Jump to content

User:Notuncurious/Working/misc4: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
mods
mods
Line 8: Line 8:
{{clear}}
{{clear}}


== The name ==
== 5th Century Emergence ==
[[Image:Ergyng.040.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Southern Wales and Southwestern England prior to the Roman invasion. The [[Herefordshire Beacon]], or [[British Camp]], is shown at or near the presumptive northeastern tip of Silurian territory.]]
[[Image:Ergyng.040.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Southern Wales and Southwestern England prior to the Roman invasion. The [[Herefordshire Beacon]], or [[British Camp]], is shown at or near the presumptive northeastern tip of Silurian territory.]]
[[Image:Ergyng.500.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The kingdoms that emerged from Silurian territory following the Roman withdrawal were Glywysing, Gwent, and Ergyng. The site of Roman ''Ariconium'' is shown, as is ''[[Madley]]'', the birthplace of [[Dubricius|Saint Dyfrig]].]]
[[Image:Ergyng.500.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The kingdoms that emerged from Silurian territory following the Roman withdrawal were Glywysing, Gwent, and Ergyng. The site of Roman ''Ariconium'' is shown, as is ''[[Madley]]'', the birthplace of [[Dubricius|Saint Dyfrig]].]]
Line 32: Line 32:
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
{{clear}}
{{clear}}
== In the 6th Century ==
==Location==
[[Image:Ergyng.600.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ergyng at the opening of the seventh century.]]
[[Image:Ergyng.600.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Ergyng at the opening of the seventh century.]]
⚫
[[Image:Ergyng.700.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ergyng at the opening of the eighth century.]]
The kingdom lay mostly in what is now western [[Herefordshire]] in [[England]], its heartland between the [[River Monnow]] and [[River Wye]]. However, it also spread into modern [[Monmouthshire]] and east of the Wye, where sits the old [[Roman Britain|Roman]] town of ''Ariconium'' (Welsh: ''Din Aricon'') at [[Weston under Penyard]] from which its name may derive; it may have been the first capital. Some maps<ref>[http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/FeaturesBritain/CymruMapWales.htm Map of Later Cymru (Wales)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> show Ergyng extending across what is now the [[Forest of Dean]] to the [[River Severn]].
The kingdom lay mostly in what is now western [[Herefordshire]] in [[England]], its heartland between the [[River Monnow]] and [[River Wye]]. However, it also spread into modern [[Monmouthshire]] and east of the Wye, where sits the old [[Roman Britain|Roman]] town of ''Ariconium'' (Welsh: ''Din Aricon'') at [[Weston under Penyard]] from which its name may derive; it may have been the first capital. Some maps<ref>[http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/FeaturesBritain/CymruMapWales.htm Map of Later Cymru (Wales)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> show Ergyng extending across what is now the [[Forest of Dean]] to the [[River Severn]].
{{clear}}

==Monarchy==
==Monarchy==
⚫
[[Image:Ergyng.700.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Ergyng at the opening of the eighth century.]]
After the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain in 410 AD, new smaller political entities took the place of the centralised structure. The area was originally part of the Kingdom of [[Glywysing]] (modern [[Glamorgan]]) and [[Kingdom of Gwent|Gwent]], but seems to have become independent for a period under [[Gwrfoddw|Gwrfoddw Hen]] in the late [[5th century]]<ref>[http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/CymruErgyng.htm Ergyng at The History Files]</ref>, and again under [[Peibio Clafrog|King Peibio Clafrog]] in the mid-[[6th century]]. Peibio was the grandfather of Saint [[Dubricius]] or Dyfrig, the first Bishop of Ergyng and an important figure in the establishment of [[celtic Christianity|Christianity]] in [[South Wales]]. He founded large teaching monasteries at Llanfrother near [[Hoarwithy]] and at Moccas, and a bishopric seems to have been based at St Constantine's Church at [[Goodrich, Herefordshire|Goodrich]].<ref name=hereford>[http://www.hereford.uk.com/history/6thand7th.asp Hereford.uk.com - Herefordshire History<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
After the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain in 410 AD, new smaller political entities took the place of the centralised structure. The area was originally part of the Kingdom of [[Glywysing]] (modern [[Glamorgan]]) and [[Kingdom of Gwent|Gwent]], but seems to have become independent for a period under [[Gwrfoddw|Gwrfoddw Hen]] in the late [[5th century]]<ref>[http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/CymruErgyng.htm Ergyng at The History Files]</ref>, and again under [[Peibio Clafrog|King Peibio Clafrog]] in the mid-[[6th century]]. Peibio was the grandfather of Saint [[Dubricius]] or Dyfrig, the first Bishop of Ergyng and an important figure in the establishment of [[celtic Christianity|Christianity]] in [[South Wales]]. He founded large teaching monasteries at Llanfrother near [[Hoarwithy]] and at Moccas, and a bishopric seems to have been based at St Constantine's Church at [[Goodrich, Herefordshire|Goodrich]].<ref name=hereford>[http://www.hereford.uk.com/history/6thand7th.asp Hereford.uk.com - Herefordshire History<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


