llandaff Charters in the Book of Llandaff show in his early years witnessing his father's charters, and later making grants as king. In about 868, King Meurig surrendered the church at Tryleg and returned it to Bishop Cerennyr in the presence of and Ffernfael. Like other Welsh kings, had large landed estates, and he made several grants to Bishop of land and fishing rights on the coast of the Severn Estuary. Grants to between the 890s and 920s were all of land in Gwent, and was the main grantor. Charters also record 's disputes with . One disagreement concerned a church with three (about ) of land which gave to his daughter, described as "a holy virgin", to support her in her religious life. When she died around 910, attempted to recover his donation, but claimed the property and judgement was given in his favour and endorsed by . The historian Lester Little comments that this episode saw "in a relatively docile mood". Earlier, in about 905, there was a disagreement between 's (household) and 's. insulted , who threatened to excommunicate him and his family. Once again, backed down and apologised. was awarded an "insult price" (in pure gold) of the worth of his face, lengthwise and breadthwise. was unable to pay in gold and instead paid with six (about ) of land at Llanfihangel. ==Death==

Brochfael died in the early tenth century, but the exact date is unknown. Davies dates the end of his rule as , and Charles-Edwards thinks that Glywysing and Gwent were probably ruled as a single kingdom by Hywel's son Owain ap Hywel by 918. Manuscript D of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in a section probably compiled in the 1050s, states that in 927, Owain, king of the people of Gwent, was one of the British rulers who submitted to Æthelstan, King of England. Davies states that the royal line descended from Meurig ended with Brochfael. ==Note==