Kingdom of Brycheiniog

Kingdom of Brycheiniog
Teyrnas Brycheiniog
c.450–c. 1045
Medieval kingdoms of Wales.
Capital		Talgarth
Languages		British, Irish, Latin, and Welsh
Government		Monarchy
King
•	c.450-490	Brychan Brycheiniog
•	c.650	Cloten of Dyfed
•	-c.1045	Gryfydd ap Elisedd
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Founded by Brychan Brycheiniog	c.450
•	Death of Gryfydd ap Elisedd	c. 1045
Preceded by Succeeded by Roman Britain Kingdom of Deheubarth Lordship of Brecon

Brycheiniog was a small independent petty kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the powerful south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans between 1088 and 1095, though it remained Welsh in character. It was transformed into the Lordship of Brecknock and later formed the southern and larger part of the historic county of Brecknockshire. To its south was the Kingdom of Morgannwg.

The main legacy of the kingdom of Brycheiniog is etymological. It has lent its name to Brecknockshire (Welsh: Sir Frycheiniog, the shire of Brycheiniog) and Brecon (known as Aberhonddu in Welsh).

The kingdom of Brycheiniog was probably founded by Irish raiders in the late fifth century, very likely the Uí Liatháin, whose power had grown great in Wales until they were reduced by the sons of Cunedda, as reported in the Historia Brittonum. Traditionally, it was founded by (and named after) a Hiberno-Welsh prince named Brychan out of the old Welsh kingdom of Garth Madrun (believed to have been centred on Talgarth) in the mid 5th century, though this event is shrouded in legend. Brychan was a son of Anlach, an Irish settler who had peacefully taken control of the area by marrying Marchel, the heiress of Garth Madrun. Tradition says that Brychan fathered an extremely large number of children, many becoming saints in Wales and Cornwall. Brychan's eldest son, Rhain Dremrudd, founded a dynasty which ruled the kingdom uninterrupted until the mid 7th century.