Dubricius' cousin, [[Gwrgan Fawr]] (the Great) was one of its most important monarchs and may have obtained sway over Glamorgan as far as the [[River Neath]]. In the middle of the 7th century, Onbraust of Ergyng married Meurig of [[Gwent]], and their son [[Athrwys ap Meurig|Athrwys]] became king of both kingdoms. Ergyng eventually became a mere [[cantref]], the Welsh equivalent of a [[Hundred (country subdivision)|hundred]].<ref name=hereford>[http://www.hereford.uk.com/history/6thand7th.asp Hereford.uk.com - Herefordshire History<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Dubricius' cousin, [[Gwrgan Fawr]] (the Great) was one of its most important monarchs and may have obtained sway over Glamorgan as far as the [[River Neath]]. In the middle of the 7th century, Onbraust of Ergyng married Meurig of [[Gwent]], and their son [[Athrwys ap Meurig|Athrwys]] became king of both kingdoms. Ergyng eventually became a mere [[cantref]], the Welsh equivalent of a [[Hundred (country subdivision)|hundred]].<ref name=hereford>[http://www.hereford.uk.com/history/6thand7th.asp Hereford.uk.com - Herefordshire History<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
{{clear}}

==Later history==
== Epilogue ==
:''See also '''[[Archenfield]]'''''
:''See also '''[[Archenfield]]'''''
By the 8th century, the expanding power of [[Mercia]] led to conflict with the native British, and by the 9th century the Mercians had gained control over the area and nearby [[Hereford]]. The sites of old British churches fell to Mercia, and the British became foreigners - or, in the English language, "Welsh" - in what had been their own land.<ref name=archenfield>[http://www.archenfield.com/whoarewe.htm Archenfield Archaeology - Who we are<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The rump of Ergyng then became known to the English as Arcenefelde or [[Archenfield]]. Although its Welsh-speaking inhabitants retained special rights, the area was unequivocally incorporated into England in the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542|Laws in Wales Acts]] of 1535 and 1542.
By the 8th century, the expanding power of [[Mercia]] led to conflict with the native British, and by the 9th century the Mercians had gained control over the area and nearby [[Hereford]]. The sites of old British churches fell to Mercia, and the British became foreigners - or, in the English language, "Welsh" - in what had been their own land.<ref name=archenfield>[http://www.archenfield.com/whoarewe.htm Archenfield Archaeology - Who we are<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The rump of Ergyng then became known to the English as Arcenefelde or [[Archenfield]]. Although its Welsh-speaking inhabitants retained special rights, the area was unequivocally incorporated into England in the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542|Laws in Wales Acts]] of 1535 and 1542.

Revision as of 02:55, 30 May 2009

Pre-Roman Welsh kingdoms or tribes. The modern Anglo-Welsh border is also shown.

Ergyng (Welsh: Erging) was a Welsh kingdom located in present-day southern Herefordshire, southwestern Gloucestershire, and northern Monmouthshire. It flourished from the time of the Roman departure from Britain until the ninth century. Along with the Welsh kingdoms of Glywysing and Gwent, Ergyng emerged from the territory of the pre-Roman Silures, and those three kingdoms acted cooperatively and in concert in all matters of any consequence, with histories that are very amicably intertwined.

As a border kingdom facing the Anglo-Saxon advances of the sixth and seventh centuries, its territories were steadily eroded, and by the ninth century its remainder was absorbed into the lands that would become the southern Herefordshire area of Archenfield. Unlike some other areas where Britons were supplanted by Anglo-Saxons, the region that was once Ergyng has retained the heritage of both peoples, including the survival of Welsh place-names, and even the Welsh language into the eighteenth century.

As Archenfield (variously spelled) the region would be often-mentioned in discussions on ancient Welsh law, and as a digression in discussions of English law, due to a quirk of history. The Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 abolished Welsh law in Wales. However, at that time Archenfield was a part of England, and as these laws applied only within Wales, local law and custom in Archenfield continued as before. This was an unusual survival of ancient Welsh law into the twentieth century, of interest to scholars studying the histories of both Welsh and English law.

5th Century Emergence

Southern Wales and Southwestern England prior to the Roman invasion. The Herefordshire Beacon, or British Camp, is shown at or near the presumptive northeastern tip of Silurian territory.
The kingdoms that emerged from Silurian territory following the Roman withdrawal were Glywysing, Gwent, and Ergyng. The site of Roman Ariconium is shown, as is Madley, the birthplace of Saint Dyfrig.

The name Ergyng first emerges onto the historical stage in the wake of the Roman departure from Britain, when it appears as a kingdom in the former territory of the pre-Roman Silures, along with the kingdoms of Glywysing and Gwent. Its phonetic similarity to the former Roman town of Ariconium implies a connection, and since Roman custom was to name towns after the local inhabitants, it may be assumed (without solid foundation) that the name of the town referred to the people who were then living in that place. The name survives to the present day as the southern Herefordshire area of Archenfield, which was once a part of the Kingdom of Ergyng.

In modern Welsh it is properly spelled Erging, and the spelling has varied in historical references, to include Ercing, Ergic, and Ercic. It is spelled a variety of ways in the Book of Llandaff, including Ergin and Ercicg.[1] The Historia Brittonum of Nennius spells it Erging[2] and Geoffrey of Monmouth refers to it as Hergin.[3]

The name Archenfield has similarly undergone a variety of spellings, including Urchenfield and Irchenfield. One source claimed that its etymological origin was from the name Ircingafeld, described as an Anglo-Saxon compound of ircinga (of hedgehogs) and feld (field).[4]

In the 6th Century

Ergyng at the opening of the seventh century.

The kingdom lay mostly in what is now western Herefordshire in England, its heartland between the River Monnow and River Wye. However, it also spread into modern Monmouthshire and east of the Wye, where sits the old Roman town of Ariconium (Welsh: Din Aricon) at Weston under Penyard from which its name may derive; it may have been the first capital. Some maps[5] show Ergyng extending across what is now the Forest of Dean to the River Severn.

Monarchy

Ergyng at the opening of the eighth century.

After the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain in 410 AD, new smaller political entities took the place of the centralised structure. The area was originally part of the Kingdom of Glywysing (modern Glamorgan) and Gwent, but seems to have become independent for a period under Gwrfoddw Hen in the late 5th century[6], and again under King Peibio Clafrog in the mid-6th century. Peibio was the grandfather of Saint Dubricius or Dyfrig, the first Bishop of Ergyng and an important figure in the establishment of Christianity in South Wales. He founded large teaching monasteries at Llanfrother near Hoarwithy and at Moccas, and a bishopric seems to have been based at St Constantine's Church at Goodrich.[7]

Dubricius' cousin, Gwrgan Fawr (the Great) was one of its most important monarchs and may have obtained sway over Glamorgan as far as the River Neath. In the middle of the 7th century, Onbraust of Ergyng married Meurig of Gwent, and their son Athrwys became king of both kingdoms. Ergyng eventually became a mere cantref, the Welsh equivalent of a hundred.[7]

Epilogue

See also Archenfield

By the 8th century, the expanding power of Mercia led to conflict with the native British, and by the 9th century the Mercians had gained control over the area and nearby Hereford. The sites of old British churches fell to Mercia, and the British became foreigners - or, in the English language, "Welsh" - in what had been their own land.[8] The rump of Ergyng then became known to the English as Arcenefelde or Archenfield. Although its Welsh-speaking inhabitants retained special rights, the area was unequivocally incorporated into England in the Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542.

References

Explanatory notes

Citations

  1. ^ Rees 1840 The Book of Llandaff
  2. ^ Nennius 1819:146, 170 Historia Britonnum page 146
  3. ^ Geoffrey of Monmouth 1842:147 History of the Britons, Chapter II – a passing reference in the story of Aurelius Ambrosius' pursuit of Vortegirn.
  4. ^ Bosworth, Joseph (1838), "Ircingafeld", A Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Language, London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, p. 205{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ Map of Later Cymru (Wales)
  6. ^ Ergyng at The History Files
  7. ^ a b Hereford.uk.com - Herefordshire History
  8. ^ Archenfield Archaeology - Who we are

Bibliography


  • Ergyng (or Erging) not mentioned by Ussher (in either vol V or VI)
  • Bede ?
  • Gildas ?


  • Wendy Davies. (1979). The Llandaff Charters.
  • Wendy Davies (1982). Wales in the Early Middle Ages.
  • G. H. Doble. (1971). Lives of the Welsh Saints.
  • John Morris. (1973). The Age of Arthur.
  • Raymond Perry. (2002). Anglo-Saxon Herefordshire.
  • A. L. F. Rivet & Colin Smith (1979). The Place-Names of Roman Britain.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=User:Notuncurious/Working/misc4&oldid=293227784"